Perfect hair, dazzling gowns, catchy music, and the happily ever after are all a part of Disney’s brand to create the ultimate princess little girls aspire to be. For most, the dream to become a Disney princess remains just a dream. However, for theatre juniors Skylar Sajewski and Alexis McCain, this dream has become a reality.

“One of the most memorable moments on the job was when I was at a party playing Sleeping Beauty,” Sajewski said. “One girl comes up to me, takes my hand and goes ‘I can’t believe you’re really real.’ It just melted my heart because you put this hope in their hearts and they get so happy.”

The party planning company A Fairytale Come True hires eager young actors to dress up as different characters and make any child’s party memorable. The arrival of the characters is often a surprise for the kids. From singing, games, and photo ops, the princesses have the opportunity to interact and perform for their young audience at a personal level.

“When I attend a birthday party the activities we do vary, but usually I read them the story the character is from, play games, and sing happy birthday to them,” McCain said. “I also coordinate them, what we do is princess of the day. So I name the princess along with a cute little speech.”

Spending hours with children isn’t everyone’s idea of a fun time, but for McCain and Sajewski it’s much more than a job. The hours they spend making sure the party stays lively gives them a chance to perfect their performance quality. It can oftentimes be more demanding than a theatre performance. In the hours they spend at the party they can not break character and must remain attentive.

“[The job] helps me practice my engaging skills, because as a performer you have to engage with the audience, in this case the little kids,” said Sajewski. “It gives me more experience as a performer because I have to embody a character for however long I’m needed and I need to be that character the entire time.”

The focus needed to embody their characters allows the actors to keep in touch with their childish and creative side. An important aspect of theatre is character development and playing a princess is no exception to this. Sajewski and McCain must know and understand their character better than their audience ever could. This means hours of research and preparation. From knowing the movie to remembering what their favorite color is, there are various details they must pay attention to in order to execute the job well.

“You have to really know the movie. I used to watched Tangled a lot when I was little but I hadn’t watched it in like two years and a kid ended up asking me a question I wasn’t completely aware of. I had to make something up and ended up getting it right,” McCain said. “I learned a lot from that. You have to always know a lot about the character themselves. It’s also important to stay updated. For example Frozen Fever came out after the movie, so I had to watch it and learn the songs in that too.”

The freedom this job permits for Sajewski and McCain results in lots of fun times. Although this job may not seem too stressful, the biggest challenge comes down to transportation.

“There aren’t too many difficult aspects of this job, but the parties take place all around Florida,” Sajewski said.  “I can’t drive yet, so what they do is they’ll have a helper who is not dressed up as a character but who will drive me there, set up all the face paint, or any other activity we have planned.”

To have a thrilled audience pay attention to your every move is often exciting and rewarding for performers like Mccain and Sajewski. With every gig they are not only perfecting their craft but creating amazing memories. With their arrival, a kid’s special day becomes an almost unforgettable experience.

“My favorite moment was a party I went to with a person who played Elsa. It was just [the kids’] mom and dad, the two sisters, and us,” McCain said. “They had just moved to Florida so they didn’t have any friends yet. It was really fun and simple. It’s amazing to be one of their first experiences upon moving to Florida.”