How Is Stage Makeup Different Than Regular Makeup

Theatrical Makeup

Thousands of years ago, people in many parts of the world discovered that powdered pigments mixed into a base of wax or grease could be used to create hit effects of personal adornment and transformation. The survival of that practise is reflected in a common term for theatrical makeup, "grease-paint." Select types or styles of makeup were oftentimes used for special occasions, which could include going to war, celebrating stages of life, and religious festivals. The latter often included performative aspects, such as dance and reenactments of mythical events. Modern theatrical makeup therefore is heir to a very ancient functioning tradition.

Ancient Theater Traditions

Some ancient theatrical traditions take relied on masks for the creation of visual characters; others take relied on makeup for the same purpose. In Asia, for example, 1 can point to the masked theater of Java and the elaborately made-up Kathakali dance theater of southwestern Republic of india, or the masked religious dances of Tibet and the strikingly masklike makeup of the Peking Opera and related theatrical forms in Red china. In Nihon, the Noh drama is masked, while Kabuki drama employs improvident makeup.

Phase Makeup

Ancient Greek theater was masked, just later European theater usually used stage makeup to create characters, heighten facial features, and compensate for the furnishings of phase lighting. (The Italian Commedia del'Arte, which continued to use masks, was an of import exception.) Until well into the twentieth century, performers were expected to do their own makeup, as they were expected to supply their own stage costumes. The professional theatrical makeup creative person is a modern phenomenon, as is the theatrical costume designer.

Purpose

Theatrical makeup is inseparable from the act of performance itself. The aim of theatrical makeup is to delineate and enhance the function of a character and to give performers an additional tool for conveying the characters beingness performed. Phase makeup is often used to create visual stereotypes or clichés that will be readily understood by the audience. Stage makeup is usually much more colorful and graphic than ordinary cosmetic makeup. When viewed closely, information technology tin seem excessive and exaggerated, only it works when the performer is on stage being seen at a altitude by the audience. Theatrical makeup itself is also heavier, more dense, and more strongly colored than ordinary cosmetics, and it is often produced in the form of lipstick-like waxy crayons or pencils. For many performers, the act of putting on makeup is an of import part of the ritual of preparing for a performance; it allows the performer to move psychologically into the office of the character as the makeup is being applied.

Modernistic Makeup Artists

Makeup artists are employed today in a diverseness of roles, and they frequently specialize in, for example, theatrical makeup, cinema makeup, fashion photography and track makeup, or special effects. Regardless of specialty, they typically require years of training and practice to perfect their skills. Special effects makeup is particularly prominent in the world of film, but has also played an important role in the success of many popular Broadway productions, such as Jekyll and Hyde and Beauty and the Beast. In the motion-picture show trilogy The Lord of the Rings, the prosthetic feet worn by the hobbits were made past a squad of special furnishings makeup artists. Hundreds of pairs were made, equally a new pair had to exist worn daily past each thespian in a hobbit role. In executing such assignments, makeup artists have to depict on skills in sculpture and other plastic arts too every bit in the use of cosmetics.

Establishing a Character

Whether in the dramatic makeup of a horror film or the powerful aesthetic appeal of the unique makeup employed past the Cirque du Soleil, makeup plays an important role in establishing the characterization and impact of a performed role. Baz Luhrmann's successful films of Romeo and Juliet and Moulin Rouge, and his phase production of La Bohême, owed a significant part of their theatricality and audition appeal to his product team'due south careful utilise of makeup techniques that evoked a menstruum style. As these examples indicate, by the early on 20-beginning century makeup in different theatrical and fashion genres began to cross previously rigid barriers. The earth of film, specially in special effects, has had a profound impact on the development of new techniques of stage makeup, and today theatrical makeup shows upwardly regularly on mode catwalks as well. Recent fashion shows by Dior and Givenchy, for example, have been notable for their strong sense of theater. Manner makeup artists have begun to infringe liberally from traditional stage makeup techniques to create striking new designs that aid to showcase the fashions on display. Meanwhile, theatrical makeup is enriched by new developments in motion picture, style photography, and other media.

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Bibliography

Corson, Richard. Fashions in Makeup: From Ancient to Modernistic Times. London: Peter Owen Ltd., 1972.

Delamar, Penny. The Consummate Brand-up Artist: Working in Film, Idiot box, and Theater. second edition. Evanston, Ill.: Northwestern University Press, 2002.

Kehoe, Vincent. The Technique of the Professional Make-upwardly Artist. New York: Focal Press, 1995.