Theatre Notes

Theatre Overview

Theatrical makeup is the practice of painting, enhancing, or altering the face, hair, and body of the actor with cosmetics, plastic materials, and other substances; it is also the collective term for the materials used in making up. Theatre makeup has a rich history and humans have expressed themselves through drama, and accompanying makeup in a natural and wonderful form.

The most important thing to remember in theatre makeup is that the look has to be seen by everyone in the theatre, from the person in the front row to the person right at the back. Always stand back and check that the look will stand out and not get lost on stage.

Aging Make Up

Old age makeup is the act of creating a more elderly version of a model/client/actor with the help of makeup.

Steps

• Apply foundation and concealer for a good base.
• Start by asking your model to frown or move their face in a way that it shows laugh lines and crinkles in the face.
• Paint over the lines with a dark foundation. This line will be the used to create depth.
• Paint a line with a light foundation above the dark line. This will be a highlight to give more of a contrast to make the line look more like a shadow.
• Blend the lines out so that they fade into the face. Do not blend too much as you still want a definite line. Do not blend the light and dark lines together.
• Continue this for each wrinkle you want to create.
• Stand back a distance to check on the look from a distance as this has to be seen by the person sitting in the back row.
• Use a shade of blue/grey on the eyelids to make the skin look older.
• One can add red on the cheeks for broken capillaries if wanted
• This look is used for stage aging, witches or evil step mothers, with slight changes to each.

Before Applying Theater Makeup

Know the type of lighting that will be used for the theater. Whatever the color lights, yellow or red, will affect the outcome of the makeup. It will also be necessary to know the distance from stage to audience. Since makeup will need to be seen from all distances, the features must be made up precisely; so as not to appear flattened and drowned out by lights. The makeup artist will also want to come up with a schematic plan or drawing, of what the final appearance will look like. Keep in mind; this may not be necessary if the production is for a kindergarten play.

Tools for Applying Theater Makeup

Because the actor will be on stage, under bright lights, and viewed at from a distance, choosing the correct tools is a crucial in applying theatrical makeup. Since the theatrical makeup tends to be more pigmented and heavier than daytime makeup, Use synthetic brushes for easy clean-up, velour powder puffs, and sponges. The use of false eyelashes is also an effective tool for adding emphasis to the eyes. Some of the products may have an oil base. Using the synthetic brushes will protect the longevity of the brush. If applying a powder rouge, a natural hair brush is also acceptable. Use several different sizes of brushes; a large brush for rouge, two medium eye shadow brushes, a contouring brush, and a lip brush.

Applying Theater Makeup

1. Cleanse and moisturize the skin. Always begin with a fresh canvas. Makeup will look and last better if the face is free from dirt, dead skin cells, and excess oils.

2. It is equally important to highlight and contour facial features. You will want to add highlight to areas that stand out such as the cheekbones, chin, forehead, and t-zone. This can be accomplished using a shade lighter in foundation and white highlighter. Using a darker foundation, contour parts of the face, under the cheekbone and the temples that recede naturally. This will add dimension and character to the face.

3. Apply foundation that is one to two times darker than normal. The lights will fade and flatten the face if not. The audience needs to see that face from a distance. It is important to blend since the lighting may pick up lines of fluctuating color. Use translucent powder to set the makeup.

4. Follow with rouge. Using a powder rouge will help with blending. It is also easy to control the amount of color since the color can be intensified gradually so the actor doesn't appear to look like a doll.

5. If the role shows other parts of the skin such as the arms, shoulders, or legs, you may need to use body foundation to match the face to the body. Its best to use a dampened sponge when applying body foundation. This helps spread the makeup evenly, without streaks.

6. You need to know that in theater, the eyes and mouth are centers for emotion. They will need to be exaggerated. They can be highlighted and colored with more pigment than other facial areas. Just remember that you don't want to look like a raccoon. It is best to stay away from heavily lining the bottom portion of the eye in black. Use a soft brown and smudge if more emphasis is needed. You can exaggerate the line on the top of the eye if appropriate to the role.

7. Curl the lashes and apply mascara one coat at a time, allowing the mascara to dry in between coats. Curling the lashes helps to open up the eye area.

Bald Caps

Making Bald Caps

· You need a Tuffy Head to make a bald cap

· The Tuffy Head has two numbers on each side on top of the head

· 55 back of head for females

· 57 back of head for males

· These numbers need to be cut off before making bald cap

· Leave a gap two thumbs wide for the face

· Latex is used to make a bald cap and,

· Sponges

· Two bowls, 1 for latex and 1 for powder

· Powder brush

· Each layer of latex needs to be dry before powdering it

· To begin – do 4 full layers, dry and powder each

· The 5^th layer is half a layer, dry and powder

· The 6^th layer is a full layer, dry and powder

· The 7^th layer is ¼ layer, top of head, dry and powder

· The 8 layer is a full layer and the last layer, dry and powder

· To remove, peel back from bottom add powder and slowly peel back going from side to side, gently.

Fitting a bald cap

· Cut bald cap according to different faces

· Cut as close to the brows and down and around the ears

· Same with men, but around side burns and around the ears

· Stick on skin with mastic glue

Applying bald caps

· First – swirl hair till its flat, pin or put stocking on

· Slide on bald cap, line needs to be in middle of head

· Ask model to hold sides down and mark areas (make sure not to pull cap too tight)

· 1^st just above the brow, behind ears (if ears will be out) over ears (if ears will be covered), and neck

· Take off bald cap and cut

· Put cap back on, apply mastix to forehead first, then back and sides. (make sure to stick it all down right at the edges)

Can add putty to edges to hide bald cap or add props

Geisha Girl

Geisha Girls makeup look

The Japanese girls had to make a decision in their lives where they had to choose to become a geisha girl or to become just ordinary women. To become a geisha girl they need to study, at a modelling school, the ins and outs of the culture and how to be a professional geisha girl. The geisha girls were used as entertainers as well as squad’s for people. They wore mostly silk clothing. The face is painted all white that indicates perfect foundation. The eyebrows can be straight but it’s optional to do so. They applied red eye shadow just on the outside corners of the eyes. Lots of mascara and eyeliner made the look strong. There was no blush added to their faces, because the eyes and lips are the main focus. The look is completed with a beautiful red lip. The white paint was applied from the face to the neck line that was finished off in the neckline at the back with some sort of arrow.

The theatrical look was very similar to the normal geisha look but the colour red was used all over the face, including as a blush. The eye shadow was applied over the eye onto the cheeks to create the perfect theatrical look at night.

Normal Geisha makeup:

METHOD:

1. Apply white supra over the entire face as well as the neck by using a sponge.

2. Set the white supra with normal powder.

3. Add red eye shadow only to the outer corners of the eyes as applying a makeup no 2.

4. Paint black eyeliner on the top and bottom lash line where the bottom and top liners connect in a point at the inner corners and as one wing on the outer corners.

5. Apply two to three layers of mascara as possible to the eyelashes.

6. Draw in perfect brows with black eye pencil or black eye shadow.

7. Apply a red colour to the lips.

Theatre Geisha makeup:

METHOD:

1. Apply white supra over the entire face as well as the neck by using a sponge.

2. Set the white supra with normal powder.

3. Add red eye shadow to the entire eyelid up to the eyebrows as well as underneath the eyes.

4. Paint black eyeliner on the top and bottom lash line where the bottom and top liners connect in a point at the inner corners and as one wing on the outer corners.

5. Apply two to three layers of mascara as possible to the eyelashes.

6. Draw in perfect brows with black eye pencil or black eye shadow.

7. Contour the hollows of the cheeks with red eye shadow.

8. Apply a red colour to the lips.

Egyptian

Egyptian Make Up and Cosmetics

The Ancient Egyptians, both men and women, wore distinct eye make up, rouge and perfumed oils that softened the skin and prevented burning in the sun and damage from the sandy winds. Not only did the men and women of Egypt wear make up but also the statues of their gods and goddesses were adorned with all these different types of cosmetics. The higher the status of the person the more clothes and make-up they wore.

Egyptian Eye Make Up

The Ancient Egyptian eye make up was extremely elaborate and created the almond eye look which has become synonymous with the Ancient Egyptians. Eye make up had a long history in Ancient Egypt and both men and women were using eye make as early as 4000BC. The eye make they used concentrated in providing color to their eye lashes, eye lids and eye brows. The favorite eye make up colors were black and green. The powders used to create the eye make up were ground on a palette then mixed with water to form a paste.

Egyptian Black Eye Make Up - Kohl

The black coloring of Ancient Egyptian eye make up, favored in the Period of the New Kingdom, was achieved by the use of Kohl.

• The eye make up Kohl was obtained from galena
• Galena is a blue-grey natural mineral form of lead sulfide
• Galena deposits were found and mined in the eastern dessert at Gebel el-Zeit
• One of the earliest uses of galena was as kohl
• Kohl is a mixture of soot and galena. The Egyptian eye make kohl was stored in richly decorated containers called kohl pots.

Egyptian Green Eye Make Up

The green coloring of Ancient Egyptian eye make up was achieved by the use green pigment called malachite.

• Malachite is a copper ore, a carbonate mineral, copper carbonate hydroxide, which has a vibrant green color
• Malachite was used as a mineral pigment in green paints dating from antiquity
• Malachite was imported from the Sinai Desert
• The malchite stone was crushed and then mixed as the green eye make up

Egyptian Face Make Up - Rouge

Ancient Egyptians used a type of rouge to stain their lips and cheeks. The red coloring used by Ancient Egyptian in make up was achieved by the use of ochre.

• Red ochre is a pigment made from naturally tinted clay - hydrated iron oxide
• Ochre has been used since prehistoric times
• To make the ochre used for make up the clay was first mined from the ground, washed to separate sand from ochre and then dried in the sun and sometimes burned to enhance the natural color

Reasons for using Ancient Egyptian Eye Make Up

The Ancient Egyptian eye make up had several purposes, uses and reasons for their application:

• Cosmetic reasons - Ancient Egyptian Eye make up was used to define the eye for purely cosmetic reasons
• Medical reasons - Ancient Egyptian Eye make up was used for medical purposes
  • Ancient Egyptian Physicians prescribed the use of kohl against eye diseases
  • Galena, which made the kohl, had disinfectant qualities
  • Kohl shielded the eye against the sun
  • Kohl also acted as a deterrent to flies!
• Religious & Magical reasons - The green eye make up used by the Ancient Egyptians Eye was believed to induce or evoke the the eye of Horus, the God of the Sky & Sun
• Traditional reasons - Egyptian mothers would apply kohl to the eyes of infants soon after they were born believing its application would strengthen the child's eyes and preventing the child from being cursed by an "evil eye"

Kabuki Make Up

A Chinese word compound in the 16^th century was kabu, meaning song and dance. (song, ka & bu, dance). The Japanese added su meaning ”to do”. At the same time there was a word kabuku meaning “to frolic”, “to disport oneself”, ”flirt”, ”dress a little smartly”. In the late 16^th century a type of risqué dancing was created, the Japanese of the time dubbed it a form of kabuki, but shortly after developed the noun form of the word, KABUKI.

The ki suggested the idea of “trick” or “skill”.

Kabuki has become the most important theatrical art in Japan. There are 3 main form of entertainment, namely noh-kyogen plays and folk art, and benraku ningyojoruri puppet plays.

In Kabuki, sensual attractiveness is considered essential to all types of roles. A kabuki actor, no matter what the role, should have enough physical magnetism to cause a stir of excitement in the viewer by is very appearance eon stage. Kabuki is made up of various combinations of types of characters. All elements of the drama are aimed a creating a perfectly composed stage picture at every moment during the performance. Kabuki is performed directly towards the audience. The actors’ most important job is to make every effort to look attractive and to be in character at every moment.

Each family of actors has their own traditions. The demands made on a kabuki actor are so extreme that it is almost unheard of that any actor’s son, or adopted son, not to become a professional himself. An actor normally makes his debut as a child of 3 or 4. As the child grows up, his elders decide whether he will portray male or female roles.

Kabuki’s unique sense of colour is well expressed in its [peculiar make-up method, called kumador. To exaggerate superhuman power and strength, strong red lines are drawn on the face, arms and legs – to look like the swelling of veins and blood vessels. The kumadori make-up is not used to depict strength only, but also the attributes of various kabuki characters. Each actor does his own make-up, which is then passed down through generations.

Mukimi-kuma – only eye tails are painted red – the role of a young, handsome man

Kuge-guma – using blue paint for a wicked man-power

Suji-guma – red lines all over the face for a powerful samurai warrior

Saru-guma – comical make-up incl. 3 lines over the forehead as a clown

APPLICATION

• Apply your baldcap and stick down with mastix
• Cover the whole face with supra white base
• Apply very neat lines according to the character
• Accentuate the chin lines
• Apply wig

· Kabuki started over 300 years ago in China and was used as theatrical make-up in Japan

· Ka – means “song” bu – means “dance” ki – means “skill”

· There was mainly male roles = Wuakashu kabuki

· This was passed on to generations and decided at young age what role you would play.

· They do freeze motions (“Mie” motions) – which shows the emotions to the audience.

· Kabuki make-up is applied everywhere where bare skin is visible, including arms, legs, feet and hands.