Carley Fortune’s Nutcracker Cannon Doll diary

Last week, bestselling Toronto author Carley Fortune took to the stage on the opening night of the National Ballet of Canada’s production of “The Nutcracker.”

Fortune — whose 2023 novel “Meet Me at the Lake” was optioned by Archewell, Meghan Markle and Prince Harry’s production company — played the role of a “Cannon Doll,” a character brought to life each performance by local celebrities. (Fortune’s publicist Emma Ingram played the second Cannon Doll.) Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow and the Beaches’ Jordan Miller and Leandra Earl will don the dolls’ signature tassels in upcoming shows.

“There are two Cannon Doll roles,” explained Fortune. “One doll is very scared and doesn’t want the cannon to go off, and the other doll is happy and excited and wants the cannon to blast. I played the trigger-happy doll! My seven-year-old son was in the audience so I was really excited to have him see me be silly and perform.”

Here, Fortune takes us behind the scenes of her Cannon Doll experience.

In the dressing room

“Here, (the costumer) is showing me the different parts of the costume. There’s a whole rack of Cannon Doll costumes in different sizes and a very long row of slippers on the left. The costume consists of pants, a baggy shirt, a little jacket and a collar that goes around your neck. All in all, it’s pretty warm to wear!”

Getting the lowdown

“I forgot to put my collar on, so I’m not wearing the full costume yet. I’m talking to (the dancer who) played the main Cannon Doll — he wheels out the cannon. Basically, our instructions as Cannon Dolls were that if we forget everything, the only thing we need to remember is to follow him. He popped by to see how (Emma and I) were doing.”

Last-minute adjustments

“I’m fully suited up! We’ve been given all our instructions and I’ve adjusted my funny wig. The show is about to start.”

Makeup touch-up

“We were able to watch the show from backstage until it was time for us to go onstage. We got a quick dab of red on our cheeks. Otherwise, we just wore our own makeup.”

Curtain time

“Emma and I are in a rehearsal room — you can see some of the dancers and some of the children in the background. They were rehearsing until quite close to when the show started. Emma is practising her scared Cannon Doll face and I’m practising my excited Cannon Doll move. Emma took a selfie of us backstage when we had our full costume and our blush on, just before we hit the stage.”