Performance Masks

In the 16^th Century a Commedia dell' Arte theatre company was the first ever professional acting compnay established, and many playwrights, such as Shakespeare are known to have been influenced by this type of theatre.

One main element of Commedia dell’ Arte is the use of half masks and this allows the actor to both speak and sing without the hindrance of a full face mask. The element of half masks means that the actor must work in a different way to a full face mask, an example is that the voice is very important in Commedia.

The use of the half masks is helpful in identifying the stock characters within Commedia. Most of these stock characters are the figures of fun and or satire, whereas characters such as the lovers had no need for masks as the plays generally evolved around their story rather than Pedrolino or Brighella for example (both characters are masked).

The masks are made of leather and are generally either mahogany brown or black in colour. Each character is identified by specific characteristics that are easily identified by the audience, for example the Captain has a long nose, and this allows jokes to be made about the size of his “nose”.

 

When we were first shown the masks on Monday afternoon we were told of the rules that need to be followed when using them.

·    You do not turn your back on the audience.

·    Do not look down.

Both of these rules are important because the audience loses sight of the mask and in turn the illusion is gone. If you were to look down the audience would get a great view of your hairline and crown of your head and this will mean the audience will be unable to hear the dialogue as it will be spoken to the floor.

·    The mask must be put on away from the audience, in the 16^th century there were no wings or backstage area so the actors would turn away from the audience when putting on the mask. By putting on the mask away from the audience we are able to keep the illusion intact as they never see the actor but only the actors.

I found mask work challenging because you must be aware of where your face is facing at all times. My struggle was made worse by the fact that most masks were slightly too large for my face and this meant that the masks would catch on my upper lip hindering my dialogue slightly.