Behind the Masks

This post is by Lauren Burns, a sophomore Multiplatform Journalism and History double major.

Photo by Stan Barouh
 

The audience of the School of Theatre, Dance, and Perfomance Studies’ production of Molière Impromptu will not only be exposed to the classic comedic works of Molière, but also the Commedia dell'arte style of masked theatre. Kara Waala, an MFA Design student crafted all of the masks worn by the performers in the play. Kara talks to me about the history of Commedia dell’arte and also shares a bit about the work that goes into bringing such beautiful, communicative masks to life.

The mask design for Molière Impromptu was inspired by marrying traditional Commedia dell'arte masks with the powdered courtly facade of Versailles through makeup and paint.

Lauren Burns: How did you become involved in the production of Molière Impromptu?

Kara Waala: I am an MFA Design student here at UMD, and we do the design work for the School of Theatre, Dance, and Performance Studies. I was lucky enough to be assigned the project last spring semester.

LB: Was this your first time making masks for a production?

KW: Yes, this was my first attempt at doing mask design for a show. I had done some mask making in undergrad, but nothing too extensive. So it was wonderful to be able to try my hand at designing something that we just don't see very often on stage anymore, the character mask.

LB: How did that idea come about?

KW: Well masks have been around since basically the dawn of theatre, and there is a really rich tradition to mask craftsmanship. This show in particular is based off of three of Molière's plays from the mid-1600's France, and the use of masks was the convention of the style, Commedia dell'arte. Commedia dell'arte is a form of theatre that originated in Italy in the 16th century that used masked "stock" characters.

The mask design for Molière Impromptu was inspired by marrying traditional Commedia dell'arte masks with the powdered courtly facade of Versailles through makeup and paint.

LB: What was the most challenging aspect of making the masks?

KW: I would say fit and function. It was a process to get the masks useable on each of the actors' faces so that they could see, move their mouths, and not lose all facial expression. There was a bit of experimenting to get the line of the mask trimmed as it was designed without losing all of the actor's cheeks, for example. And then there’s the fact that it is someone's face under there. We took care of most fit issues by using a plaster mold of each actor's face as our base but then added padding and rounded edges as needed to assure the most comfortable and secure fit possible.

LB: What did you learn from working on the project?

KW: I think what gave the largest impact was taking a tradition, something that has so much history like Commedia dell'arte and mask making and making it my own. I think as a designer, this is a really major wall to climb over, to not be intimidated by the past but to use it as a solid base for your own imagination and art.