Playing Annie Oakley, a historical character, in an immersive show

There was food, in the "western" style: chili con carne, roast chicken, potatoes, and cornbread. There was the smell, not deliberately but clearly present, of horses, cows, sand, and cooking. There were several moments of interaction and participation from the audience. The music, the lights, and the sound effects, and especially the atmosphere allowed you to immerse yourself in the show.

I was put into the show urgently.

There was only one week of rehearsals before my first performance. First, I had to learn to master the weapons and I had never handled any in my life (even though the bullets were blanks, the danger of the weapons felt very real). Then, I had to learn to lay down the horse and to circle the candelabra while shooting with a rifle. These were not two easy feats if the horse decided not to cooperate. Finally, I had to learn all the dialogues, movements, costume changes, and the character's attributes. It was a very intense week.

The first performance went well. It would be a long list to count how many performances I did afterwards. I continued to play Annie Oakley in the Wild West Show until 2020, when COVID permanently closed the show. When I found out, at least six months after my last performance, I was really sad. If only I had known it was my last. I might have savored it even more, taken the time to say goodbye and thank all the horses, taken photos and videos as memories. But too often in life, we don't know it is the last time... A lesson that repeats: savor every moment of life because you never know if it is the last.

Over the eleven years that I played Annie Oakley in The Legend of Buffalo Bill, I created many memories: good and bad, moving and funny.

I will tell you a few.

One day, my horse Target fell to its knees after tripping while circling the candelabra. Luckily, I slipped along its neck to land on my knees in the sand in front of it. No one was hurt, but it was close. Luck was on our side.

Once (fortunately only once), while shooting the rifle during the shooting competition scene, a cartridge case fell inside the collar of my costume (strange given the tightness of the collar). The hot cartridge slid down to mid-chest on the left side and it burned me like a hot coal. But to remove my costume, I had to undo the laces in the back, which was impossible to do on stage by myself. I had to finish the scene as if nothing had happened, and once offstage, my dresser could remove my costume. I still have the scar from this incident.

Often, we had VIP guests who came backstage to take photos with us. I remember when Phil Collins, the singer from Genesis, came to see the show (about once a year) and asked to have a photo with us. Or was it that we wanted a photo with him? I no longer remember who was the celebrity at that moment!

All the moments spent chatting with the hairdressers, makeup artists, and dressers while they prepared me for the show or between scenes during costume changes.

All the conversations with my colleagues while eating in the canteen, not good but inexpensive, of Disney Village.

The lit-up faces of little girls when they came to shoot the rifle with me during the shooting competition.

The erotic moments with a colleague in my dressing room during the "Cattle Trail" scene when I had about 20 minutes to relax before returning to the stage.

The transcendental meditation with my colleague between the two shows (we did two performances per evening).

All the friends who came to see me play and whom I took backstage to see the horses and meet my colleagues.

When one of the cowboy's pants ripped wide open at the buttocks during the Pony Express!

Or when my favorite horse, Foxy, the little palomino Quarter Horse, loved his job so much, he made little joyful anticipation noises while we waited behind the curtain. He liked to rest his chin on my shoulder while I scratched him.

All these memories, and so many others, make me say that I would need to write a book to tell them all. It was a beautiful artistic, equine, human, and immersive experience. I am really happy to have spent these 11 years playing in The Legend of Buffalo Bill.

By Elena Odessa Ray