Image Makers: Designers CHAPTI!R SCENERY, COSTUMES, MAKWP, MASKS, WIGS, AND

Stage-designing should be addressed to [the] eye of the mind. There Is an outer eye that observes, and there Is an inner eye that sees.1

Robert Edmond Jane!, The Dramatic lmagina~·M

DesignerS of theatriCal sets, esigners collaborate with directors {and playwrights) td -focus costumes, masks,- puppets, the audiep.ce's attention on the actor in the theatrical space. hair, and wigs r~a1ize tha 0 . They create three-dimensional environments for the actor and production in vfsual terms. make the play's world visible and inte"resting, Sometimes one person (the· They are visual artists scenographer) designs scenery, lighting, and costumes, But in ~ost in­ who transform space stances today, scenery, costumes, lights, and sound are de~igned by indi­ and materials into an vidual artists working in collaboration. Imaginative world for actors engaged in human action. THE SCENE DESIGNER

Background

The seen~ or set designer entered the American theatre more than 100 years ago. The designer's nineteenth-century forerunner was the resident scenic artist, who painted large pieces of scenery !or theatre managers. Scenery's main function in those days was to gl.ve the actor a painted backgroun~ and to Indicate place: a drawing room, garden, etc. Scenic ~ studio~ staffed with specialized artists were set up to· tum out scenery on \ demand. Many of these studios conducted a large mail-order business for 11 ~,.-" r d)> / standard backdrops and scenic pieces.· By the middle of the nineteenth '- '(_a; (1:_ • o'---- _;v- . "' q~ -tl"century, realism had come into the theatre, and the job of making the ~~··•}~ JP~V stage environment look lifelike became a challenge. . . vy- ..r tr By the late nineteenth century. theatre was dominated by a naturalistic 0 ·.J-"=' ar ~~q--'" • philosophy that insisted life could be explained by the forces of environ- ~~ . -w$1' ment, heredity, economics, society, and the psyche. This being the case, ~ ~. 0 -...: ~ ;Y · theatre had to present these forces as carefully and· effectively as possible. oC .F ; XNew York production of German play­ wright Georg Kaiser's From. Mom to Midnight, designed by Lee 51- mon~on, ill an example of expres­ sionistic design and production style, which stressed Imaginative lighting {a'tree has been trans­ formed into a human skeleton}, symbolic decor on an ahnost empty stage, and the distortion of natural appearances. The actor Is dwarfed by the huge projection.

Oedip!L9 the King, designed by JOsef Svoboda and directed by Miroslav Machacek at the National Theatre,'I?rague, ~ 1963. The setting was a vast fllght of stairs, starting in the orchestra pit and reaching almost out of slght. The stairs were punctuated by plat­ furms that thrust out from the stairs th~elves. The_actor playing Oedipus appears on a platform. At the end Oedipus was left alone. Vlrtually all the flat levels disappeared. He climbed an endless stair· case made of acousdcai!y "transparent" material (the orchestra was located beneath the risers), into sharp counterllghting. ·

254 PART THREE • THEATR.E1S PRACTITIONERS ----~------··-----~--

DESIGNERS Appia and Craig

! Adolphe Appla (1862-1928) and Edward Gordon Craig (1872-1'366) built a the theoretical foundations of modern expressionistic theatrical practice. For the J Swiss-born Appla, artistic unity was the bask goal of theatrical production. He disliked • the contradiction In the three-dimensional act?r performing before painted two- d!mensl•;mal scenery, and be advocated the replacement of flat settings with steps, ran:ps, and platforms. He thought the role of lighting was to fuse all visual elements Into a u(1ifted wh?le, His Music arid Stage Setting (I 899) and The Work of Living Art ( 1921) are early -~9ui-,c~ ?Q?ks fo~ modern stage~lightlng pi-a~tic"es . .. _Edward Eog.lli>'h tl>ootck•l I.

Edward· Gordon Craig., Hamlet "Edward Gordol"l Craig's design models for the &mous setl:lnJ of Hamlet for the .1912 Mos~ ArtTh•ntre produalon. Craig daslgn!!d huge white screent to ba sufficiently mobUe that the seene to!lld be changld without closing the front c:urtaln. Unfortunately, the screens did ~ot funetion with the. efficiency he erw!sloned.

CHAPTER ELEYEtl • IMAGB MAKERSl DESIGNERS 255 DESIGNERS ~ •~ and Ming Cho Lee, born in and educated at Occidental College and UCLA, de­ signed his first Broadway show, Eugene O'Neill's Moon for the Misbegotten, In 1962 • I Since then, he has designed scenery for Broadway,,pif Broadway, regional theatres, and •~ and dance compa~les. Speaking of his methods, Ming Cho Lee says, "I generally read the script once just to gei: an Impact from which I will try to form some kind of visual concept. . , , I always design ,, for the total play and let the specifics fit If!. The total play de­ mands some kind of·expresslon through materials, and this Is something., al".ffiys first ask ·a dl· rector..•• And ~~n, 1 woUld

256 PART THREE 8 THEATRE'S PRACTITIONERS John Lee Beatty grem up In Palo Alto, California, and attended Bro'Nn University (R.I.) and the Yale University School ·of Drama, where he studied with designer Ming ':=ho lee. Beatty has designed more than \00 professional productions, including f Broadway's Ain't Misbehavin', , Footloose, Once upon a Mattress, An American ~ Daughter, , The Last Night o(Bol/yhoo, and A Delicate Balance. Kno;v-n for de· ~ signs of poetic realism and playful theatrlca\ settings, Beatty says ofhls process: "My Jo~ as a designer is to design the scenery and to give a designer's point of view., .. Com· J lng up with the design Is what is hard. I normally do a group plan and a rough sketch first .... I usually show a fairly simple sketch to a director .... It's important to iet the director know it's a work In process."~

U enviro~ent (including ecanomic factors) really did govern people's lives, then it needed to be shown. as people ~ally experienced it The demands of realism called for the stage to look like actual places and rooms. The responsibility for creating this stage enVirorupent shifted from the scene painter to the set designer. Realism has been the dominant convention of the theatre in our time. However, many new and exciting movements in the modern theatre came about as reactfons to this direct representAtion of reality, which pretends that the stage is not a stage but

CHAPTER ELEVEN • IMAGE MAKERS: DESIGNERS 257 .£.' Jo ·Mielzlner's original design for Death of a Sale.o;man, by Arthur M!l!er, BroadwaY, 1949.

jo Mlefziner pioneered "selective realism" in sc~nlc de­ els (kitchen, sons' bedr9om, porch, and forestage). The sign. Of his type of design, Mielziner said, "If you elimi­ actors' movements with area lighting were the only nate nonessentials, you've got to b~ sure that the things scene-change devices. The large backdrop upstage you do put in are awfully good: They've got to be was painted to show tenement buildings looming over twice as good, because' they stand alone to make a com-- Willy Loman's house In the play's present time. When ment. , .. I got to feel that even rea!lstlc; plays didn't. lighted from the rear, the buildings washed out to be need realistic settings_l)ecessarily."l rePlaced with projections of trees with leaves, suggest· For 's Death af a Salesman ( 1949), lr:s: Willy's remembered past with its bright sunshi~ Mielziner cles!giled the salesman's house on several lev- and cheerful ambience. ~

someone's living. room and that is really llot present in the dark audito­ rium. Leaders of many avarit-garde, or new, movements in stage design argued ih the early twentieth century that the stage living room and box set were themselVes un­ _natural. They set about pioneering other kinds of theatrical reality for the stage, with such names as expressionism, symbolism, and selected realism. Before the First World War in Europe, Adolphe Appia and Edward Gordon Craig became self-proclaimed prophets ~fa new movement in theatre design and lighting. They were concerned w:ith creating mood and atmosphere, opening up the stage for movement, and unifying visual ideas; they assaulted the illusion of stage realism and led the way to a rethinking of theatrical design. In his Music and Stage Setting, Appia called for theatrical art to be expressive. And today. in the same spirit, many _modern set designers have extended the traditional media of wood, canvas, and paint to in-

158 PART THREE B THEATRE'S PRACTITIONERS elude steel, plastlcs, pipes, ramps, platforms, steps, and computer­ ,• generat~d images to express the play's Imaginative world instead !tlf attempting to reproduce ·realistic details of time and place. Appfa and Craig influenced young American designers of the 1920s-Robert Edmond Jones, Lee Simonson, and Norma.n Bel Geddes-who dedicated themselves to bringing the "new stage­ craft" to Broadway. 'f!vo generations of American scene designers followed their lead. Prominent among them are , the designer of Death of a Salesman, , and The King and f; , the designer of Cabatet, Com- pany, and ; , designer of ; gin ••••IO.AJ>d ,· and ; Min·g Cbo Lee, designer of Hair, for colored girls who have consid.eTed suicidejwhen the rain­ bow is enuf, and K2; and John Lee Beatty, designer of revivals of The Heiress and Chicago.

Stage Design-as Visual Storytelling Many think of designers as detectives who uncover the visual ~lues that reveal the in­ ner life of the play, its characters, and the external environment in which they live. 6 As a member of a collaborative te';illl, including director and other designers, the set designer assembles an imaginative world out of ":ords, images, notes, sketches, pho­ tographs, paint chips, computer renderings, three-dimensional models, and so on. ·

AnlllSpedor Calls The 1994 revival of J. B. Priestley's play with spectacu­ lar moving scenery, designed by Ian MacNeil, unfolds onstage to disclose a realistic interior and colla.pses at the play's end.-Directed by Stephen Daldry.

CHAPTER ELEVEN • IMAGB MAKERS: DESIGNBRS 159 ·. ·'

(CAD)

Computer software (AutoCAD is one of the most pop· concerned about the expressive, persona! side of hand ular software programs) Is avallab!e to assist In technical drafting, prefers a combination of drafting by hand and areas of theatrical design and production. The most computer-asslste~jdraftlng. She says, "I feel that com­ coinmon use of computers Is. In the area of drafting, in: puter technology has been a great help In my work as a c:luding groun~ plans, elevations, and other drawings to ·scenic_ deslgn_er. Aside from myriad web sites on period . .. describe scenery, proPei:t;ies, and production models, style, architectural· projects, and hard to find resources, providing a complete visualization of the scenic de­ I find it most useful In promoting timely commun!c3.t!on signer's cr~ative concept. with the design tea_m. I can take a digital photograph of a Designers pri\!se computer-aided design as promot­ set model or scan a drawing and send It, In a matter of Ing timely communications with a design team located in minutes, to col!eagues scattered over the map. W~~ various parts ofthe country. Designer McKay Coble, have a visual 'conference call' whenever we want." 7 ~

Although there are no hard-and-fast rules about approaches to stage design, de­ .. signers usually begin by studying the script in much the same way that the director does, visualizing details of place, movement, mood, metaphor, architecture, and ob­ jects in space. They ask a lot of questions in intellectually rigorous and artistically supple ways. What are the requirements oft~<:' script and the director? How will the director approach the staging? Is there a concept? What is the play's historical period~ Is it important to the director's concept? How does the play proceed in time1 WQ.at kinds of actions are required of the characters? What elements from life are essential to the play's world? What exits and entrances are n~eded? Are backdrops needed for the exterior and interiOr worlds? Are properties and furniture requfred1 Is the audi· ence part of the stage· space? As the set designer analyzes the _play's world and visualizes the space, sketches and models are share~ with the director and t)le collaborative team. (Polished renderings are time-consuming and are n?t always needed as part of the visual dialogue.) Rough pencil drawi_ngs Or sketches are made in the early period :when tioth director and de· signer are visualizing the theat):ical space. When their ideas reach some degree of con· creteness, they agree on a ground plan (the shape and dimension of the playing area as seen from abOve). For some desig~ers, three-dimensional models are the most valu­ able tools to show the v1s-q.al transfOrmations (shapes, colors, back~ops, furniture, etc.) of the stage space and the way the story will be told. The design process takes several months of research, qu·estloning, and analysis. Fort example, if the play is set in a historical period, what architecture, furniture, and decor are appropriate1 OD.ce director and set designer arrive at the look and details of the space, scenic costs are calculated and often revised. The designer's drawings are glven to the theatre's production manager, technical director, and shop foreman as the final step in the transformatj.on from words on a page to the visual worlds of the production.

260 PART THREE B THEATRE'S PRACTITIONERS {or Brecht's Mother Courage Her Children

Berto!t Brecht's favorite designers-Teo Otto, Caspar Neher, and Karl von Appen-dld not create Illusions of real places but provided background materials (projections on a rear cycle~ rama, Placards, signs, and set pieces, ~uch as Mother Courage's wagon) that commented on the play's historical period and the characters' soda­ economic circumstances. The setting itself (the open theatrical space) was used tq make the dramatk action and individuals appear strange or unfami!­ ia:. Outv>rardly, they resembled little that was familiar in our daily lives. Brecht did not disguise the fact that all _;va's taking place in a theatre under ex­ posed l!ghting instruments, creating ''white light," and before an a'udlence. The Berliner Ensemble's 1949 production of Brecht's Mother Courage and Her.Chfldren. in (for­ mer) East Berlin was originally designed by Teo Otto. In this final scene, Mother Courage's wagon Is the main set piece, which actress Helene Weigel as Courage, alone in the harness, pulls toward yet another war.

For the Berlin production of MDther Coura.ge and Her Clli1drl!1l. at tl:le Deutsch.es Theater in 1949, Brecht used the set model de­ ~by Teo Otto for the 1941

ZUrich production. n .-HS'----- and movable screens,i' I on a revolve, ox turntabl , e .f.-· --. 21-- main set pieces of the •

CHAPTER ELEVEN • fMAGE MAKERS: DESIGNERS 261 THE CosTUME DESIGNER

Costume design bas been compared by designer to a car trip in wh_ich unpredictables ?f life pop up-unavailable fab~ic, the .inadequate budg~t, the temperamental actor. The designer, like the car's driver, remains in a constant state of problem solving. ,t

.Costume by Designer Lucinda The C_ostume Ballard Bla.il.che DuBois' famous party costume/what Stanley Costumes include all the character's garments and accessories {purse, cane, jewelry, Kowalski calls Blanche's gwom­ -handkerchief), all items related to hairdressing, and everything associated with face out Mardi Gras outfit,H was cre­ and Qody makeup, including masks. ated by for the Costumes tell us many things about the characters and about the nature, mood, 1947 Broadway production of A Streetcar Named Desire. Ten­ and style of the play. As visual signals, they add color, style, and meaning to the play's nessee Williams described the environment. Costumes establish period, social class, economic status, occupation, dress as a "somewh.3.t soiled and age, geography, weather, and time of day. They help clarify the relationships and rel­ crumpled white satin eVenii:J.g ative importance of various characters. Ornament, line, and color can tie together gown and a pair of scuffed silver members of a family, group, faction, or party. Changes in costume can indicate alter­ slippers with brllliants set In the ation in i-elatimlships among characters or in a character's psychological outlook. Sim­ heels,~ A rhinestone tiara, bracelet, and faded corsage com­ . flariti.es or contrasts in costumes can show sympathetic or antagonistii: relatioJ:?-ships. pleted the costtl.ffie. Hamlet's black costume, for instance, is contrasted with the bright colors worn "\lY the court and speaks eloquently of his altered attitude toward the court. Designer Lucinda Ballard's costumes for A Street­ car Named Desire express Blanche DuBois' self-image of Southern gentility. Years ago, the actor, manager, or person in charge of stage wardrobe was responsible for costumes. But in the last eighty years, the new stagecraft bas required designers · trained to ~elect and control these visual elements with great attention .to detail, Designers are involved in costume re­ search and in sketching, preparing costume plates, assess­ ing color choices, choosing fabric, and sometimes oversee­ ing construction. Depending upon the size. of the theatre's buf:!_get, there can be many assistants involved in cutting, sewing, fi~g, and making shoes, boots, and accessories. Today, costume design and construction have become a major industry. Professional designers work in film, fash­ ion, theatre, opera, television, dance, commercials, and extravaganzas (ice shows, nightclubs, circuses, and dance revues). The large costume hOuses, such as Broadway Cos­ tume Rental, Inc. (located in Queens, N.Y.), Western Cos­ tume (North Hollywood), Warner Studios (Bur­ bank, calif.), and Mal~bar Ltd. (Toronto), rent and build costumes on demand. (They do not buy from closing Broad­ way and touring shows but accept donations instead.) The

262 PART THREE· a THEATRE'S PRACTITIONERS COSTUME DESIGNERS and William lvey Long

Jane Greenw?od Is one of the American theatre's premier costume designers. She designed her first professional costumes at the Oxford P~ayhouse () anc:l worked in Canada at the Stratford (Ontario) Festlv~l for three seasons. In she made her Broadway debut in 1963 with The Ballad of the Sad Ca{e. Her many Broadway credits Include The Prime of Miss jean Brodie, Ca/i(ornfd Suite, The Last Night of Balfthao, Master Oass, , Some Time Nt!xt Year, The Scarlet Pimpernel, and James joyce's The Dead. She has designed for. Off Broadway and fcir regional theatres, and her costumes are seen in such films as Arthur, The Four Seasons, 84 Charing Crpss, a\ld Glen· garry Glen Ross. She has designed for the and Martha Clarke dance comPa­ nies and the world premier'e of the opera· The Great Gatsby. Her many awards include twelve Antoinette Perry "Tony" Award. nomlnatl?ns, the Award for Ufe­ ~me Achievement, the ~CE Award, an.d the Amer)can !h~atre Wing Design Award. She teaches cos:tume d!ls~n at the Yale !Jolversity Sc~oo{.gf Drama. / William lvey Lq~g stu9ie.d hlstor}- at The Co!!e.i;e :9fWilliam and Mary {V;!.)ii.nd se,t design at the Ya!e,l)n!v~rsity S.c.hool of prama, with Ming \Zho Lee: H.is.. design cred-. its include musical revivals of Chicago, 1776, Smo~ey Joe's Annie Get Your Gun; and- The Music Mati; and the ·

Hairsproy, with costumes byWilllam lvey long, Directed by Jack O'Brien, w[th ·choreography by jerry Mftchetr, Broadway, 2002.

l CHAPTER ELEVEN • IMAGE MAKERS; DESIGNERS 263 Costume Collection and Odds Costume Rental & Fur (both in New York City) do not build costumes but rent to nonprofit organizations such as. regional, community, and university theatres. A visit to these collections is not only an,exciting adventure in If­ self but also serves as a tour through the history of theatrical design.

Th~, Designer's Process ,I Set and costume designers work with directors to make visible the world in which the ~~\o. play's characters live. They explore verbally and with rough sketches many different approaches and creative Ideas to bring that world into ~eatrical focus onstage. De­ 1\0:" JA- \,.i signers reinforce with visual elements the director's concepts and, in so doing, often inspire the director 'to think in a different way about the. play. Award-winning designer \-A-\ c;. \""'-0 )£. ~ Theoni V. Aldredge says about costwnes: "The- costumes are there to serve a pro­ ducer's vision, a director's viewpoint, and an actor's comfort." like the director and the set designer, the costume designer begins by studying the script and taking note of the story, mood, characterization, visual effectS, colors, atmospher~, geography, period, and season. Then the designer asks the practical ques­ tions: How many costumes (including changes) and accessories are required? What is Patricia Zipprodt's elaborate pe­ the costume budgeH What actors have been cast? What stage actions, such as fight­ rlod costumes for Mo!JI!re's Don ing, will affect the construction or wear of the costumes? Juan. In the pro­ duction, directed by Richard Design Conferences Foreman. Zipprodt ~as ·once The overall plan of the production is worked out in design conferences. The costume overheard saying that "velcro" is the costume designer's designer brings sketches, color plates, costume charts, accessory lists, and fabric favorite word. swatches to these meetings to make his or her v.isual concept clear to the di­ rector and scene designer. The costwne designer must be specific to avoid later misunderstandings and costly last-minute changes. Sometimes a brilliant costume design develops through trial and error. · While designing the costumes for the Broadway production -of the musical Pip- • pin, Patricia Zipprodt Wd director ~ad difficulty deciding on the right look for the strolling players. The musical is performed by a group of ac­ tors costumed as some kind of theatrical caravan, who relate the story of Charlemagne's eldest son, , an idealist journeying through courts, battles, and love's intrigues. The script said, "Enter strolling players of an in- determinate period.n Zipprodt remembers: '

Now, to me, this m'7allt exactly nothing. I did a lot of sketches, which everybody seemed to like. On the day I was supposed to present finished sketches, time ran short. Instead of fully coloring the costumes of the strolling players as was planned and expected, I just painted beige and off-white washes so that Fosse could read the sketches more easily. I put the whole group of 14 or 15 in front of him and was Just about to apolo­ gize for not getting the color done when he said, "That's Just brilliant, exactly the colors they should be. How clever of You." The minute he said it, I knew he was right.•

164 PART THREE 8 THEATRE'S PRACTITIONERS COSTUME DESIGNER Theoni V. Aldredge

The final musical number of A O!orus Une (1975), conceived by Michael Bennett and costumed by Theon! V. Aldredge.

- .. •., "\ ·.'! .'' 1 .ff:_-o".•.l)~'- ~~·~-\;.! ·r;'!>::<;) . \1Jh;.Q,~},Y.~~~~I;".~~&~·}q~,e 2J W,~?!J.~re'~-~~-tt g!~e.cJ,,\1[\9_ ~~.~!;1£Cted designers, has pro­ .. , d)J.c.~4111Q,_rg th~n;.l ,pQ~.j::o_s~~m~~ .~..n~ .d~~~~~~~~~coit.!Jm.~~,JQrifive hit musltals i:hat ran __ sln'tUitar'\eo_usly·on: Broa!!wayi A Cho111s ·unet:4lnd: Streetr PJ~O/rlgir/s, La ·· folies, · ">O

. -.

CHAPTER ELEIVEN • IMAGE MAKERS: DESIGNERS 265 Construction at Barbara Matera-5

Barbara Matera's, the most venerable of New York major designers for theatre, opera, dance, and fi!m. City's costume construction shops, was founded in 1967 Their work can b~r:een today In such recent Broadway by Barbara and Arthur Matera and Is n~:IV{ owned by shows and national tours as The Uon King, Aida, Boy . Jared Aswegan, who inherited the business. from OZ, , , and Dirty Rott~!U'ii'"" Over the years, Matera's has created costumes with Scoundrels. .. -· ~·"''

But more often, the final designs are selected after numerous alternatives have been explored.

Costume Construction After approving sketches and plans, the director turns full attention to rehearsals, and -the costume designer arranges for construction, purchase, or rental"of costumes and schedules measurements and fittings with the actors. If the costumes are being con­ structed in the theatre's shop (as is most often the case in college, university, and res­ ident theatres), actors are measured, patterns cut, dyeing and painting of fabric done, garments constructed, and accessories built or purChased. After several individual fittings with the aCtors, the costumes are ready for the dress parade, during which Costume Preparations The designer and director examine the. costumes on the actors before the dress rehearsal costume technician's tools-in­ begins. dustrial sewing machines and To accomplish this work, the professional designer coordinates with assistant de­ irons, worktables, dress forms, signers, shop supervisors, cutters, drapers, seamstresses, wigmakers, milliners, and movable racks, and storage cabi­ nets-are available in the mod­ other assistants to cut, sew, dye, and make hats, footwear, and wigs. Often in small ern costume shop. costume shops this personnel doubles up· On the responsibilities. In the-'New York the­ atre, the construction of costulnes fs Jobbed out to such busi­ nesses as Barbara.Matera's, where designs are turned into cos­ tumes and delivered to the Broad~y companies.

Dress Rehearsal and Wardrobe Personnel The dress parade and dress rehearsal (where costumes, makeup, ~d masks are worn onstage with full scenery and lights) usually take place a week before opening night. It is not unusual to dis­ cover that the color of a fabric doesn't work under the lights or against the scenery. In this event, the desig!).er may redesign the garment, select another fabric or color (or both), and have the costume reconstructed or dyed almost overnight and ready for the next rehearsal or opening performance. Once costumes and accessories are finished, the costumes leave the shop and the wardrobe crew takes charge of them dur­ ing dress rehearsals and performances. Their responsibility is to

166 PART THREe • THEATRE'S PRACTITIONERS mend, press, clean, and maintain the costumes for the length of the play's run.I_Although in the professional theatre there Is a .. c~ar-cut division between tl].ese two groups, in college and uni­ versity theatres the construCtion and wardrobe crews may be many of the same people. Before dress rehearsals begin, the wardrobe supervisor (long ago called the wardrobe master or mistress), or crew head, makes a list of the costumes and accessories worn by each actor. These lists. are used by crew members and actors to check that each costume is complete before each performance. The ward­ robe "running" crew helps each actor dress and make quick changes and is responsible for costumes before, during, and af­ REPERTORY COMPANY, N.C. ter each performance. Wardrobe routines are established during the dress rehearsal period and· are strictlY. followed during pro- duction, The crew is also responsible for "striking" the costumes .when the production clOses. Costumes are cleaned, laundered, and- returned to the rental houses or placed in storage along with accessories; such as hats, wigs, hand­ bags, shoes, and jewehy.

· - -,;;:;,2. M AKEUP, MASKS, WIGS, AND HAIR UUI a. · \..ta.q,~1:1 \\."' _j\-z

Makeup ' Makeup enhances the actor and completes the costume, It is essential to the actor's visibility. In a large theatre, distance and lighting make an actor's features without makeup colorless and indistinct. Like the costwne, makeup helps the actor reveal character by giving physical clues to age, background, ethnicity, health, -personality, and environment. · In the ancient Asian and Greek theatres, actors used a white-lead makeup with heavy accents, or lilien or cork masks, Today, basic makeup consists of a foundation and color shadings to prevent the actor from looking "washed out" beneath the glaie of the stage lights. Pancake makeup has replaced greasepaint, or oil-based makeup, as the foundation for the actor's.basic skin color. Cake makeup-less messy and more flexible than greasepaint-comes in small plastic cases, as everyday makeup does;·and is ap­ plied with a damp sponge. Color shadings with rouge, lipstick, liners, mascara, and powder are applied with pencils and brushes, A well-equipped makeup kit (which c:an be purchased inexpensively from theatrical-supply houses) includes standard fo~da­ _tions and shading colors plus syntJ;etic hair, glue, solvents, wax, and hair whiteners.

Straight~ Character. and Fantasy Makeup Makeup is classified as straight and character. Straight makeup highlights an actor's featuxes and coloring for distinctness and visibility.. Character makeup transforms the actor's features to reVeal age or attitude, Noses, wrinkles, eyelashes, jawlines, eye pouches, eyebrows, teeth, hair, and beards c:an be added to change the actor's

CHAPTeR ELEVEN II IMAGE MAKERSl DESIGNERS 267 The "cats~ In the musical wore costumes and makeup designed by and wigs designed by Paul Huntley.

\

Modern Masks in Le~; Atride~; The chorus of baboon-faced dogs appearance. Character (sometimes called illustratiye) makeup can make a young ac­ with polllted snouts are cos­ tor look older; can give the actor playing Cyrano his huge, bulbous nose; and can tumea In masks designed by Er­ hard Stiefel for The Eumenides, transform Sir Laurence Olivier into Othello the Moor. When misused, maKeup can the .final part of Ariane Mnouch­ destroy the actor's characteriz;;ttion by giving an external look that conflicts with the l

268 PART THREE • THEATRE'S PRACTITIONERS