on "princessesses"

my friend nicole and i took our sweet girls to see disney princess live show this evening and it started out rather scary with the evil queen in snow white. she was nervous about what the beast in beauty and the beast would be like. marit and i had this conversation:

me: you know how sometimes graham dresses like a scary tiger? but is he really a tiger or just pretending?
marit: just pretending!
me: that's what the actors and actresses are doing...just pretending so we can enjoy the story
marit: i'm not scared of the beast! he's just pretend!
*look of concern*
but the princessesses (that's really how she says it) are real, right?