The Art of Theatre Masks

Series Summary

When we think of the theater, one image before all others comes to mind: two iconic masks side by side, one happy and the other sad. These masks represent the facade of acting, the range of human emotion, the masks we all where, and/or a host of other interpretations. Masks are found in most cultures around the globe, usually tied to magic or the arts (the dividing line between the two thinner than we might imagine). In ancient Greece and Rome, masks were traditionally said to help communicate emotion to people in the "cheap seats," but recent scholarly work finds masks much more interesting. A culture gives away its opinion of human subjectivity in the way it constructs its masks. Japanese Kabuki theater depended on masks. Many Hopi and other Uto-Aztecan Amerindian groups use masks in various kinds of rituals. The masks of Carnival are also complicated social constructions that both celebrate and reinforce boundaries at the same time.

In this free video series, Emily DeCola teaches you to make theater masks and ways to use them. You will learn the history of masks in various traditions, materials used in molding or making masks, ways to position the eyes and facial features, and more. Emily will show you how to create your very own mask using paper and simple materials. She shows you acting tips, how to use body language, how to match masks to actors, and much more. It is all here.

Video Transcript

"On behalf of Expert Village I'm Emily DeCola in the puppet kitchen in NYC and today we are going to talk about theatrical mask. So we are going to start today about lots of different kinds of masks. The last time that I posted on Expert Village we talked about marrying in that puppetry. I'm a performer, designer, director with puppets and mask and part of why work in both mediums because they are so closely related. We are going to talk about different kinds of masks in terms of style and technique, masks from different parts of the world and how mask is used and different contents in which mask performances used. Whether it is theatrical or entertainment or ritual or spiritual religious contents. So as you can see behind me I have a couple of different kinds of masks laid out and we are going to talk about all of this. "