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balance in children's lives." On an event day, Fairytales and Friends Characters must answer questions and interact with all guests in character, doing a delicate sort of long-form improv as they call on what they've learned from their character guides. They memorize certain simple games to keep guests excited. If a costume needs a fix or a wig falls out of place, the actors try to step out of view of guests and the Fairytales and Friends designated party host flies in to make a quick fix. Coy and Knight want to be sure the illusion of the character is as authentic as possible, preserving the sense of imagination in their guests. Emily Nick loved how committed the character company was at keeping the enchantment alive. "I worked at Disney World and I was in entertainment, but not on the performing side," she said. "It was always a dream of mine to be able to perform and see the magic come to life." Nick was casually asked to join the company while sitting with Coy and Knight at a wedding – they were old high school friends. This year, Nick worked on the Warner Robins Christmas parade. She noted: "For the audience, their eyes will light up. All you could hear was shouting of mostly adults of 'Tiana! Aurora! Cinderella!' Just shouting every princess's name. Seeing how happy they were was a huge plus – that's the work." ABOVE Fairytales and Friends celebrated their 10th anniversary this summer with the Robins Regional Chamber. The impact of representation Lyndsay Richardson was a coworker with Coy when she was asked to portray Tiana for a quick gig. She's still invested. "My favorite part is just being able to have those one-on-one connections with kids. We show the people that we serve that they are worthy of not only somebody's attention, but of a fairytale character's attention. They're important enough that the people who inspire them every day in the movies and books they love can see them as somebody of importance as well." The act of being seen matters. In 2023 Disney released a live action version of the film The Little Mermaid, starring Halle Bailey as Ariel, a much- discussed change from the animated version. CNN called the new movie "an inspiration for young Black girls," while Good Morning America said it "marked an important moment for representation in media." Clips of young girls reacting to the film have since gone viral. Coy aims to feature diverse and accurate representation in the company, and describes a moment when a group of Black girls at a party got to meet her version of the Live-Action Mermaid Princess: "They were so excited to see a mermaid that looked like them. The girls literally screamed that to their mom – 'she looks like me' – and ran up and hugged her. It's so important to see someone that you identify with. I almost started crying just standing there." For simple 50 maconmagazine.com | October/November 2024