MASKS: A JOURNEY FOR DISCOVERY

by Stephanie Miller P. D. P., Simon Fraser University, 1994 B.G.S., Simon Fraser University, 1993

Thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts in the Faculty of Education

Q Stephanie Miller 2000 SMON FRASER UNIVERSITY March 2000

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This thesis explores the educational value of mask improvisation. It argues that within the stylized medium of the mask, the actor and audience create an original non-realistic reality rather than remaining within a naturalistic or traditional framework. This is an important element in drama education because working in a non-realistic, stylized medium inspires the exploration of fresh paradigms and challenges any unitary or single interpretation of the world. It encourages both the actor and audience to perceive and respond in imaginative and interpretive ways. In mask improvisation participants go beyond their usual relationship to their everyday environment because they transform their own natural physical appearance. This cm result in their imagining new possibilities intellectually, physically and emotionally. When improvisation is only focused on private experience and the student's own inner resources, the understanding of circumstances, social values or conventions that affect human behaviour may be ignored. When limited to this type of improvisation, where the focus is on the authenticity of the student's own reactions in a problem-solving situation, the actor only explores familiar contexts. These are determined by leamed behaviours and experiences and result in habitua1 gestures and interpretations which are a reflection of the actor's own experiences. This results in a reproduction of ready-made ideas. Mask improvisation introduces students to the dramatic elements of characterization, movement and voice. It requires a set i v of skills through movement and voice that are explored while the participant is wearing the mask. Mask work demands an active act of imagining things to be different because the body and face are changed as a result of the mask. The mask frees the participants to imagine being another, and express images from a point of view other than their own. Dedication

In memory of my father Henryk Miller, who imagined many possibilities.

To my mother , Jadwiga.

To my sons, Mxand Jared.

To my husband, Stephen. who has traveled the journey with me. Acknowledgments

My sincere thank you to the following for their gracious assistance in providing research materials, ideas, discussions. direction, encouragement, writing and editing techniques:

Dr. Sharon Bailin, Dr. Flemming Larsen. Dr. Yaroslav Senyshyn, my fellow colleagues in the graduate program and Shirley Heap.

A special thanks to my friend and colleague Danielle Vezina, my husband, Stephen Miller. and my sons, Max and Jared. vii TABLE OF CONTENTS

Page Approval page ii Abstract iii Dedication v Acknowledgments vi Table of Contents vii

INTRODUCTTON: 1 Mask Improvisation and Role-play Improvisation 5

CHAPTER 1: History of Mask in Drama 18

CHAPTER 11: The Mask, the Actor and the Audience 3 1 The Actor and the Masks 3 6 The Audience 5 O

CHAPTER 111: The Educational Value of Mask Improvisation 61 Non-realistic medium 6 1 Exploration of Social Conventions 6 5 Enhancing Characterization 7 2 Divided Consciousness 7 8 Introduction

Every face tells a story. Each nuance reveals a different chapter, a possibility, a mystery or even an invitation. Faces make you smile, laugh, cry and even hide. What happens when you put on a mask? Does the face tell a different story? What effect does the mask have on the individual who wears it? What about the effect on the audience that watches the masked performer? In this dissertation 1 will argue for the benefits of mask improvisation in drarna education. It is my claim that through the use of masks in improvisation, an original non-realistic reality can be created rather than the staging of a naturalistic or traditional one. This is an important eiement in drama education because working in a non-realistic, stylized medium inspires the exploration. of fresh paradigms and challenges a unitary and single interpretation of the world. It encourages both the actor and audience to perceive and respond in an imaginative and interpretive way. The mask connects to other histories, cultures, arts, utilitarian and religious purposes, however, these areas are beyond the scope of this thesis. Mask improvisation places less of an emphasis on the actor as an individual and creates a social activity which requires the participation of two partners, the actor and the audience. The latter becomes active in creating the finished product because they are "reading" the interpretation of the former. Since it is a non-realistic situation that is being modeled, the audience must extend its critical thinking in order for interpretation to be manifested. The audience is not imrnediately drawn into a "slice of life" as in a naturalistic 2 improvisation. but they are awakened to actively become aware. recreate and reconstmct an interpretation of their experience so that it will have meaning. It is important to emphasize the role of the audience in drama education because the participatory role of the audience is largely ignored by some drama theorists including Brian Way (1967) and Dorothy Heathcote (1984~).whose focus is primarily on the interna1 development of the student. When the audience component of drama is ignored, they do not become validated as recipients and influencers of ciramatic art. Although audiences today are comfortable when it cornes to electronic media, students need to become stage literate if they are to understand the multitude of signifiers with which they are presented in live theatre (Hornbrook, 1991, p.96). An audience's ability to critically perceive and respond to drama requires the development of the skill of interpretation. In mask improvisation, the actor's face is covered with a mask that can be made out of paper, papier mache, leather or plaster. This presents the challenge of discovering ways of expression that go beyond the reliance that the actor has on the face. Although relevant to transforming the physical characteristics of the performer, the effect of make-up as a facial covering and masks used in ritual. are beyond the scope of this paper. Mask improvisation requires a variety of masks. There are masks that are expressionless and those are called neutral masks. Neutra1 masks prompt an exploration of the habitua1 rnovement and gestures of the actor. This is important because these idiosyncratic movements or gestures might be out of place when playing certain 3 roles when not in the mask. 1 will eiaborate in chapter 2. In contrast to the neutral mask there are character masks that have exaggerated, peculiar or distinctive features or characteristics. The characteristics of these masks are of a descriptive rather than a prescriptive nature. They enable the participants to interpret the dominant features of the mask into an image and from that image explore the possibilities of creating and representing a fictional character. For dramacic purposes, this is also referred to as characterization. Character masks are discussed further in detail in chapter 2. Mask improvisation is one of the ways of inviting an audience to become actively aware of the social process of interpretation. It is not an introspective experience but one that requires becoming awake to the social interaction that occurs in a dramatic event which includes the exploration of characters, social values and conventions surrounding the context of the mask improvisation. German sociologist, Alphons Silbermann (as cited by F. Graeme Chalmers in Blandy and Congdon, 1987), makes the foliowing claim about art:

no modem thinking social scientist... can overlook the fact that the arts, like economics, law, religion, the state, etc., are ultimately expression of culture and society. as is already clear from the fact that they can be viewed from such different angles as symbolic representation, communication processes or. in the last analysis. social processes (p.6).

Central to mask use in drama education is the ability for both actor and audience to go beyond their relationship to their everyday environment as well as to transform their own natural physical appearance. Through mask improvisation the actor can imagine other possibilities intellectually, physically and emotionaliy. Helen Nicholson claims that in the earlier days of the Anglo- American women's movement, theories of drama education leaned toward the notion of exploring realism as a way of finding the truth of a situation with the aim of studying the self and its social circumstances (Nicholson. 1995. p.33). She goes on to explain that later theories have questioned the idea of a universal female experience and an essential inner self. The shift has been towards using the imagination to create new possibilities rather than generating the traditional roles imposed upon wornen. Nicholson (1995) argues,

Through imagination, they are able to 'write the body' and escape from the oppressive closure of 'reality'. This reverses the political agenda for the arts; it is the imaginary rather than the real which is ernancipatory (p.33).

Mask improvisation mediates meaning through the complex and imaginative ways of using the mask. It introduces students to the dramatic elements of characterization, movement and voice. It requires a set of skills through movement and voice that are explored organically through the mask. Mask work demands an active act of imagining things to be different because the body and face are changed as a result of the mask. The mask frees the participants to imagine being another, and expressing images from another point of view. The mask, no longer a separate artifact hanging on a museum wall. fuses with the actor and begins to tell a 5 story by transforming familiar contexts and assumptions that are generally held by both actor and audience. Mask improvisation lends itself and its characteristics to the interpretation of the actor and audience as well as creating new drama. In this process al1 participants must bring to their interpretation their own experiences, lived and observed. and move beyond themselves to create and reconstruct a new totality.

Mask Improvisation and Role-play Improvisation

In the 1940s in Britain, the Speech and Language movement believed the rationale for using theatre with children was to teach language and the skills of oratory, and poise in public as well as learning expected moral behaviours through identification and osmosis (Levy, 1987, p.44). In the 1950s a change took place where the emphasis on speech, demeanor and elocution was rejected. Peter Slade (1954), author of Child Drama, moved drama in education towards a Rousseauian child-centered view of self- expression. He claimed that a discovery of moral truth was possible through inner reflection (Hornbrook, 1989, p.11). This historical evolution created the dramdtheatre dichotomy which separates drama and theatre into two distinct camps. Although in contemporary education, this dichotomy is not as distinct, the goals in 'drama-in-education' and the effect they have on improvisation bear some scrutiny in relation to mask improvisation. 'Drama-in-education' is a movement that focuses on private 6 experience and is valued in education for the possibilities of social and emotional growth of the individual. Brian Way claims, "It is comparatively easy to develop drama. but more difficult to develop people (Way. 1967, p.2). The emphasis in 'drama-in-education' is on a persona1 experience wherein the student is "living through" emotions and having moments where genuine morality surfaces in a dramatic situation, rather than on the planned efforts of a theatrical performance. Way strongly argues that drama involves an appeal to the intuitive and not the intellect which he claims interferes with the spontaneity of the dramatic experience. This dramatic experience occurs through improvisation, which rneans there is no script to give advanced knowledge to the participants. The participants of the improvisation are to discover or experience what they will do next while in the improvisation. The goal is that through a completely subjective process, authentic feelings felt by the participants will lead to the discovery of objective and essential truths of the human condition. In doing so, the emotional and social development of the student is advanced making this exercise educationally valued. This is a form of improvisation that is called role drama. Role drama improvisation is rea!ity-based and works within a realistic medium. It involves the participants taking on attitudes, not characters, at a "lived-at life rate" (Heathcote, 1984, p.61). This requires a suspension of beliefs and the willingness to pretend to be in the situation by the participants. Dorothy Heathcote (1984) claims that role-cirama attempts to create a living picture of a life. Its aim is for the participant to grapple with a problem which is inherent in 7 the theme or the story-line. The discoveries that are made through the problem-solving situation are aimed at the participants of the improvisation rather than an audience. The claim is that there is no audience in role drama. However, the teacher exerts a strong force in the drama by taking on a role in the group, leading the direction of the group's activities by guiding their communication (Heathcote. 1984, p.43). The goal is for the teacher to know the basic purpose of the exercise and have the students problem-solve it by "living through" the improvisation (Heathcote, 1984, p.48). The value of role drama depends on the actor's own inner resources and persona1 uniqueness (Way, 1967, p.6). Heathcote (1984) claims:

The factor special to drama is that it achieves these in 'heated' not 'cold' circumstances which are unique-that is when 'a willing suspension of disbelief applies, and when those concerned are using their subjective world to illuminate and understand the motivation of others through role-playing (p.55).

It is believed that the inward focus leads to discoveries and results in the emotional and social development of the student. Since role drama involves immediate and spontaneous experiences. other dramatic elements which include performance. audience, skills related to voice and movement. are elirninated. The latter are seen as interfering with the immediacy of the improvisation. Skills and audience are not an essential component in role drama because the focus is on the immediate experience of the participants. Performance and audiences are seen as an attempt to coerce or 8 impose comrnunicating and indicating to an audience. which leads to artificiality and takes away from the authenticity of the experience (Way, 1967, p.3). This type of view is problematic in a variety of ways. With an emphasis on authenticity of the self in the situation, some students may not be able to identify with the improvisation. The implication of a universal truth may not apply to a panicular individual because their inner sense of self is different from the expectations and intentions set forth by the teacher in the improvisation. As a result, their behaviour might not be "correct" in the given circumstances. Since the role of teacher is important in role drama, the student, in order to remedy the situation, begins to display behaviour that is teacher approved. Second, to problem-solve a situation where there is some sort of universal tmth implies that there is one correct appropriate behaviour. It negates the understanding of circumstances, social values or conventions and their effect on decision-making. When limited to only this type of improvisation, where he is conscious of the authenticity of his own reactions in a problem-solving situation, the actor only explores familiar contexts. The problem solving that occurs in the improvisation is determined by learned behaviours and experiences and results in the habitua1 nuances, gestures, and interpretations which are a reflection of the actor's own experiences. This results in a reproduction of ready-made ideas. Third, the dependence on the teacher as the supplier for material is not only exhausting for the teacher, but keeps the students dependent on her, rather than developing skills in 9 approaching characterization in a systematic, independent way . Objectives, criteria, a focus on movement, nuances in gesture and voice are areas that are examined in mask improvisation. Mask improvisation in a drama curriculum gives students creative opportunities to develop their judgment and interpretation, as well as skills in movement, voice and characterization. Also, in role drama the teacher's intentions are never made explicit, therefore. the teacher's own values may be passed on as universal truths. A teacher might structure an improvisation where the student might be brought to "understand" sorne controversial points of view, for example, that a woman's place is in the home or working class people are oppressed (Bailin, 1993, p. 102). Sharon Bailin (1993) points out:

The possibility of manipulating students is particularly acute in such cases because students are not simply being directed to accept rational assessments they are being set up to feel a certain way about issues. And, although there may be some reflection on the drama experience, rational assessrnent of judgments implicit in these feeling-judgments may never occur (p.102).

Nicholson (1995) claims that, "the processes of role play and improvisation have been aimed at understanding the self and social circumstances" (Nicholson. 1995, p.33). However, she eloquently goes on to explain:

If there is an acknowledgment that any representation of the self is both an interpretation and a performative act, reading the self becomes no longer a simple act of observation. Crucially, it challenges the ethics of realism by accepting that there is no such thing as a politically neutral reading of identity (p. 32).

Putting on a mask is a performative act that requires interpretation. It is a study of character and values rather than universal truths. Although the mask is fixed and rigid. its interpretation reveals implicit cultural attitudes and conventions. The medium of the mask presents both actor and audience with a process of discovering and imagining new worlds. It begins with the mask as an artifact separate from the actor as it lies on a table waiting for the actor to reflect and interpret it. As the actor holds it, moves it around and examines it, he begins to discover the range of character possibilities that exist within the particular mask that he is holding. The mask becomes a text to an actor who is using it in improvisation. The light shed on the mask begins to reflect a dominant characteristic that dominates the mask itself which the actor can identify. It is not a prescnbed quality but one that can be described. This results in the beginning of a fusion between the actor and the mask. It requires negotiation between the subjectivity of the actor and objectivity of the mask. Once the actor puts on the mask, an imaginative transformation occurs. The most noticed and familiar body part of the actor is covered. Consequently, the mask is no longer an artifact or prop but it becomes an extension of the actor's physical and emotional being. He must reflect it, interpret it and negotiate with it, both physically and emotionally, resulting in the creation of a new reality through mask characterization. Although the mask is a concrete object, it becomes a transparent medium for both actor and audience to participate and make meaning through. It is not merely an artifact or a prop, but once the mask becomes an extension of the actor, the moment itself. of "being" the character. makes it a far more complex and imaginative reality. It is based on a constant movement and dialoging that occurs between the subjectivity of the participants and the objectivity of the mask. The process itself is not introspective but the participants are always aware of the character in the world, moving away from only examining themselves, towards exploring and demonstrating an understanding of another. Maxine Greene (1975) suggests that "Consciousness, being intentional, throws itself outward toward the world, It is always consciousness of something-a phenomenon. another penon, an object in the world" (Greene, 1975. p.304). Although mask improvisation has a performance focus where both audience and actor participate in meaning making, it is also experiential. However, the leaniing objectives are not solely based on the interna1 development of the individual. Rather the goal is to discover the richness and potential that the external world holds for the imagination of the actor (Eldredge, 1996, p. 22). Central to mask improvisation is the audience and their participation in the event. As the audience watches the actor with a mask on, they are aware of the mask, yet at the same time it becomes transparent because the audience is actively interpreting and imagining the circumstances of the masked character on stage. Their participation in the event is constantly being reshaped. They are moving between their own experiences and interpreting the concrete mask and how it is being used to express a character. An 12 exampie of this is when the audience watches the masked actor on stage. Instead of noticing only the mask, or the actor. the audience begins to reflect on the character that is being portrayed. They must conjure up an imagined reality for the character based on the actions that they are viewing on the stage because the mask, being unrealistic allows them the freedom to do so. The audience negotiates between the described range within the mask, what the actor is doing and their own life experiences. On the other hand, the actor who is wearing the mask has an opportunity to change who he is. He must move away from the self and recreate a character whose image he imagines is in the mask that he is wearing. This character is physically different than the actor himself because once he puts it on, his face takes on a new fom. With a change in physicality cornes emotional differences as well. No longer does the actor or audience view a "slice of life" or a naturalistic theatrical fom, but the mask creates an added dimension for an imaginative perception of reality. However, the imaginative reality that is created is guided by the rnask. As a result, there is a constraint of interpretation for both actor and audience, yei there is room for negotiation of interpretation by both actor and audience. This negotiation is dependent on the range inherent in the mask. Mask improvisation can be compared to Impressionism. When looking at a Seurat painting up close, the style of the dots of colour is what becomes obvious. Stepping away from the artwork, the observer can begin to notice the reality that the artist was creating through a very meticulous process. The artist and audience learn to 13 appreciate the aesthetics of the art as well as beginning to recognize the importance of colour, line and space that create that perception of reality. Al1 these combined create a work that the artist and audience commit to understanding through their imagination, experience and intellect. The painting becomes a symbolic work where there is a demand on the audience to participate in the creation of the impression. The artist must use his ski11 of colour, perspective and line to create an imaginative reality. It is through this process of mask work that an imagined reality is fostered. The actor moves away from traditional type- casting associated with his face and explores new points of view representing a fictional character. By exploring new existences through mask characterization, the actor challenges a determined, unitary vision and single interpretation of reality. By using his own persona1 narrative as well as the inherent needs of the mask, a dialogical approach follows. This offers fresh perspectives and new insights. This back and forth interaction between the actorts personal subjective experiences and the objectivity of the mask cultivates a bridge to reflection, interpretation and theatrical skills within the context of mask characterization. As a result, dramatic skills which include observation, movement and voice are not practised in isolation but are nurtured through the demands of mask-work. Mask improvisation engages both the audience and actor because they become drawn to the symbolic form of the mask. In the mask there is an invisible text of drama that becomes a blueprint for the improvisation. As with the text of a play, the mask has a 14 described range of characteristics. The audience must begin their own dialogical approach to defining it. This involves refleciion and interpretation as well. Together both actor and audience derive meaning from the mask and are CO-authors in defining this new interpretation of reality. In mask improvisation, both audience and actor become involved in a dynamic relationship of discovery that goes beyond experiencing the interna1 development of the self, contrary to what some drama in education theorists value when experiencing role-play improvisation. Although the face has a communicative value which actors must rely on, the use of the mask requises the actor to go beyond dependence on his own visage. He must delve deeper and focus on the importance of the physical contributions tbat the body makes in conjunction with the face to express a variety of emotional and intellectual States. The actor must find the appropriate body movements and voice to reflect the inherent traits of the mask. It is in the doing and working with the mask on his face that the actor finds the corresponding movement and voice. It becomes an organic process that unfolds as the actor works with the mask. This active search to tie the character together with movement and voice creates a transformation. Through a change in face, body and voice the actor "steps into" an original reality. No longer does he rely on his own face and facial expressions but he must delve into the inner structure of the character portrayed which results in a non-traditional reality for the actor, as well as the audience. Because the actor's face is covered, the expectations of the original self disappear. Hence, a new set of concrete traits must unify to formulate a new concept of the person, through the aesthetic elements of dramatization such as characterization, movement and voice. Mask improvisation manipulates these forms as tools to synthesize and formulate new concepts of character. By delving into a context that is physically different than the one he is born with, the actor must go outside himself and fully explore a new world. The difference in physicality helps the actor to stand in "someone else's shoes." The physical transformation helps the actor to stay focused on the interpretatioa of the image inherent in the mask . By doing so, he must constantly dialogue within himself about other perspectives and views on the situation that the mask demands. An example of this is when actor A, a mature adult in real life puts on the mask of a child. That paaicular mask demands a different point of view. The actor begins a journey of discovering the inner life of that child and how it manifests itself outwardly. Not only is the actor objectively delving into the character of this child but through his adult eyes he begins to reflect and interpret it from a subjective perspective as well. He works on the mernories of himself as a child, as well as his adult interpretations of childhood with its range of intense emotions and outbursts. Using the power of observation and recollection, the actor begins to change his movement, attitude and voice in order to create a youthful perception of reality. The concrete mask aids in sustaining that perception as well as the rigorous concentration that is involved in mask work. With a mask on, character choices must become very specific. On the other hand, in a reality-based improvisation, there are times where concentration can be less focused and the actor can still remain believable. However in a mask improvisation. if the actor is unsure of himself, then the perception of reality becomes lost and the mask looks like an artifact that belongs on a wall, rather than an imaginative character. The actor must always be focused and concentrated in mask-work. It is a valuable lesson in sustaining character. As the journey to create this reality continues, both the actor and audience must support the character traits inherent in the mask through very focused mental and physical work. It is this concentration that heightens the leaming process of both actor and audience, who must participate together to create and understand an imaginative reality. It is within that realm, of being conscious of seeing in an imaginative way, that mask-work draws on the tools of interpretation and reflection from both the actor and audience. These are essential tools for both the actor and audience. As a result of exploring character in an unrealistic medium, the participants begin a process of interpretation that seeks out what is actually real about these characters. They begin to empathize with the mask characters and must go beyond their own direct experiences to make themselves empathetic towards them. On one hand, the mask becomes a concrete symbol for the actor's experiences and powers of observation, but on the other hand it helps to create a wider range of emotional and physical States than can be achieved by always using only a realistic approach to improvisation. Mask improvisation mediates rich. diverse and complex meaning as well as acknowledging the skills that are required to participate in a dramatic culture. Consequently. because of the physical transformation that must take place when a mask is put on, both actor and audience are required to step beyond their own sensibilities and participate in creating an imaginative reality that recognizes. questions and challenges a unitary vision of the world. Chapter 1 The History of Mask in Drama

mask: A cover for the face. often intended to conceal identity; a disguise. pretense, or subterfuge; a masquerade; a protective covering for the face; a grotesque representation of a face.-v.t. To cover the face with a mask; to disguise for concealment; to conceal from an enemy; as by camouflage (Webster, 1980, p.519).

There are many theories and myths about the origins of masks and masking. In Western culture, interest in studying the mask did not occur until the nineteenth century. The popular belief about masks and masking is that their common usage originated in ntuals that not only involved participation with animals spirits and the dominance of ancestors personified in masks, but represented a cosmos or a founding system of the world (Pernet, 1992, p. 161). Pernet also argues that masks and masking activities developed ai different times and places and for a variety of reasons. He questions the popular belief that the mask was used in every culture and seeks an explanation for its distribution (Pernet, 1992, p.10). On the other hand, Mack believes that masking and masquerades are universal (Mack, 1994, p.9). It is not my intention to argue these issues but rather simply to point out that these opposing arguments occur because of the complexities of defining the mask which covers a wide variety of meanings. 19 Since discovering "primitive art", Western artists' conceptions of the mask have been focused on the face. This is evident in the public display of masks in museums and collected works where they hang. To understand a mask, whether it be from an anthropological. sociological, ritual or dramatic perspective, it must remain within a specific context: a play, an improvisation, a ritual, or dance. When the mask is displayed separately, its value is reduced to that of an artifact and its purpose is missed. Walens (1962) States:

Indeed, a great deal of "psychologizing' about masks is artifïcial in nature; only when we mistakenly make a dichotomy of mask and masker can we dissociate the mask as object from the mask as an integral and integrated part of a consolidated identity. Masks are meant to be wom, and it is only "in situ ' so to speak. as part of a unified performance that we can hope to understand their purpose (p.70).

Therefore, to fully understand the inherent values of a mask, it must be worn. It is through the participation of the masker, the mask and the audience, that a masking event has the ability to tell a story or narrative. The event itself creates a space where one reality or perspective is created and imagined points of view are perceived, reflected and examined . In this chapter, 1 will examine the role of the mask in Western drama because much of this tradition influences Our understanding of masks today. A wide rage of masking influences from other cultures, such as First Nations, Asian, African, Indian. Japanese. although important are beyond the scope of this thesis. Masking has engaged its participants in a history of mediating meaning. Through reflection and interpretation, the mask tradition in drama implicitly and explicitly assigned meaning to the participants' experiences. Historically, the mask component in drama formed a transparent framework in which a variety of discourses about human action, thought and possibility evolved. 1 will pursue the idea that there were times during the development of the mask in Western drama as a social event, where its use created a place where fresh perspectives and possibilities challenged the single interpretation of the world at the time. There were also times throughout Western dramatic history where the mask confinned the beliefs of the time. My intention is to show the added dimensions which the mask brought to the dramatic form as well as its historical significance in the development of a dramatic culture. Although the focus on the history and the development of masks and masking is from a dramatic perspective, it becomes apparent that other perspectives such as the ritual and sociological perspectives are also relevant. The mask was used throughout pre-historic and historic times to transform the mask-bearer as well as the audience. In ancient Greece and Rome, the masking events evolved from ritual to creating a space for the development of other interpretations of that world. It was also the beginning of a secular movement that has been traced to the development of the commedia dell'arte. During the Middle Ages, masking events challenged the Christian conception of the world. In the Renaissance, through improvisation, the commedia dell' arte troupes represented a populist vision as an alternative to the scholarly traditions of that time. With the Age of Reason, Western drama began to focus on realisrn and conflict. Masking events disappeared until their use returned at the end of the nineteenth century. The mask reappeared as a symbolic tool that reinterpreted traditional dramatic themes as well as becoming a vehicle for contemporary ideas. The masking event was not merely an expression of the individual actor's condition, but al1 participants become involved collectively in this social event through performance, imagination and reflection. In the early days of Greek theatre, the use of masks and their interpretation was very much dependent on the belief system of the Greeks. The reenactment of the myths and legends of the gods reflected their polytheistic practises (Napier, 1986, p.4). The Greek pagan theatre was complex and the concept of impersonation of a character actually evolved from ntual. An example of this occurred in early Greece, when Thespis (hence the noun thespian) left the ritualistic chorus and assumed the role of the single speaker, wearing a white linen mask, which symbolized the god, Dionysus (Sorell, 1973, p.50). This set the conception for impersonation, disguised characters and the possibility for conflict. This change created the possibility of dialogue between the chorus and speaker. Aeschylus added a second actor and Sophocles, whose plays were complex, added a third. As the complexity of the plays grew, the use of masks allowed the actor to impersonate many characters and diminished the role of the chorus (Sorell, 1973, p.51). The mask was developed for practical purposes rather than as a purely artistic device (Sorell, 1973, p.50). Each mask was larger than life and designed to fit over a brass mouthpiece which 2 2 resonated the voice. This was important because the stage was an open arena which had the capacity to seat 17.000 people. The success of the play depended on the actor's vocal delivery, projection and beauty of voice. The size of the mask was visually important because it helped the spectators see that the masks imitated actual contemporaries who were portrayed as characters on the stage. In his encyclopedia Onornastikon, Iulius Pollux, a sophist and grammarian of the second century AD, descnbed a set of masks used for cornedies and tragedies earlier in Greek drama. He categorized them according to age, class, and facial expressions. Facial features gave an indication of the type of character they were. There were nine types of old men, eleven younger ones and seven servants. Seventeen of the masks were women who ranged from hags to prostitutes. There was also a female domestic servant who was characterized by a flat nose and two molars in her mouth. These detailed descriptions correspond to the character types that Aristophanes used in his plays. The Roman drama, costumes and masks were based on the Greek models. The masks that were used by the tragic actors lost their realistic appearance and became the oversized and grotesque masks known to the Heilenistic period. In comedy. political circumstances made it safer to use stereotypes rather than the caricatures of living people and politicians as the Greeks had done. Nicoll (1963) in his book, Masks, Mimes and Miracles Studies in Populur Theatre, claims that there was a development within the Greek theatre, of a secular spirit which survived the paganistic drama of antiquity into the Middle Ages. Existing today are 2 3 fragments of the mimes of Epicharmus. (which were written after the period of 485 B.C. to 467 B.C.). Among the titles are Earth and Sea. Masculine and Ferninine Reason, and Herakles Before the Centaurs. The Epicharmus style involved the treatment of themes in a burlesque spirit using the phallus symbol, puns and proverbs which evolved out of the folklore of the populace (Nicoll, 1963, pp. 38-41). These early farces introduced contrasting heroic mythical characters such as Herakles and Odysseus set against characters of everyday life. including the peasant, the nistic, the parasite, and the doctor. They would meet on equal footing in scenes dealing with deception and intrigue. Nicoll traces similarities of mimic characters depicted on ancient Greek vases and statuettes and makes connections from these characters to the commedia dell' arte. He documented these as mimes of the "popular" sort rather then choral dramas such as the ones that Aristophanes wrote (Nicoll, 1963, p.79). He suggests that these mimes accepted the world as it was, dragged down the legends of the gods to ordinary life and ndiculed both pagan and Christian rites. This is evident in the Feast of Fools, the Feast of the Ass, the Feast of the Boy Bishop. He notes that this was a burlesque and lusty representation of life itself and did not look to the world beyond (Nicoll, 1963, p.2 1). As Imperia1 Rome fell, the spirit of Christianity triumphed and drama slowly began to change. This was due to a fundamental shift in religious outlook and organization of thinking. Religious beliefs shifted from of a division of power amongst the supernatural gods of 2 4 antiquity to that of an omniscient authority such as in the Judeo- Christian traditions. This meant that inexplicable events were accountable to God or Satan. A. D. Napier (1986) suggests:

In short, people were meant to concern themselves not so much with the supernatural interrelations of spirits, as with their own status in the eyes of an all-seeing god. For the mortal's part. the understanding arose that beneath the guise of appearance was an innate reality that was not diverse, but devoid of unaccountable diversities-a reality in which al1 people were equal in their potential for salvation provided they were faithful to the deity (p.5).

This created a fundamenta1 difference in how the mask was viewed by the growing dominant culture of Christianity. They disliked pagan practices which often made fun of Christian ritual. However, there is evideace that secular mimes continued to be practised in that ecclesiastical decrees continued to be issued forbidding them to be seen or performed. According to Nicoll's argument, there is much evidence that supports the view that councils and synods considered them a formidable enemy to the spiritual. The ecclesiastics were often forbidden by law to view them and if the mimes were caught with any religious attire, the clergy involved were liable to corporeal punishment or banishment (Nicoll. 1963, p.148). According to the Christian interpretation, the mask was considered diabolical and a disguise for the devil. It was considered a form of idolatry because of its ability to make the supematural concrete. The idea that a supematural omniscience could be 2 5 approachable through impersonation made masking a sacrilegious activity. It conflicted with the concept of an all-knowing omniscience remaining unapproachable and beyond imitation. Although the mask was seen as an evil disguise. masking practises did not disappear in the Dark Ages. The church continued to utter its warnings against the acts, yet evidence by religious writings reveals their existence. In addition, miniature paintings of the period illustrate a pet reciting a poem while a number of actors, mimes or jongleurs (ballad singers who were imitators of human things) in mask provided appropriate body movement and entertainment (Nicoll, 1963, p. 153). In the ninth century, drama began to resurface in the Church with the development of the mystery cycles, the morality plays and the miracle plays. Yet there still remained elements of comedic vulgarity within these forms. By the fourteenth century, masks had regained their popularity in secular mummings and animal disguises. The latter masks were condemned and associated with the word larva, a disguise for an insect's last stage (Napier, 1963, p.11). The devil and death became allegorical figures in morality plays and often appeared in elaborately detailed and grotesque animal masks. These masks of the devil were far more homfic in life than in any narrative form. The persona of the devil and its hideous face catered to the imagination of the people and through the mask had the ability to appear before the people in a concrete way. During the Renaissance, the phenornenon of disguise was important to the social conventions of the time. If a mask was put on 2 6 it was to be respected. As long as it was wom the masker could be seen but not recognized and was able to move about incognito. Several examples of masking and masquerade appear in Shakespeare's plays, for example Romeo and Julîet, Henry Vl11. A Servant of Two Masters. and Timons of Athens. In this period the development of two forms of theatrical art took place-the scholarly and the improvised. The latter, which was the commedia dell' arte, took to the streets until it was recognized for its entertainment value in the courts. It then continued to survive for two hundred years. Playwrights such as Shakespeare and Moliere frequently rooted their characters in the commedia as well as its themes which involved "masking and unmasking, illusion and reality" (Eldredge, 1996, p.12). Even Moliere himself was known to have sought training from an actor trained in the commedia. Commedia dell' arte developed from the sixteenth to the eighteenth century. Commedia depended on stock types who - improvised well-known plots through dialogue and lazzi (which provided much comic merriment in the form of interruptions through foolish words or action) (Nicoll, 1963, p.220). The comic characters of Pantalone, the Doctore, Arlecchino, Brighella, Pulcinella and Capitano appeared frequently and wore dark masks of leather that might have been characterized by a large nose or bauble, small eyes, wrinkled eyebrows and a bald head. These masks did not cover the entire face but were half masks. This gave the character greater agility for improvised dialogue and lazzi. Many of the plots were derived from classical sources, medieval farce or the Renaissance versions of them, and were 2 7 divided into genres of tragedy. pastoral. and comedy. It was the latter that became most popular. although even within the former. comedy was introduced through the masked characters' lazzi. The semi-serious characters such as the young and gallant love interests did not Wear masks. Themes of adultery and intrigue formed the basis for the plots and the masked characters were able to display their public role as well as reveal their private side. For example Capitano boasted of his heroic prowess, yet was no more than an arrant coward. The character of Pantelone, the old man, was known to the audience as the doting husband, dignified and special citizen. Yet at a moment's notice, Pantelone became the mean, greedy, prating merchant towards his servants and even attempted to pose as a youth. The (surviving relicts of) commedia dell' arte reaa today appear dull, but this form of expression was not the tool of the playwright but of the actor. The reader must take into account the important role that the actor and mask played in entertaining the spectator emotionally and intellectually. The actor supplied the audience with the emotional nuances of the characters. The characters were stock in nature but the actor required craftsmanship in order to understand the range of the characters they played. The actors of the commedia displayed the ability to create an ensemble that could improvise together, perform different dialects, generate spontaneous wit and perform lazzi that matched their character. With the Age of Reason approaching, the commedia dell 'arte had run its course. By the 1730s. Carlo Goldoni was attacking the use of the mask and demanding that theatre be presented in a realistic and natural manner. Although he acknowledged the communicative value of gestures and voice. he believed that the passions of the sou1 were expressed through the face and that expression was hindered by the mask. Goldoni's adversaries argued that the mask was not a hindrance as long as the actor knew how to use it effectively. There is also evidence that indicates that the commedia indecencies had gone too far and some Italian companies were forced to shut do-. In Goldoni's plays, he rewrote the plots of the commedia dell' arte, removing the obscenities and the opportunity for uncontrolled improvisation and transformed them into literary works for refined tastes. Consequently, with the Age of Reason, western drama moved towards realism and naturalism which featured conflict, suspense and tension (Sorell, 1973, p.54). The mask in drama did not resurface until the end of the nineteenth century in both the fine and perfoxming arts. Masks were rediscovered as having more than a decorative purpose. The antirealists dramatic movements of futurism, dadaism, symbolism, expressionism and surrealism used the mask as a symbol and vehicle to express the buman psyche and social relationships (Harris, 1986, p.6). They were encouraged by the philosophical and psychological ideas of Nietzsche and Jung to represent the inner and subjective condition of humankind through the mask. Artists abstracted and extemalized inner subconscious realities through concrete devises such as the mask (Eldredge, 1996, pp.12-13). The modern Western theatre used masks to revitalize and reinterpret traditional dramatic themes, as well as adopting them as a dramatic vehicle for contemporary ideas. The ose of the mask 2 9 challenged the primacy of language which was basic to realism and naturalism, transforming literary metaphors into concrete visual realities on the stage. The mask transformed the whole body and face into another form of powerful expression. Major dramatists such as Bertolt Brecht and Eugene O'Neill. as well as minor ones, challenged the prevailing dramatic traditions. The masks represented reality by presenting abstractions in a more stylized forma1 manner and explored social, psychological and philosophical concepts (Harris, 1986, p.178). Brecht used the mask to support his theatre of alienation in which the audience and actor were distanced from one another, The use of the mask focused on a particular characteristic and challenged the participants to review what they always took for granted. For O'Neill, the mask was not successful because it was not supported by the fonn of his plays. As a simple device its use in complex verbal context revealed its weakness (Harris, 1986, p178). By the 1930s the mask began to diminish in popularity because "realism" became the accepted form of theatrical performance (Eldredge, 1996, p. 15). The sophistication of film technique that occurred in the 1950s subverted any experimental theatre for that time. However, in the 1960s and 1970s the mask was associated with mime, theatrical experimentation and the political Street theatre of confrontation. Theatre groups such as El Teatro Campesino, a Chicano workers' theatre presented modem morality plays based on social issues. Snake (originally known as the Beggar's Theatre) used puppets as well as masks and half-masks to dramatize community concerns. This group originally used papier mache masks but evolved into 3 O using latex which gave this masking event more of a realistic feel to it. Susan Harris describes the performers as deliberately creating a tension between reality and artificiality which guided the audience to question assumptions that they might have about prevailing truths (Harris, 1984, p.180). The mask's ambiguity defïed the conventional categories of the legitimate theatre. The mask has been used throughout Western drama as a means to express religious, secular, psychological. and social values. In the ancient Greek times, it was an integral part of the development of Western theatre. Its secular and populist / interpretation of the world. both challenged the dominant beliefs of Christianity and offered an alternative interpretation of the world throughout the Middle Ages. Its development in modem theatre challenged the 'realism' that dominated that era. In contemporary theatre it continues to provide an alternative to the conventions of the legitimate stage. Chapter 2

The Mask, the Actor and the Audience

In 1924, the brilliant critic, director and teacher, Jacques Copeau, of Ecole du Vieux-Colombier in Paris, had his students use mask improvisation as a way to release their psychophysical being and commit to characterization. He believed that mask improvisation would complement other actor training to help drama students be more effective performers when not wearing masks. Copeau motivated his students to examine their own physical idiosyncrasies and nuances of voice and movement. He wanted to have students discard them when presenting a character because he was not interested in having them repeatedly present themselves while in character. Through mask improvisation, he wanted them to cultivate their own imagination which would result in their taking on the emotional, physical and mental psychophysical being of the character interpreted from the mask. It is from Copeau and his students, such as Michel Saint-Denis and Jacques Lecoq, that modem mask improvisation has descended (Eldredge, 1996, p. 17). Mask improvisation ultimately serves two purposes for the actor. The first is to provide the actor with a non-realistic image of a character, which releases the imagination and creates an understanding of different points of view rather than only being oneself. This non-realistic form leads the actor to consider and delve deeper into a wider range of perspectives by exploring different characters. No longer does the actor rely only on her facial features but must move beyond her habitual way of seeing things to discover and make sense of other possibilities and choices. The second goal is to provide training for the actor that is applicable whether she wears the mask or not, in experimental performance or more traditional naturalistic acting. Mask improvisation incorporates a wide variety of dramatic skills from understanding character building to movement and voice. The mask is helpful to the actor because the face is hidden and the actor cannot rely on her usual facial and bodily modes of expression. The actor is forced to explore other ways of moving and this leads to an exploration of a variety of types of characterizations different than the customary ones. Because the mask is non-realistic, the actor cannot rely on her usual naturalistic forms of expression and is forced to explore new forms of expression and bring those into character building. Once I have described mask improvisation in relation to the actor, 1 will expound on how the different types of masks open up the possibility of seeing things differently. Through exploration with the mask, effective training occurs for future performances whether or not the actor is wearing the mask. The first goal is that through the mask, the actor will go beyond playing herself, yet at the same time be true to both her personality and the mask. She is true to her personality because she must make meaning of who the image of character is, through her own experiences. At the sarne time, she must transcend her habitual self, go beyond her usual reactions, movement, voice. interpretation and imagine the "other" (image of the character in the mask). Then she 3 3 must embody the mask with that "other" character once she puts it on. By using the mask as a tool to stimulate a different character's reality, the imagination of both observer and actor are cultivated. Maxine Greene (1995) stresses the importance of the type of imagination as follows:

One of the reasons 1 have come to concentrate on imagination as a means through which we can assemble a coherent world is that imagination is what, above all, makes empathy possible. It is what enables us to cross the empty spaces between ourselves and those we teachers have called "other" over the years. If those others are willing to give us clues, we can look in some manner through strangers' eyes and hear through their ears. That is because, of al1 Our cognitive capacities, imagination is the one that permits us to give credence to alternative realities. It allows us to break with the taken for granted, to set aside familiar distinction and definitions (p.3).

By setting aside associations and traits that come with Our faces, we are in a position to enter the "others' world." If a petite, twenty-four year old female actor puts on a mask whose dominant features are round. she is going to break with things that are fixed within her own personality and small physical being. Using the image of the mask as a key to enter into the world of the "other," she must adjust her body and voice to the image she envisions in the mask. When she puts the mask on, she must hold onto that image and explore the possibilities of being round and large through movement. She will move slow and gracefully, or lethargically and lubberly. She will reach down and speak in a lower range or may choose to speak in a nasal tone, al1 depending on how she "reads" the dominant qualities of the mask. Then as she explores deeper, she will begin to imagine her social role as a physically large human being and what the expectations are of her. That will affect the choices she makes in gesture to define her character more clearly. Al1 the while she must realize that in reality, this is not who she is, but, at the same time she will begin to have an understanding and make sense of this character. As a result of this. new perspectives and alternative ways of being a character are identified. The mask used as a tool is a concrete way of sustaining this imaginative characterization for the actor and audience. The mask creates an illusion of transformation into another character because the face is covered, however it is the actor who sustains this characterization through the choices that she makes in interpreting the character. By covering the face with a mask, the stage is set for an imaginative reality where the participants corne in contact with situations that are outside their familiar experiences such as the actor who put on the round mask. Although all theatrical "reality" is imaginative, mask improvisation is a concrete form that sustains that imaginative reaiity. The mask serves the actor as a reminder of the energy that is required to support an imaginative reality. Through mask work, the actor is shown the importance of remaining in character even when she is not speaking. It is those moments of stillness, standing, sitting, moving objects that uphold the character and theatrical illusion. Working in the mask sheds light on the rigorous concentration that is required to create an imaginative reality. When the concentration of an actor diminishes while 3 5 wearing the mask. it begins to look like a piece of plaster on the actor's face. Training procedures in mask improvisation offer participants the opportunity to explore inventive and original ways of moving, speaking and interpreting situations. By using an artifice such as the mask. several things begin to happen. First. the actor has a different face. As a result of this fundamental change. the actor must explore what that does to her. She begins to understand how much she is dependent on her own face for communication and bow that facial communication extends into her body language. With her face covered, the actor cari become less self conscious and begin to experiment with her body language in accordance with the image in the mask. This freedom gives her an opportunity to interpret situations differently. While wearing the mask, the actor is guided by the image in it. The actor will notice how differently others respond to her when she has a mask on. In turn. she will react differently to their reactions. Her body, voice and ways of looking at things must adhere to the image in the mask rather than her own habitua1 reactions to things. Her naturalistic fonns of expression are hidden and she must explore areas of movement, voice and characterization that stretch her abilities as an actor. When the actor's face is covered with a rnask, her reliance on facial expression and verbal interaction is gone. She must find movement specific to her character. The improvisation itself allows the actor to practise being in character and expressing that character in a simple, yet active way. The mask as a tool teaches the actor to notice things that are taken for granted in human behaviour. Rolfe ( 1977) makes this point:

By their acts shall we know them: the way one stands, walks, prepares food, arranges work, gets dressed, by the looks, pauses, gestures, rhythms, actions and interactions- the infinite variety of movement of humankind is the rich vein to be mined here (p.29).

Consequently, the second purpose of mask improvisation is to create the groundwork for more effective acting without the use of the mask. By developing skills and procedures in voice, movement and characterization, the actor approaches characterization in a far richer and more meaningful way.

The Actor and the Masks

In his book, mkImprovisation, Eldredge (1996) investigates a series of exercises based on the training procedures of Jaques Lecoq at his school in Paris that are done in neutral masks. The exercises include the process of finding the neutral physical and mental state. They also include visualization techniques which engage the participants when in the neutral state to find compelling images by using their senses, and transforming these images into their physical being. 1 will not attempt to give specific examples of these exercises, however in Eldredge's book there are comprehensive examples of training procedures in Neutral, Character and Counter- character masks, as well as Totem Masks, and Found Masks. I will, however, explore how the Neutral Mask, Character Mask and Counter-Mask, provide an understanding of "other" and offer substantial training in characterization, movement and voice. The neutral mask has many benefits as a tool to help the actor and observer understand their own habitual. persona1 idiosyncrasies that are expressed physically and emotionally. Apprehending these behaviours and becoming aware of them encourages the actor to explore new forms of movement. speech and interpretation. This ultimately serves the actor in achieving a richer and more powerfully detailed understanding of character, which can be projected into characterization without the use of the mask. The neutral mask suggests a human face devoid of a mouth. It has little or no expression and does not indicate a specific gender or nationality through its physiognomy. Al1 neutral masks that are used in workshops are identical in their appearance but they are made in larger and smaller sizes so they can fit the wearers. The goal of wearing the mask is to discover a simple way of completing an action without any individual or subjective perspective. An example of this is picking up a book. When in the neutral mask, the actor must perform only the action of picking up the book. The actor must not demonstrate any associations to the book such as being excited to read it or happy to find it before having to pay a library fee. When wearing the neutral mask, the actor begins to explore the simplest way to complete an action. She must leave her own persona1 preoccupations and conform to the neutral state of the mask. The actor must concentrate on two areas of neutrality: the body and the mind. By working towards the notion of a neutral body, the participants become aware of the qualities in their own body 3 8 movements. It is work that involves exploration of the habitua1 patterns of the physical self. If an actor has a bounce to her natural walk when she is not wearing the neutral mask, it will stick out when she puts on the mask because this is an individual or subjective quality. A "bounce" in a walk may indicate something about the character of the individual. It could mean an excitement about things or a carefree attitude. When playing the role of a banker trying to negotiate a merger, this bounce would not be an appropriate character choice. By being aware of her own specific movement, the actor can create a more believable choice in walking that would support the "banker" character. If an actor is asked to wak across the stage and does this action quickly, then, walking quickly across the stage might pose the question from the observer, "Why is this person wakng quickly?" When a question can be asked about why a certain action is done, then this is not neutral because the situation or action itself did not cal1 for a fast Pace (Rolfe, 1977, p.20). However, if the neutral actor is walking quickly because she is late for class, then she is adhering to the demands of the action. WaUUng quickly, when there is no need to do so suggests an internal conflict. However, the actor should not be fixing her hair while walking quickly, because that indicates moving away from the demands of the action and suggests another internal conflict. By exploring the way we move when we put on the neutral mask, we can understand that there are symbolic inferences to movement in terms of characterization. We also begin to understand the appropriateness of economy and movement for the character. This means that extraneous 3 9 movement and gesture do not define the character or make it more clear. The mask demands that al1 nuanced gestures have a purpose that relate to the character and reveal the action in the story rather than drawing attention to the self through unnecessary movement and gesture. Consequently, if extra movement is done, this makes the mask look like a artifact and the character loses its imaginative believability . In acquiring the concept of a neutral mind, the participants must attempt to experience everything from fresh perspectives and with innocent eyes. Their Lnowledge of past experiences and history must not come into play. Of course this can never actually happen, but in the exercise or attempt to come to a neutral mind the participants discover, explore and learn about themselves. Their own way of interpreting situations or performing an action is loaded with subjective meaning. When in the neutral mask, the actor is asked to put her own personal movement, reactions, and particular idiosyncrasies aside and "listen" to the simple demands of an action. From the observers' perspective, the neutral mask can reveal peculiarities in movement that belong to the actor who wears the mask. Movement and idiosyncrasies that the mask-bearer might not even be aware of are revealed to the observer. Because the face is covered the whole body is accentuated. What the observer notices from sitting in the audience is that the whole body must be involved in communicating messages to the audience, not only the face. Although the audience usually believes that it is the face that is communicating the message, in actuality what they are reading is the whole body expressing the message (Eldredge, 1996, p.51.) This is an important notion to understand because the actor must be aware of what her body is "saying" when she is speaking. The speech and body must match so that the message that the audience receives is believable. The face and body must act as one unit that delivers the content unless "a stage lie" is being told where the character speaks something, yet her body is revealing something else. This idea will be developed further when speaking about the counter-mask. This technique is not used with the neutral mask but can be applied to the character mask. There is a concrete reason why the neutral mask helps to identify habitua1 movernent. Attention is drawn to the idiosyncrasies of an individual actor because her body does not correspond to the neutral mask. This happens because the mask is symmetrical and the actor's body and movements are not (Eldredge, 1996, p.52). As an observer. it is easier to become attuned to the persona1 idiosyncrasies of the actor who is wearing the mask because the alignment of her body does not naturally extend from the symmetry of the mask. The actor must work towards aligning her own body with the symmetry of the mask in order to work towards attaining her own personal idealized neutral body. Eldredge (1996) explains:

There is a sense in which people wearing Neutral Masks will tend to look and move more uniformly. Paradoxically though, at the same time that the Neutral Mask depersonalizes the wearer, it also essentializes the wearer. You discover more of what is distinctly "you" (p-50). 4 1 Therefore, what is elicited when wearing the mask is actually the actor's individuai neutral. First, the actor puts on the neutral mask. Then she fixes an image of what neutral looks like and transforms her body to fit into that image, adjusting any physicalization that needs changing (Eldredge, 1996. p.54). Tbere is a sense of balance and harmony that is achieved when in neutral. Once the actor moves away from that fulcrum of equilibrium, charac terization begins. When the actor is working towards the neutral state, the observer gets the feeling that the actor has a presence on the stage. The actor, on the other hand achieves a feeling of completely being present, yet detached from any conditions of people or place. When beginning to Wear the neutral mask, the actor is not projecting a specific image because that is not considered neutral. There is a focused sense of energy that exudes from the actor. However, the actor can channel this energy to different centers on her body. These centers are the (fore)head, the oral (throat) center, the chest center, the stomach center, the genital center and the anal center (Eldredge, 1996, p.52). By focusing her energy towards a specific center and letting that center guide her movement, the actor discovers emotions tbat are associated and contained in that center. An actor that is led by the chest center might discover feelings of youth and wonderment, yet on the other hand, the genital center might lead to discoveries of lust and desire. Through a series of exercises the actor discovers her own movement center and can choose to use it for characterization or explore another center that would be more appropriate for the character she is portraying. 42 Although the actor has a sense of focused energy. the neutral requires a relared sense of body. At the same time it must be energized. alert and attentive. It is a feeling of being centered and in the moment of the action. Eldredge (1996) explains:

The standing neutral body is not involved in any activity other than its own state, "standing" within the action "to stand." It is only engaged in "making present" which means "making presence." ... If a descriptive quality can be attached to a person's stance. such as "imposing," "empty." or "stiff," then the stance is not neutral. These terms describe a physicalization that is not at the balance point of the seesaw, but already tilted to one side or the other, They are the beginnings of a characterization (p.53).

At this point, there is no metaphoric association in neutral. The mask wearer cannot be feeling "as if' or "like" anything. Although complete neutrality cannot be achieved, the process is used to explore one's own body moving through space, performing an action, or communicating an idea. Through a variety of exercises, the actor can learn about herself and identify her own interpreted physical experiences. This process awakens the participant and discloses what is usually not seen or identified with oneself. As Mitter (1992) explains it, "As the actor is identified with the mask. the self becomes an external attribute that can be studied" (Mitter, 1992, p.85). This is an important ski11 for the actor to acquire because she has identified through the neutral mask, body movements and definitions associated with herself. She cm choose to use these as she identifies the cornmonalties between herself and a role that she is playing, or she can begin to explore alternative ways of moving, 4 3 speaking and interpreting for that role. The objective of working in the neutral mask leads to the next level which is working with identifications. Eldredge States that this technique involves two objectives: to visualize images through guided imagery, sense stimuli and memory; and to direct these images and physically become them, by giving them a sense of weight and movement. The technique of visualization has already been included in educational practice, sports performance, science and mathematics, as Shepard's and Kosslyn's ernpirical research indicate (as cited in Egan, 1992, p.62). In the identification exercises identified by Eldredge (1996), the participants are first asked to visualize elements and subjects, which could include the four elements, colours, emotions, substances, human-made objects or sounds. Next, they are asked to identify the qualities of these subjects and physically give them shape. These identification exercises are practised with the neutral mask first and then elaborated on without it. In identification exercises, the participants are not only asked to visualize an image but they must take the next step and imagine the possibility of physically becoming the subject that they are being guided to imagine. They are asked to identify a dominant quality of the subject and let it inhabit their bodies. As a result, the actor creates an emotional and physical interpretation of what it would feel like to be this subject. By wearing the mask, and beginning in the neutral state the actor breaks with relying on naturalistic forms of expression. She explores images in nature which include living creaures and colours, 44 or human-made objects that carry qualities that can be transferred to create rich characterization. The identification exercises create a form where visualizing, imagining, and feeling are working in tandem. This is an important dimension of acting because it enables the participants to apprehend the resources in the physical world and discover their dramatic qualities (Eldredge, 1996. p.72). The important point to stress is that participants in these exercises can integrate these sLills, procedures and qualities that emerge from visualization and imagination into characterization. Once the participants understand this procedure, they are able to enrich their interpretation of the world around them. Their work becomes interconnected with what is around them in contrast to relying on one's own experiences as being the only truth. The actor can now look beyond herself and explore a wide range of resources. Instead of producing straight copies of the world around them, the students are introduced to a set of expectations that encourage multiple levels of perception through association and metaphor. By doing this, the observer and actor are in training to discover deeper meanings and original ways of seeing possibilities rather than being immersed only in surface realities. Character masks introduce another layer to mask work. They are more specific than neutral masks because a character mask has lines that indicate individuality etched into its sculpted features. The expressions that are on a mask are not rnomentary but they reflect a habitua1 reaction that one is no longer conscious of: a crooked mouth, a sneering nose or creased eyebrows (Rolfe, 1977, p.27). They are an exaggeration of facial features and are ambiguous as to whether they are male or female. The masks require the actor to be able to fil1 his character with the same largeness when performing actions as exhibited by the exaggerated features of the mask. This effects the "presence" of an actor on stage. This understanding of simply being in the character. filling it and in stillness sustaining the image of the character is an important attribute of mask improvisation. These character masks can cover the face completely or can be a half-mask. The latter becomes complete when the actor's mouth is set in accordance to her interpretation of the sculpted features of the mask. Character masks are ambiguous and their characteristics can be read and interpreted in various ways, unless the mask has been designed to indicate a specific emotion or individual. One of the objectives of working with the character masks is to focus on the physical contributions that the body makes in order to support the emotional and intellectual States of a character, whether working with a mask or without. When taking away the strong dependency on the face by covering it with a character mask, the actor interprets the qualities of the character, creates an image of it and lets that image live in her body. The image changes the actor's physicality of the character and she continually must make choices in movement, emotions and behaviour that sustain the characteristics of the mask. The goal is that the mask and the wearer work as one. (However, Brecht would use the mask as a tool to separate the mask and the actor). Because of its exaggerated qualities, the character mask cannot be associated with realism or naturalism. Once the mask is put on the actor, it breaks with conventional realism. The mask detaches 46 itself from the real world and the masking event becomes part of an interpreted world. By working behind a mask. the participants might "perceive patterns and structures they never knew existed in the surrounding world" (Greene, 1995, p. 137). The mask becomes the script where the actor must read the contoured features and lines on the mask, interpret their qualities and transform these by reconstructing herself physically and emotionally. This reconstruction of the emotions and body creates a character who is cut free from the automatic responses that are associated with her own face and personality. Rolfe (1977) explains:

If the actor assumes a feature of a mask such as an out- thrust chin, then continues the movement by pushing the head forward of the body, the chest may counterbalance by sinking to the back, a movement which would be completed by the pelvis tucking under. The entire body has responded to one feature of the mask, and to its own need for equilibrium (p.29).

By reading the mask as a text, the actor is identifying its sculptured features. Within moments, the actor must put the mask on because over-analyzing will impose only a subjective interpretation without listening to the demands of the mask. When first working with a character mask, mirrors are available for the actor to view what she looks like with the mask on. When looking at herself in the mirror, the image that the actor has in her mind is not being reflected back because the sculpted features in the mask are not supported by her body. Without imposing a gesture the actor must let her own features or subjectivity be "drawn into assemblance of those of the mask, and the body responds to the continuing impulse" (Rolfe. 1977. p.29). The actor cannot impose herself ont0 the mask, using only her personality, but must be receptive to the qualities in the mask. As a result, facial immobility forces the actor to reveal her "expressions of character, mood. gesture. situation, feeling only through acts. gestures. pauses" (Rolfe, 1977, p.29). After establishing a preliminary characterization, the actor must walk away from the mirror and continue to support the image through simple acts that include waiting for a bus, doing a routine exercise, shining shoes or applying nail polish. It is at this point that the imaginative world of the character begins to exist. By visualizing the image of the character, extending that image into the body, and performing simple acts, the actor begins to explore different types of character, mood and situations. As the posture of her body changes so that it harmonizes with the mask, she begins to infuse the mask with meaning. She cannot be herself because her own face is covered by a mask that has its own implicit. fixed qualities. In a fleeting moment the actor's changed physical being creates an imagined set of circumstances that makes her think and feel the "other." As Mitter (1992) comments:

When the gap between the self and the role is bridged physically rather than intellectually, the emotions seem to foIlow of their own accord. It follows that the conscious mind is not the only alternative to subconscious inspiration in the creation of character: the body too has its purposes, mysterious though these may be (p.18)

In mask improvisation this new physicality is not practised within a consmcted play. A simple set of conditions such as waiting 4 8 for a bus, sitting on a park bench, being at an airport terminal are the improvisations that the actor is ihrown into. Immobility, a long pause. the way a character walks, sits, cuts its food, arranges its things are differently donc when wearing a mask. They reveal to the actor the importance of understanding those unconscious areas of a character which include the way they walk, stand. sit. wait and move from place to place. As a result, the actor becomes more conscious, more attentive to the world around him and those simple tasks are understood in a richer and more meaningful way. As with the neutral mask, this process identifies habitual, physical. as well as emotional choices that the actor makes. However, built into the character mask is the possibility of playing the counter-mask. By playing the counter-mask the actor explores things that are not always what they seem. The mask and counter- mask are best explained as a confiict within the same character. The counter-mask is what is presented first and then later on, it is the true mask that is revealed (Rolfe. 1977, p.34). The counter-mask of a politician is one who exudes confidence in front of his public, accepts flowers from generous admirers, and kisses babies as they are thrust upon him. This counter-mask hides the true mask who privately inspects every letter that he opens, meticulously checks every morse1 of food that he eats. and ignores his own children as they rush towards him for an embrace. The actor interprets a character in his mask. then finds a related opposite to that character. The moment of change from counter-mask to mask is most compelling to watch. The me mask may be revealed erratically or 49 through a gesture or even a complete eruption. The perfect homemaker who unravels as she takes little nips from hcr hidden bottle. the upstanding citizen who privately lusts after women create complexities in character that are important when working without the mask. Although in a realistic play these extremes might not be as radical, the actor can express those elements within a character through gesture, action and pauses. In conclusion, the actor uses the mask to explore new forms of expression as well as other ways of moving which lead to a variety of types of characterizations. The mask is used to stimulate and sustain characterization, concentrating on the economy of movement and gesture. The neutral mask identifies persona1 idiosyncrasies that are associated with the self, movement and a starting point for characterization. The character mask is read and interpreted like a text, giving the actor the opportunity to explore different ways of moving and how movement leads to an emotional understanding of the "other." The counter-mask fosters the exploration of the complexities of characterization by revealing the public and private sides of a character. As a result mask improvisation is character driven and acquires its meaning by exploring a wider range of possibilities than inherent in role drama. The masking event achieves a richer and deeper understanding of characterization as well as opening the door to imaginatively discovering what it might be like to be "other." The Audience

Thus far, 1 have discussed the actor in relation to the mask. 1 have argued that because of its non-realistic qualities. the actor must search beyond himself and his farniliar environment. He must scrutinize new ways of moving which lead to the discovery of alternative possibilities of characterization. 1 will now go on to examine the mask and its effects on the observers of mask improvisation. It is my claim that in mask improvisation, the role of the audience is an important one. The unrealistic qualities of the mask train the audience to be active, critical observers and interpreters of drama. Unlike role drama, where the audience is not part of the process, mask improvisation calls upon the obsewer to become active in interpreting while watching the drama. Peter Brook (1981) claims that for the actor, work in a vacuum without an audience would be meaningless and without a goal. He claims that this results in a deadened repetition, automatically repeating actions that have lost their meaning (Brook, 1981, p.138). He states that the role of the audience is to assist the actor. By assistance he means that there is no separation between the public and the actor. What is presented before an audience envelops both the actor and the spectator. What is present for one is also there for the other. He concludes that this is the key: to move from a repetition to a representation, a making present of something that is not there. This requires an audience's assistance. Assistance cornes 5 1 frorn the French term-1 watch a play: j'assiste B une piece (Brook. 1981, p.139). In mask improvisation the audience assists in making the character present. The spectator of the improvisation is thrown into a situation where the actor's face is covered by an unrealistic mask. Because it is unrealistic, the observer must use the skills of interpretation and thinking critically to create a meaningful structure. The actor is not playing himself but has cultivated qualities that acting together as a whole, create a representation of a character. The audience must go through a process to identify the actual factors that make this representational system possible. According to Miller (1986), there is a special way an audience watches a theatrical drama. He describes it as, "a type of vision that is altogether peculiar to representational seeing" (Miller. 1986, p.61). He makes a distinction between the different types of representational systems. He uses maps as one type of representational system, where the information provided has digital components that represent definitive and useful information, especially if one is lost. He uses a mode1 as another type of a representational system. By virtue of its appearance, which resembles the actual place that it is representing, the mode1 creates nonambiguity. He goes on to suggests that the scenery in a play is also a representational system. However, he claims that abstract scenery does not fa11 short of looking like something that it is suppose to represent but that it has assigned representational significance "to some but not al1 of its physical properties" (Miller, 1986, p.62). He States: For the audience to know what is happening on a stage it is necessary for them to read the whole thing as an integrated system and to understand which properties of the representational setting are related to which properties of the represented scene (p.62).

Mask improvisation shares the same type of representational system as abstract scenery. Because of its unrealistic characteristics, the mask is an object that an audience must perceive and respond to with a peculiar type of perception in order to make meaning of what they are watching. The audience must integrate the characteristics of the mask into the world that the mask is representing. Once this is done the audience begins to interpret the stanis of the mask and the possibilities of what it represents. An invisible life becomes articulated through the masking experience. Ordinary perception is suspended because the observer moves away from the practical, natural expectations of the everyday. Going beyond realism towards a radically different representation, the observer is open to interpreting and negotiating meaning from the image in the mask, the actor's interpretation of the image as well as the observer's particular viewpoint. The observer responds to a dynamic relationship that occurs between himself, the actor and the mask. A grade 6/7 class that attended a mask performance was struck by the effects of the mask work. Their responses ranged from focusing on how the mask affected the freedom for characterization and movernent to how it carried the message of the play. The students began reading their dramatic experience as an integrated whole, analyzing how the masks fit into the context that was being represented. The non-realistic elements of the performance did not jeopardize the way they inferred meaning from what they saw. Rather, they were able to independently interrelate the various variables and recognize their symbolic status. Although the mask's expressions were static and fixed (as the students constantly pointed out), they recognized the characters that were being articulated. On the other hand, they also expressed their delight in being able to see the character's expressions even though they sat at the back of the theatre. The characters portrayed acquired a transparency that yielded interpretation for them as an audience. Some students even expressed their dislike for the mask and its role in the play. Consequently, the unrealistic images stimulated dialogue and conversation within the classroom that focused on interpretation and characterization as well as articulated written responses about their perceptions. The nature of their interpretations was affected by their own sensibilities. Because they were never led to believe that there was a definitive truth, their responses elicited a barrage of perceptions that indicated critical thinking. In mask improvisation, interpretation is open to a possible multitude of readings based on the characteristics inherent in the mask and how the actor decides which of them is dominant. The mask does not copy real people but its exaggerated characteristics create ambiguity which lends itself to interpretation. As a consequence, the mask improvisation is open to public scrutiny and dialogue amongst the observers. Films that have used masks create an awareness of how al1 the variables interrelate to affect meaning. 5 4 Recently. Stanley Kubricks (1999) last film. Eyes Wide Shut . used masks which affected the mood of the picture. Their ambiguity, juxtaposed in the sexual context of the film gave pause for reflection and interpretation. It took the observer out of logically synthesizing the action of the play into an imaginative and erotic realm where he had to integrate the mask scenes into the context of the film. Without the masks these scenes might have looked pornographie, but the use of the mask intellectualized the context and stimulated in terpretation. When meaning is derived from the mask, it is not a self- oriented experience. Without creating a strong imaginative context that moves beyond the self, the mask does not have any validity. It remains an artifact. Although characteristics of the mask remain unaltered because it is an object with a fixed expression, the mask's significance depends on the context that it is representing. On one hand there is an indeterminacy within the mask, because it is not realistic and therefore has the freedom to be open to interpretation. Yet at the same time, there are constraints about the mask. These are bound by the mask's physical features, the context in which it is used as well as the recognizable attitudes that the audience shares with the actor's interpretation of the mask. One actodaudience can recognize implications in the mask that another may not identify. Miller (1986) daims that in plays as well as in other art forms the artist creates the artistic piece with his contemporaries in mind. The artist assumes that the performers will understand the attitudes manifested in the work without much explanation (Miller, 1986, p. 48). Then he eloquently continues to explain: The notion of performance would be altered if we were bound by the one canonical production. and plays would. like pictures. become autographic works of art. As a consequence the theatre would become rather like a museum or a church in which the audiences would be subtly changed into congregations, witnesses of a rite rather than spectators of a play. However interesting this might be from an archival point of view, in that the original would preserve al1 the idioms of the Elizabethan theatre, the play itself would be imprisoned in its own orthodoxy and prevented from developing that emergent character which is constitutive of great drama (p.54).

By giving observers the opportunity to explore a medium other than the realistic images that they are generally exposed to througii television and film, they are confronted with the experience of interpreting drama and making meaning of it through an unrealistic symbol. Although rich possibilities for interpretation are provided by al1 great drama, the masked actor presents a concrete yet unorthodox view of a character, demanding that the observer immediately participate in its structuring in an imaginative way. Because the mask is non-realistic. the audience cannot rely on the usual forms of naturalistic expression. As a result of this, the audience is involved in an attempt to understand characters and contexts that are different than their own. Consequently, the observer must break with his own common sense and go beyond his immediate everyday experiences to make meaning of the image in the mask. Maxine Greene (1975). using literature as an .example, daims that the reader does not merely regenerate what the author has intended but recreates a new totality projecting beyond words a 5 6 "synthetic fonn" by subjectively putting himself into the work. She asserts that it is not a complete subjectivity where the reader becomes introspective but a decentering takes place as the reader moves "outward into diverse realms of experience in his search for meaningW(Greene, 1975, p. 304). She States:

His subjectivity is the substance of the literary object; but if he is to perceive the identity emerging through the enactments of the book, he must subordinate his own personality as he brackets out his everyday, natural world (p. 301).

Greene (1975) explains that the work of the reader is to bring the language that frames the author's experiences to life and that the words form meaning in the readers mind as he reads. The reader uses his subjectivity in order to make the object or artist's experience come dive. That involves a gradua1 disclosure of self, where the reader is situating himself within the work of the artist in order for it to come to be. First, he is able to accompiish this by the cues provided in the literature which are the expressions and attitudes that the author has written into the work itself. Second, by breaking with his own common sense of the world, the reader brings the complex structure into a form or being and goes beyond his own everyday experiences. Greene daims that the reader's imagination can take him beyond the writer's words and beyond himself to create a deeper significant form (Greene, 1975, pp.30 1-302). Mask improvisation makes the same demands on an audience that literature makes on its readers. The masked character cannot exist as an isolated structure where its value is insulated from the audience's own experiences. In reading the work of an author an invisible character is articulated and begins to take on a form. Similarly, in mask improvisation the audience creates a synthetic form that requires imaginative maneuvering because the demand is to view the image in the mask as a character. This process does not produce realism. It is atypical of the experiences that most contemporary audiences have. However, this odd disorder of creating a synthetic form moves the audience to become engaged in reconstructing the structure so that there is a sense of meaning again. As Greene (1995) so eloquently explains:

The point is that simply being in the presence of an forms is not sufficient to occasion an aesthetic experience or to change a life. Aesthetic experiences require conscious participation in a work, a going out of energy, an ability to notice what is there to be noticed in the play, the poem, the quartet. Knowing "about" even in the most forma1 academic manner, is entirely different from constituting a fictive world imaginatively and entering it perceptually, affectively, and cognitively (p. 125).

Mask improvisation is an event where everyday perceptions are momentarily opened up and awakened. The mask's exaggerated features and heightened expressions as well as dehumanized reality enable the mask to be truly dynamic, demanding constant evaluation and CO-authorship between the artist. mask and audience. This demands an active participant who must respond to this unreal, yet possible character. The observer must corne to recognize it, as well as imagine what that life is Like within its new form. He must bring in his own perceptions that modify the comprehension of the mask. The second aspect of audience participation relates specifically to the case where the participants in the rnask improvisation are involved as both performers and audience members. The improvisations and exercises can be set up in such a way that acton take tums working in the mask while the rest of the participants become the observers or audience members. They have the opportunity to watch others in the mask and reflect upon their own techniques. The observer. through discussion of the set objectives, becomes part of the journey of discovering the imaginative possibilities of the mask. Thus they can also develop the skills and procedures that are explicit in the mask improvisation. In mask improvisation there are learning objectives that the masked actor needs to achieve. The audience watches as the actor makes these set goals happen and cornes to understand by direct observation the important difference between inhabiting the image of the mask and merely imitating its external characteristics. These are concrete observations which the audience can reflect and concentrate on when they are in the mask. It is by watching the improvisations. as an audience member. that the actor acquires a sense of characterization. Skills and procedures are taught through the activities of mask work through demonstrations. The audience also gets an opportunity by observing, to stretch and test the medium by offering new and possible ways to interpret the goals that are set. By having clear objectives set that go beyond the private experience of role-play. the form takes on a communicative purpose which is open to public scrutiny and inspection. The public and the private countermask exercises have objectives that the audience can incorporate into their own work. These objectives involve recognizing the physical and personality traits that remain constant and the ones that change when the unmasking of the public face to its private one takes place. B~ watching physical and personality changes the audience begins to reflect upon their own practise and at the same time. understand the construction of complex characterizations in drama. When the audience discovers the unmasking of the public face of a character, they are uncovering the dramatic moments in the drama and interna1 and external conflicts of the character. When watching the actor performing in the neutral mask, the observer sees concrete examples of idiosyncrasies of the actor, the simplicity of performing an action, and the discovery of objects 'as if for the first time. While the audience is consciously attending to the character of the mrsk, they are also contemplating the image's social role, which is supported by the features in the mask and the physicality of the character. By understanding the objectives that have been set for the improvisation, the observer begins to inform his own practice. He sees the skills and procedures that are required in characterization actively working. As these objectives are reinforced through observation, the observer may begin to visualize himself completing them. While watching others perform, he can see a variety of ways that set objectives an met. He observes how the mask becomes a transparent medium for interpretation and fully realizes how working on characterization can allow one to explore possibilities beyond the immediate reality of the self. The Educational Value of Mask Improvisation

1 have argued that mask improvisation is not merely an exploration of private experiences but involves an active exploration and discovery of unfamiliar contexts. Such an exploration develops the ability to imagine other possibilities. characterization. and cognitive facilities in interpreting reasoning, thinking critically and making judgments. In this chapter 1 will argue for the educational value of mask improvisation. First, 1 will explain how working within a non- realistic, stylized medium encourages fresh paradigms and offers a critical approach to characterization. Second, 1 will examine how through mask improvisation, social conventions that are implied to be naturalistic by the mass media are explored and reevaluated. 1 will then look at how the study of characterization is enhanced through mask improvisation. Finally. I will summarize the benefits available through mask improvisation.

Medium

Bertolt Brecht believed that the spectator's usual frame of reference needed to be introduced to a critical counterpoint. He opposed Stanislavsky's naturalistic approach (reality-based) to theatre, because he felt that by presenting the world "as it really is," in a naturalistic way. the spectator was hypnotized to consenting to 6 2 its images. Brecht's Alienation Effect was designed to strip the familiar so that the spectators would challenge social roles and conventions that were presented as being the norm through a naturalistic approach to theatre (Mitter, 1992, p.44). Brecht viewed theatre as a social instrument which would not merely interpret but also change the world. He introduced elements such as alienation and the epic to distance the spectator from following a conservative sequence of events presented in naturalistic plays. Instead he would have the intemal through-line halt, and would label the social incidents in the play, drawing attention to them as well as requiring them to be explained. Mask improvisation introduces a critical counterpoint that examines characterization. It draws attention to characterization and the context that it is presented in. Convary to role-drama, the focus is not on self-realization but on a character that requires a different context than oneself and moves away from typecasting. Since the mask is not real, the focus in mask improvisation is on exploring a range of possibilities and contexts that are radically different than oneself and results in stretching the range that an actor can play. In good dramatic acting the goal is to represent a character and move beyond oneself. With the mask on there is no choice or ability to portray oneself. It physically moves the actor beyond an individualistic approach. In doing so it also explores the discipline areas of voice, movement and interpretation. To begin with the student does not have to concern herself with her own image or self-consciousness. She has the freedom to explore other points of view without embarrassment. By covering 6 3 her face, the student can feel safe behind the mask and at the same time is set free to explore characters from a different social context. With a mask on. the student has the freedom and opportunity to explore different positions rather than a variation of herself. This kind of experimentation allows students to opens the door to a reevaluation of conventional social roles. Mask improvisation has an advantage over a naturalistic approach to improvisation because working in a mask involves context and characters that are very different from one's own. The student is forced to look beyond and enlarge her own vision and understanding of human possibilities. Through mask improvisation, a range of ideas must be examined. The face is covered, therefore the ideas of obeying any status quo can be dismissed and the journey begins in exploring the pieces of other individual's lives. The mask's unrealistic qualities also give students the opportunity to gain a conscious understanding of images. feelings and ideas in a non-representational way. This evolves into an appreciation for the expressive quaiities of the work that are not life-like and a search for their symbolic meaning. Rather than imitation, there is an opportunity for suggestion. It is through suggesting rather than imitating that more opportunities to imagine possi bilities are available. If one looks at an Impressionist painting, it can be argued that the experience is richer than that of viewing a realistic painting. In both, accuracy is evaluated, however in the Impressionist paintings more metaphors can be alluded to through the medium. There are elements of ambiguity and this experience draws one into an unlimited way of viewing the painting. The viewer must fil1 in with parts that are not realistic, with interpretations. The wind can be seen in Van Gogh's, Starry Night . however in a realistic painting the colours do not create an impression of wind. An Impressionist painting is like poetic understanding. Both use materials that need to be reconstructed to make meaning. Therefore there is an opportunity to dialogue amongst the students on a variety of levels as pointed out with the grade 6/7 class that attended the mask performance. Through mask improvisation, attention is drawn to the mask. and the expectation of reality is changed. Because mask improvisation does not pretend to be real. there are opportunities to explore a character in a much denser way. Rather than only an imitation of reality and an unfolding of events, attention. is also drawn to the mask's symbolic form and through that, reflection and new, imaginative perspectives begin to be interpreted. The student is not just authenticating her own feelings in a naturalistic way. Mask improvisation releases her from clinging to known meanings and creates conditions where different understandings may be discovered (Mitter. 1992, p.36). As a result, the student acquires a freedom that moves her away from known reactions to issues. and breaks away from customary behaviours. Working in an unrealistic form generates a vitality that moves the actor from standard explanations to confront different models of experiences and possibilities. Through simple gesture, even the inconspicuous is examined and explored. In a masked performance that 1 recently attended there was a 6 5 role that was particularly striking. It derived its power from the unrealistic approach that it took. The role was that of a female teacher. The actor who was a male, had a mask on and wore stilts under her dress, to create an overpowering effect on her students. Because this was in the realm of fantasy, the symbolism of the stilts and their incorporation into the character introduced an experience that was different than watching a realistic performance. This male actor developed the fragmented parts of the teacher's character and explored aspects of its content that a naturalistic drama could not examine in the same way: power and control . The nurturing that is associated with a "teacher role" was in dialogue and conflict with its counter side. There was a conflict between her trying to be kind to her students and her frustration and impatience with their demands. The absurdity of her drinking while taking the students on an outing explored the private and public side of her character at the same time. This would not occur in a naturalistic approach because the character was taken to the extreme and convention was stripped away. It allowed the participants to see a character within al1 its fragmented pieces, its confiicts shaped by its context. Unrealistic mask improvisation permitted the exploration of a character to its most radical extreme which is not readily available in naturalistic drama.

Exploration of Social Conventions

Central to mask improvisation is the study of character. Because it is non-realistic. the medium engages students to examine the conventions that make up individual behaviour. The images that students are exposed to through the mass media do not encourage a critical approach to the realities that they are presented with. Without a critical approach, students hold ont0 these dramatic images served up by the media as though they were the facts. Any classroom improvisation will show the typical T.V. drama being copied. Maxine Greene (1995) claims:

Instead of freeing audience members to take the initiative in reaching beyond their own actualities, in looking at things as if they could be otherwise, today's media present audiences with predigested concepts and images in fixed frameworks. Dreams are caught in the meshes of the saleable; possession of consumer goods is the alternative to gloom or feelings of pointlessness. Ideas of possibilities are trapped in predictability (p.125).

When students are engaged in mask improvisation, they are presented with a medium that deconstructs the messages that they are bombarded with through the media. Beauty trends that dominant film, t.v. and mass media are not part of the journey in mask improvisation. A mask creates a unique vision, rather than one that ic modeled after the dominant art of the times. The students must be able to reflect critically on what they see and what is constantly being presented to them as the way things are supposed to be. Without that, students model behaviouts that are presented to them by the mass media without examination or explanation. The art critic E.H. Gombrich (1982) ciaims:

We model ourselves so much on the expectation of others that we assume the mask or. as the Jungians Say the persona which life assigns to us and we grow into Our type till it molds al1 our behaviour. down to our gait and Our facial expression (p. 1 1 1). In mask improvisation, students look at, recognize and examine their own idiosyncrasies, as well as what others may type-cast them to be. Type-casting is a tenn associated with the type of character or role an actor can play based on their appearance or personality. It is prevalent in mass advertising, T-V shows and commercials and makes audiences believe that these types reflect the nom. The diversity that exists in Our culture is watered-down to generalities and archetypes. This is problematic because this watered-down version of characterization is accepted as the nom and as a result students of drama are inclined to approach the study of character in a manner that reflects this. The mind set of type-casting cultivates strong personality types rather than the study of human interactions and motivations that reflect experiençes within the human condition. Students are exposed continually to this fonn of media and as a result have a tendency to construct their identities associating themselves with these personality types. The consequence of this is problematic because once a student begins to see herself as a type, she will approach any character with that as her basis, rather than exploring the rich possibilities of the world of "other" that involve the study of values and motivations. If her identity is associated with a personality type then she is also affirming the conventional social roles that are set by the media world. It limits the possible range of characterization that this student could explore as well as the possibility of becoming "wide-awake to the world". its diversity and making poetic use of the imagination (Green. 1995, p.4). In role drama. characterization is not encouraged. The focus is on the universal theme of self in a predicament rather than moving away from the self, into characterization and examining how character is shaped by its context. Theorists claim that in role-drama the student is to develop herself through drama, however, without the study of characterization, the student will fa11 back on the generaiities that are so prevalent in the mass media that they are exposed to. If a student is considered a "cutsie type" then she will approach al1 of her characters that way whether they be situated in remote parts of the world or in different areas of the city. The depth that is required to play any role whether it be "a kid" from the inner city or "a kid" from the suburbs requires the study of that character's life and his experiences may be different than the "cutsie" type. This is important because through this exploration, students become involved in dramatic interpretation and critical reflection that helps them recognize what is conventional about themselves. The exploration and building of a character through mask improvisation involves an examination of the world and context of that character. Students are leaming about dramatic elements such as movement and connecting them to motivation, experiences, and values. It is not merely the goal of communicating to an audience that the study of characterization through mask improvisation fulfills. In addition, through an exploration of conventions and expectations outside themselves, students are also exploring the possibilities of other human behaviours which are coloured by different points of view, values and motivation. Through this study. the idea of the norm which is presented by the media is expanded. The nature of the tgansformation or process that the student undergoes requires the examination of other points of view and positions and this results in the rethinking of values that are considered the norm. Fletcher (1995) States:

Empowerment through drama necessitates that al1 subject positions are validated through being given a voice. It is not possible to facilitate our students' achieving a more democratic representation of their diversity and differences, their authentic voices, withou t a radical rethinking of liberal humanist values with their inscriptions of normalcy and universality. Authentic responses can only be achieved through informing Our practices with broader forms of cultural critique (p.1).

By putting on a mask in an improvisation, a female student could play the mother and a male could play the father, but more importantly the roles could be reversed. This teversal of roles is not bound by the predetermined physicality of the student. By covering the face the student breaks from her own conventions and reconstructs another. By examining and interpreting the image of the mask, the student moves beyond the limitations of her own physical appearance, reevaluates, and explores the views and values that determine another character. This process encourages articulation and dialogue amongst the participants. It is accessible by using the imagination, yet at the same time it is located in observing. expressing and challenging what are seen as the facts. This study is 7 O not self-contained. but the student must explore the world around her and the relationship that others have within that world. This examination may eventually lead to opposing the conventional roles that have been accepted as the facts or at least recognizing them as conventions. For example. if a male plays a female role in mask and physically explores ways of nurturing and gentleness, the conventions that these qualities belong only to the female are examined. In role-play improvisation, the teacher presents a situation where the students are improvising or creating a story without a predeterrnined script. The learning outcome is for the students to solve the problem that has been carefully designed by the teacher. In the process of resolving the problem, the students are discovering the intended underlying universal themes that have been implied and which underscore the story. The goal intended is that through this process the students are to discover authentic feelings and reactions to the situation within themselves. It is through the authentication of their feelings that these themes are uncovered. However, if a student focuses only on authenticating her feelings through role-play improvisation, she is trapped by the confines of her own individual consciousness (Hornbrook. 1989. p. 66). Through this self-contained identity, the student only confirms her social role and does not examine other views and values of "other" people. Instead she is confiming her own status quo. In role-play improvisation, if a student is playing a young woman whose choice in marriage partnership has been arranged by the head of the society and she is set to be married in an hour. her 7 1 "authentic" response would be focused on rejecting this offer. She would reject this offer as absurd because that would be the underlying assumption and theme of the improvisation. She would shape the improvisation based on this inherent theme and in accordance to what the teacher has found to be a therne worthwhile exploring. Since characterization is downplayed in role-play, the expectation of the improvisation is determined by the student's own subjectivity and identity as supporting the status quo. Most others in this improvisation would also assume the same position because they are also authenticating their own feelings. The goal in role-play is to find the essential human condition within the constraints of the prevailing theme. However, not ail cultures or historical times have maintained present-day Western cultural values. To assume that there is a universal essential human condition is to conform to a narrow-perspective and limit interpretation of other points of view. Without the richness of character exploration the focus is on behaviours that maintain the status quo. Drama becomes a very cornfortable setting where students explore ideas and behaviours within a standardized framework. On the other hand. by examining a social situation from another's point of view, through characterization. students begin to grasp the dimensional possibilities of human beings rather than supporting their own particular cultural or social values. The "bad" character begins to have a depth and participants begin to understand why this character has made particular choices. The student examines the world of the character and why the life choices that the character makes apply. Enhancing Characterization

Just as in the fantastical characterization of the teacher described previously , the potential of character study and exploration in mask improvisation identifies for the student a range of possible choices that can be made in character developrnent whether wearing a mask or not. However, the mask's exaggerated qualities allow the student to boldly commit to exploring pockets of complexity in a physical, emotional and intellectual manner. The student becomes aware of every gesture and nuance and its emotional counterpart because with a mask on these areas become magnified. Because there is a heightened level of intensity that is required in mask improvisation, the student is exploring a sense of vitality that is crucial to performance. However, this energy is not self-serving but it supports the image of the character. This is a very important objective for the student to understand about acting without a mask. It focuses them on the importance of serving the requirements of the play and playwnght as well as upholding their own interpretation of the piece. As long as the student is wearing the mask she must sustain a performing level of intensity and at the same time, the mask is relied upon to sustain the actor at that level of intensity. It is the cornmitment to character that the actor practises both physically and emotionally. Imagining the life of different characters and exploring the possibility of their marginal characteristics make compelling drarna. The mask frees the actor to take those kinds of exciting risks by physically and emotionally manifesting them. By wearing a mask there are possibilities of learning about a variety of human behaviours through a different vantage point. From this point of view the student creates the hopes, dreams, issues that cause conflict for this new character. Hornbrook (1989) believes that through continua1 interpretation and appraisal of dramatic art, students evaluate and refiect critically. Not only do they reflect, but the continua1 process of interpretation has the potential for students to articulate, "both [ofl the felt, social present, and [of} the ideological forms embedded in that present" (Hornbrook, 1989, p.110) Although the mask is not a play or piece of literature, the dominant characteristics of the mask become a sort of "text" that is to be interpreted. In mask improvisation, the "reading" of the mask is often referred to as an "impulse". This impulse is a force or idea of great magnitude that gives the student a place to begin her notion of characterization. After the initial impulse is recognized, the student must work at an intense level to maintain that momentum. Since impulses last a relatively short tirne, while wearing the mask, the student must continually interpret and reflect upon the impulse in three different ways in order to sustain the character of the mask: intellectually. emotionally and physically. Central to mask improvisation, is the sustaining of the impulse of characterization in the body. Often actors will become over- analytical and characterization remains an intellectual exercise. As a result the actor appears stiff and unbelievable. During mask 7 4 improvisation the emotional and intellectual are not separated into distinct aspects from the physical but their inter-connectedness is what supports the characterization of the mask. With a mask on, the student is aware of the dialectic that occurs between the three mentioned aspects which enables her to acquire a "felt" understanding of the character: intellectually, emotionally and physically. Mask improvisation provides an interpretive activity because the mask becomes a blueprint for interpretation. The student acquires a concrete image that she can reflect upon, interpret and develop further into a character. Although each mask specifies certain characteristics, there is a range of interpretations built into the mask. Each student will interpret the mask differently depending on their imaginative connections to it (Eldredge, 1996, p.89). Working to develop the image of the mask into a character requires an understanding of the mask's physiognomy and how that translates into the body. This reaction of translating the image into the body is not an easy one to verbalize and quite often it is easier to move into it rather than break it down and Say it. This is partly due to the lack of linguistic categories and concepts that make up the inner world (Gombrich, 1982, p.130). Yet the reflection that is involved in interpretation is apparent because a transformation occurs. This is accomplished through decisions that are made about body movement, rhythms, gestures and voice. The characteristics in the mask provide a visual image that is reflected upon and "felt" in muscular terms. Gombrich claims that "we interpret and code the perception of Our fellow creature not 7 5 so much in visual as in muscular terms"(Gombrich. 1982. p.128). By changing their identities physically, students move further away from the subjectivity that comes with their own habitual responses. In this type of improvisation, the focus is on how characters with different motivations and values than oneself react to a given context. rather than on uncovering universal and ideological themes as in role drama. Students begin to move beyond generalized resolutions and focus on specific characters and their reactions to the world that they live in. This is an important approach to the interpretation and understanding of plays and other literary works because it moves the student away from an ethnocentric view of the world. As the students explore characters that are different than themselves they are examining the prevailing ethics that underpin their own choices in characterization by becoming aware of stereotyping and archetypes. By becoming aware of the possibility of different characters and their relationship to their contexts, rather than prevailing universal themes, students can expand their own interpretations of visual and literary works. Feeling a character in muscular terms comes partly from the student's own experiences and partly from the ability to empathize with the image in a kinesthetic way. Mitter claims that, "By imitating external attributes actors can reach internal conditions" (Mitter, 1992, p.52). Through physical exploration the actor begins to uncover clues to the character. As the student physicalizes the character, she moves away from habitual responses. When she does this, the subtext or internal monologue that the actor develops as part of characterization, also transforms. When the body assumes a physical change, its ability to do things presents different challenges. An actor who is picking up a basket of flowers will do it differently if she is interpreting a character that is much larger than herself. There will be a different effort placed in bending down and back up again. With that new challenge cornes an inner monologue that begins to harmonize with the physical difficulties that the movement might acquire rather than with the habitual responses of the actor. This inner dialogue that takes place is called the subtext. It is the underlying story that is not recited outloud in any play or improvisation but becomes the motivating factor that prompts the actor into action. In a play, the subtext is the inner dialogue of the character that prompts her to Say her lines and complete her objectives. The clearer the subtext, the more precisely -the actor's objectives will be met. In mask improvisation, the subtext begins to emerge when the outside appearance of the actor is changed. Her habitual way of thinking, moving and reacting is changed because her physicality is different. It is the change in physicalization, a material cue given by the mask, that enables the student to practise generating a new subtext and a new inner voice. It is the concrete mask that continues to support that change. The dialogue, as Jonathan Levy expresses, is the least complex and interesting aspect of a play (Levy, 1987. p.45). This subtext, attitude or unspoken word is what breathes life into a character. It is challenging to fully perceive the image of a character for a student actor. Yes, she rnight have an image but the question still 7 7 remains. what does that image do? How does the actor define the image? By having a concrete image. the student moves away from du11 generalities of universalizing images. She explores ideas in very specific ways by beginning to investigate the character in muscular terms. If the mask has dominant characteristics and features that have lines rnoving in a downward motion, the student can begin to read and extend those lines into her body as well. She can position her chest inward, her shoulders stooped, her stomach slouched. By adjusting her body in this manner, she locates emotions that are connected to this muscular experience. The feeling of deep exhaustion becomes tangible and specific. The student begins to acquire a "felt" understanding of that character and its dominant characteristic, which is "tired". The demands of the mask allow more flexibili ty in cornparison to the constraints of a naturalistic approach. When working in an unrealistic form, the body responds more easily because the student's self-consciousness is released. Synthesizing the development of subtext with body movement is an important area that is explored in a contextual way. interconnected with the emotional and intellectual when doing mask improvisation. The physical dimension inspires confidence because it is always recoverable in performance. If the actor looses a grasp on the role during a performance but focuses on the action or physical aspects of the role, she will always find the emotional qualities that are tied to it (Mitter, 1992, p.20). Since the physicality of the character is something that is concrete and tangible, the student begins to acquire a confidence in the physicality of her own body and actions. Using this as a point of departure, the student unlocks the 7 8 key to the inner emotions and clues to her character by making connections and bridging them physically.

Divided Consclousness

The transformation that takes place when a student puts on a mask does not remain a mental, passive, interna1 event. It is an interpreted physical change that directly connects to and affects the emotional choices that the student makes in characterization. In mask improvisation, there is a continua1 reevaluation of character choices while the student is wearing the mask. D.N. Perkins (1981) calls this reevaluation of work a "dialogue with the work" (Perkins, 1981, p. 83). While in the improvisation, which is in progress. the student uses the mask to create the character, and at the same time discovers opportunities in the work itself, which prompt and suggest ways in which to proceed further. The student is building her ideas on the image that she originally perceived, starting with some preconceived notion as well as a range of possible ideas. Although the student begins with the dominant characteristics that she notices in the mask, she must fil1 in the information beyond what is given by physically and emotionally interpreting them. By putting on a mask and changing one's physiology. the student is part of a procedure that transcends a familiar framework to create another. She uses her imagination, ski11 and judgment to create dynamic combinations both physically and emotionally to establish and support her character. This happens because the student is concentrating on several layers of dynamics that are al1 working in tandem. One of the dimensions is the student/actor making conscious choices in characterization based on the dominant characteristics and physicality of the mask. She alternates with another dimension where she is the studentkharacter. This is the character that is interpreted from the image that the mask demands. where the student is Living in the subtext of the mask. at times forgetting her own point of view. Eldredge (1996) calls this dynamic a divided-consciousness or CO-consciousness and States that actors recognize this consciousness during performance. It is when the actor is both the character and the actor, conscious of both roles. It is a continua1 interchange within the actor who watches herself as the character and at the sarne time is participating in the dramatic experience. The actor is working on a multitude of levels. She is relating to various impulses such as audience, properties, gesture, blocking, cues, lines, and other actors . Not only are there the physical objects to pay attention to. but the actor is continuously inventing, experimenting and refining movements of the character she is playing. These are al1 involved in a continua1 interplay that is part of the divided or CO-consciousness. This relationship is based on the layered and complex dynamic activity that occurs when an actor is in a drama (Eldredge, 1996, p.35). The observer is the side of the actor which is the controller. She watches, encourages and guides the participant side of the actor in the dramatic activity. On the other band. the participant side is in the moment of the drama and connecting to everything that is going on in the activity (Eldredge. 1996, p.35). Eldredge separates the two by calling one the "dark consciousness" and the other the "bright consciousness" (Eldredge. 1996, pp.35-36) He explains that the former is where the training, experience. and mental, emotional and physical aspects of the character lie. The latter is the in-the-moment of being in character, being aware of the subtle changes in nuance that could occur for a number of different reasons including fellow actors or stimuli from the audience. The latter is where the actor is aware of the flow of her subtext and responds to any changing conditions that may occur. The two function in partnership (Eldredge, 1996, pp.35-36). By moving freely between the observer and participant selves, actors experience the "chemistry of acting" (Eldredge, 1996, pp.36-37). As the actor puts on a mask, the observer side of the student quietly watches, guides and modifies the participant side by noticing relevant aspects of the activity. The observer side is using judgment, reasoning and affective association to create the character. This creates a continua1 dialogue that contributes to the characterization of the mask as weil as the improvisation itself. However this interplay does not remain inside the recesses of observer/actor but is pushed through the mask into the participant side, "where every idea must be contained within a communicative shape" (Appel, 1982, p.53). This is done through the physical/emotional interpretations that the actor is continually supporting while in the mask. The actor must actively, through the medium of the mask. participate in the interplay that occurs between the divided consciousness. While doing so she is continually made aware of the interdependence of the 8 1 physical. emotional and mental aspects of dramatic activity. In mask improvisation, the actor creates a physical. emotional and mental order of the world that is different than her own, yet her own perspective affects and modifies it. The actor's own inclinations and beliefs are brought to the forefront and examined in reference to the mask. This juxtaposition creates a constant dialogue that makes the student aware of opportunities and choices in the mask improvisation. The inner voice that is developed must dialogue and negotiate between her own experiences and her perceptions of the mask. The inner voice becomes a go-between that transcends the familiar and dialogues on 'a multitude of levels that takes the actor beyond imposing the self as an absolute standard. The actor goes beyond the fixed framework of the self and responds to the influence of the mask. The actor must also consider various influences from nature, society and culture. She must create a cross-fertilization between the mask and herself by synthesizing al1 the variables, hence creating an emotional and physical interpretation of the character. Because mask improvisation is a tangible physical experience, it helps the student to believe in the actuality of the "other". It is throügh the use of the mask as a blueprint that the student acquires a concrete image that she can reflect upon, interpret and develop further into a character. Rather than remaining a conceptual exercise or intellectual idea, the student uses the mask to fonnulate and understand ideas. presenting them in physical ways through a symbolic medium. It draws the student into making new connections with her own experiences, seeing them from another 8 2 point of view. Mask improvisation decenters the student from the confines of self-absorption to seeing and feeling things from another vantage point. Mask improvisation goes a step beyond role-play which is reality-based or naturalistic. because the images that are created by the mask are more than what they appear to be. Mask's images evoke other images, mernories, ideas and possibilities. The student rnakes critical judgments as well as employs strategies of reflection and interpretation when she uses the mask in an improvisation. These are strong arguments for including this unique artistic medium in the drama curriculum. References Cited . . Appel, A. (1982). Mask characterm: An acw oocesS. 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