Mask

Mask is the essence of drama. From the complexities of courtly masques, to the subtleties of latex faces in film make-up, to the paper cut-out on the back of the cereal box, there is one joyful thrill of putting on a false face and becoming someone else for a moment.

The primitive man dons animal masks or ghost masks and dances the expressions of his world. For the rest of the village, he is (for that moment) that animal or that ghost spirit. The 16th century Italian nobleman sits smiling while a commedia dell’arte troupe insults his lifestyle with their zany antics. They are able to say things behind a thin leather half-mask that would cost them their lives said in the street an hour later. A clown strolls down the road in a parade, handing out balloons and dancing with people who would shy away if he were not in “clown face”. Mask triggers the “willing suspension of disbelief” in theatre better than any other dramatic device. Why?

There are, a number of complex cultural and psychological factors converging in the experience of masks that explain the “trick” of what gives masks a carnival or covering-up quality. When someone puts on a mask, somehow he seems not to be a humanas we know him, but some sort of abstract animation. We relate like a child without any fear to such an actor, especially if he is in a cheerful mask. Perhaps it has to do with the fact that the mask does not change expression and therefore is as non-threatening to us as a painting or a chair. There is no “privacy zone” as there is with a real person. Conversely someone in a terrible mask strikes fear into our hearts in a charming, illogical way. We are afraid in spite of ourselves, but it is a fear we delight in.

The symbolic quality of masks acts as a sign for the kind of person the actor is to be. The mask makes the actor into someone else and we accept that fact readily and instantly. We are definitely aware that we are involved in the unreal of the theatre. Natural make-up makes us unsure; more exaggerated make-up gives us better clues, and so on through the spectrum until we arrive at masks. We very clearly know our place and relationship with them. The signs are obvious. They allow us to believe comfortably and safely.

All masks have fixed expressions. The delicate raising of eyebrows, sneer of lip and flash of eye are forbidden territory for masks. Because of this, certain areas of drama are not friendly to masks. Realistic drama is one area. Masks are rarely seen in the kind of drama that cuts close to the bone and reminds us of ourselves through realistic acting. Masks are found in serious drama. The megaphone-mouthed masks of Greek tragedy are examples of this. But in serious drama masked actors tend to be symbolic taking us beyond ourselves through universal symbols rather than through natural acting because always, mask work must be larger than life, large in gesture and in thought. It could be generalized that mask work tends to either be comedic or abstract-metaphysical (the fundamental nature of being and the world).

In the past, masks were used to stylize drama, to symbolically suggest certain character types of exaggerated character features. The mask of Oedipus Rex always has a noble brow and handsome features. The mask of Pantalone, the old letcher has a hooked nose and villainous eyebrows. Even a clown has a red bulb nose of the drinker, or the unshaven face of the hobo. All these faces are stylized representations of types of people. For performers who use masks, the mask has a life of its own. Some actors of the commedia spent years trying to “grow into” the mask of their chosen character. The care of mask-making used to hold rank with the diamond-cutter and other rare skills.

Whenever someone puts on a mask, he is acting in a long and rich tradition of the theatre dating back to drama’s origin in primitive ritual. At the same time he is discovering afresh the essence of drama which is “play”.

Techniques, Types and Theory

There are three kinds of masks.

  1. Fixed-focus masks: Characterized by decoration, painted features, facial detail. Only one narrow range of emotions can be performed in these masks. Halloween masks are the prime example of this. Their expression theatrically is non-existent because they are created to show one attitude. Used symbolically, in rituals and primitive customs.
  2. Half-masks: characterized by having the mouth free to speak.

These are often one colour with exaggerated nose and eye structure.

Commedia masks are made of leather or wood. Having the mouth

animated and the eyeballs visible animates the entire face creating

interesting illusions.

  1. Rehearsal masks: characterized by being of one colour and texture to allow theatre light and shadow to help animate the features. There are wide ranges of emotion possible with these masks. They “come to life” most readily when performed correctly. There are two types:
  2. Neutral masks

It is almost impossible to create a perfectly neutral face that is neither young nor old, male nor female. In 1965, a maskmaker in Italy came closest after 60 years of trying. His mask resembles Apollo statue in Athens.

  1. Expression masks

These are masks that emphasize certain character features yet are abstract enough to perform a range of emotions. The trick is to work with them to find the mask’s best feature or focus.

Terms

  1. Range: The number of different emotions that can be expressed by performing the mask defines its range. All masks have a limit to the number of attitudes they can express.
  2. Attitude: Facial attitude is the emotion the mask seems to be expressing.
  3. Life: The life of a mask is the time when it seems to be flexible and animated like a real face in performance. Trained actors can sustain several minutes at a time of constant animation when the mask “comes to life”.
  4. Feature or focus: The one emotion or attitude that comes to life the best when the mask performs.
  5. Fixed Focus: a mask with one attitude.
  6. Dead (or no focus): A mask “goes dead” when the actor is not bringing forth the emotion to make it work. Concentration on technique rather than emotion or breaking concentration makes a mask go dead.

Theory

The audience sees an optical illusion. They watch the face of the actor, which is of course the mask. Their periphery vision sees the body attitudes change and the eyes animate. Their eyes “fill in the blanks” and the audience sees the expression on the mask appear to change and “come to life”.

Technique

  1. Movement as a mime must be quite exaggerated, the gestures must be large.
  2. The mask must function as if it were one large eye. In order for the mask to “see” something the entire head must jut forward. Also, masks see as if they had blinders on and must turn the entire head to see something to the side.
  3. Quick movements ruin the optical illusion. Mask movement must be slow, clean and efficient, not cluttered.
  4. The illusion is affected seriously when the mask performs to the side profiles or with the actor’s back to the audience. Face forward is a must with mask work.
  5. Mask theatre thrives on the actors establishing direct visual contact with the audience. Double-takes are common as are slow turns and the look that says “what do you think of that?”
  6. As in mime, mask work must be uncluttered. Gestures and story line movements must be isolated and separated by slight pauses like the rests in music. These give the art form rhythm.
  7. A common error with beginners is tilting the face down, thus losing much of the mask’s power to come alive. Keep you chin up.
  8. The mask amplifies the sound of your own breathing but the audience can’t hear it at all. Do not hold your breath in a mask. This ruins relaxation and hence the performance.
  9. The actor must feel the emotions he wishes to express. If he pretends to act out anger, for example, the mask will remain dead. Masks only come to life when the emotion is sincere.
  10. It is the tradition in mask theatre not to let the audience see the mask come off or go on. This is done either backstage or by turning one’s back to the audience. The moment before an actor turns to face the audience is a moment for gathering concentration and for relaxing in readiness.
  11. Never touch the face of the mask in performance. Never let your hand come between the mask and the audience since even a second or two will break the illusion.
  12. Never try to perform a mask that you have not taken a quiet moment to study. Try to discover the main focus or feature. You will feel lost in a mask that is a “stranger” to you.