The question: why study devising as a theatre artist, actor, creator or playwright will be explored in this blog post. And as always “the mask” will be discussed as the vehicle driving the learning process and leading the student/artist toward understanding a deeper creative product. The current climate in today’s performance practice, on the surface, […]
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Use of custom masks in theatre performance
Since man appeared on the timeline, masks have represented characters in theatrical performances. Primitive man used them. All indigenous cultures have mask traditions. In Greece, the significance of theatre masks increased from ritual to ritual-drama. Theatre masks have gained immense popularity with the passage of time. In the Middle Ages masks were used in the […]
Theatre Masks and Devising
The Question of Masks in Devising I was recently speaking with a colleague about a devising workshop that we are planning and he asked me, “why use masks?” This prompted a lot of thought, which led to a lot of questions and then to a lot more thought. Here are some of those thoughts shared. […]
Theatre Masks and the Bringing of People Together
This blog post is going be all over the place so be warned. It has been hard to focus my thoughts on any one aspect of what I do given the events in the world at large. I spend my days caught between the world I live in and the world that is being imposed […]
How Theater Masks are Used to Inspire Social Change
This past summer 15 artists from eight states, Canada and UK gathered in the studio spaces to create new work using theater masks. The theme of the workshop was The Rise and Fall of the Other. The intention was to create story that reflected the cycle that plagues humanity as concerns the ostracizing of those […]
How Are Theater Masks Used in Actor Training?
The following is a sequence in which theater masks provide the cornerstone as concerns understanding and integration of physical principles for the actor. Several movement classes are listed and theater masks play a role in some as well as physical classes that are intended as preparation for the mask work. The sequence is designed to […]
How Are Theater Masks Used Today: The Bridge Between Tradition and Contemporary Practice.
The phrase: “the mask reveals,” takes our discussion of masks and their important presence in performance, training, ritual and celebration in many directions. This post will focus on how the theater mask acts as an agent connecting the past and the present as if they existed together in the moment with a sense of immediacy […]
How Are Theater Masks Used Today?
There has been a recent resurgence of interest in theater masks and masking as well as the use of masks in today’s theater practice. The importance of the mask throughout human history is significant and for our contemporary audiences it is a powerful tool in the telling of stories. The theatre mask inspires through the provoking […]
Reaching for Cultural Definitions Post 2
Devising Theatre through exploration of cultural masks of the world.
Reaching for Cultural Definitions Post 1
Perhaps the mask can be part of the ever-changing cultural landscape in America and be an agent of change as we navigate a world increasing ruled by technology.