Behind the Mask

I am beginning some theatrical mask work on my own (with the help of a mentor) , and want this to serve as my research book/rehearsal journal. var _gaq = _gaq || []; _gaq.push(['_setAccount', 'UA-26871017-1']); _gaq.push(['_setDomainName', 'tumblr.com']); _gaq.push(['_trackPageview']); (function() { var ga = document.createElement('script'); ga.type = 'text/javascript'; ga.async = true; ga.src = ('https:' == document.location.protocol ? 'https://ssl' : 'http://www') + '.google-analytics.com/ga.js'; var s = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(ga, s); })(); (function() { var po = document.createElement('script'); po.type = 'text/javascript'; po.async = true; po.src = 'https://apis.google.com/js/plusone.js'; var s = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(po, s); })();

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Okay, so one layer is all done, and this is a photo of two completed layers. I have only six more layers to go! Some of the costume staff were telling me today that I act like a proud father about this mask, because I have been telling anyone who walks by and will listen about my mask. We get closer everyday! 

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Well, the process is going slow, but I have one layer down on the forehead of the mask. I'm told it starts to go faster after the first layer.

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All covered, now the fun begins! 

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So, I have to form a layer of something to protect the clay from the news paper and glue; in this case, that layer is foil. He's today's work of overing the mask in pieces of foil. We're almost ready to start mask making for real. I have a little more clay to cover here. 

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Well, today's work was a bit boring. I had to cut up small news paper squares that will form my mask eventually. Here they are...

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Okay, so here's the finished clay relief; I can now move to the next stage! 

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Can anybody find the Arlecchino in this photo? I can! He's missing his mask, but his costume is there. 

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Well this is two more days of work (I forgot to take a picture from the first day). We are getting close; the only thing left to do now is to add forehead wrinkles and smooth the whole thing down. After all that's done, I can move on to the next stage; I'm so excited! 

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Day two of work. The forehead is built out highly now; I have to make everything very exaggerated in the clay stage so it will show through in the next stage. There is so much clay on the head; it's gotten very heavy. A nose and upper lip are beginning to form. It's still got a long way to go, but this is certainly coming along! 

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My first meeting. My rendering got approved, and I was told to dive right in. The mask making process we're using involves building up the mask in clay relief first, then layering mask making materials on top of that to start building the mask. This is simply a base layer of clay that I got on my mask blank. I'll start building up and forming features next time! Hope to have more pictures soon. 

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Not sure if it relates, but it's a cool read! 

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My first ever rendering. My mentor asked me to render my first mask and here's what I have come up with. This is the first ever time I've had to render anything so I'm pretty proud. I'll see what he says at our meeting. This is Arlecchino the lowly acrobatic servant. He's often referred to as cat-like so I involved some feline elements into my design. I also wanted to create a kind of 3/4 mask instead of the traditional half mask; I thought it might be interesting to hide more of the performer's face, blurring the line between character and actor. 

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Man is least himself when he talks in his own person. Give him a mask, and he will tell you the truth.

Oscar Wilde 

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Firstly, wearing a mask can, in an actor, induce anxiety derving not so much from the use itself as from the fact that the mask restricts both the visual field and the acoustic-vocal range. Your own voice seems to be singing at you, stunning you, ringing in your ears and, until you master it, you cannot control your breathing. The mask feels like an encumbrance and can easily transform itself into a torture chamber. That is the first reason. The second which is mythical, magical almost. A singular sensation afflicts you when you take off the mask-this at least, is my reaction- the fear that part of my face has remained stuck to it, or the fear that the face has gone with the mask. When you remove the mask after having had it on for two or three hours, you have the impression of annihilating yourself.

Commedia dell'Arte:An Actor's Handbook by John Rudlin 

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A meeting today...

I had a meeting with my mentor on this project this afternoon. It looks like we're gonna get started in the coming week! I'm so excited to get it off the page and get it into practice. I'm ready to start getting my hands dirty!

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They have learned not to play themselves but to play using themselves. In this lies all the ambiguity of the actor's work

Jacques Lecoq's "The Moving Body" 

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A Mask that Moves?

 Jacques Lecoq writes in his book "The Moving Body" a confusing line that runs, "A good expressive mask must be able to transform... without ultimately becoming fixed in the expression of a single moment." (pg 56). When I read this, it gave me some pause. A mask that moves? This certainly isn't possible; it's an object that cannot move on it's own. What's more, a mask is molded to a particular face and that's it; I didn't think it was possible for a mask to change. 

I was proven wrong this weekend by a piece of great cinema. I got some friends together this weekend to watch the movie, "V for Vendetta" (on the fifth, it was very appropriate). Hugo Weaving played the main role in the movie; a character named V. He spends the whole movie in a Guy Faux mask (which, I noticed, bares a striking resemblance to commedia's Scaramucci [in both mask and character]). Weaving delivers a fantastic performance, but with in his performance, I saw a moving mask. 

If asked, I don't think I would be able to cite specific details through the movie of the moving mask, but I still maintain there were there. I plan to watch the movie again to see if I can spot them, because they are so subtle that if you're not looking for them, I'm sure you would miss them. There were several moments in the movie where it seemed as if his mask had shifted slightly to mimic his mood of dialogue. Perhaps this was simply my own mind as an audience member working to aid his performance, but whatever the cause, it was effective. I plan to watch the film again to find some examples for my research. I yield this point to Lecoq; my first thoughts were not correct.