Contributed by Holly Conroy
House Manager, Board Member and Mask Designer
Last
summer, for the Water Works production of The Tempest, I apprenticed
with uber-talented Nina Barlow, to learn the lengthy processes for creating
masks from paper pulp, papier mâché, and thermalplastics. It was a blast! Nina
was so generous with her time, talent, and materials…and the woman is SO MUCH
FUN!!! I became obsessed with mask-making. Everyone in my family, including my
97-year-old mother-in-law, submitted to having their faces cast in plaster
gauze—the first step in creating perfectly-fitting custom-made masks. Since
then, they’ve received all sorts of masks, from tree-faces to zombies to Elvis.
Masks
are creeping into my other theatrical endeavors,too. A production of The
Fantasticks I directed in June featured several, and I plan to make a set
for Morgan Le Fey’s magical creatures in Camelot at Village Players in
2013.
So
imagine my delight when I learned I would be given the opportunity to
collaborate with Bart Bund on masks for A Midsummer Night’s Dream this
summer! Woohooo! Bart’s imaginative staging is leading me in new directions
and, once again, I’m having a blast! In addition to some very silly masks for
the “mechanicals,” I’m stretching my skills on a couple of over-the-top fairies
and a changeling boy. I hope they turn out as snazzy in reality as they are in
my mind! Come and see! |
We enjoyed reading your blog here at Wonderflex World. Masks are just so fun....fun to see, fun to make and fun to wear. As you probably know both WONDERFLEX and FOSSHAPE are pretty good construction materials....quick and easy. Hope Water Works Theatre has a good season. And agreed.....Nina Barlow is indeed a talented artisan.
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