Theater Masks and Costumes

Local theater groups and dramatic art students can put on some amazing professional looking production, sometimes it only takes the right mask or decor to create the effect and carry an audience away to a magical world of make-believe.

However if you are on a tight budget it can be difficult to create something special, but here are some tips to create some quality plays using different artistic methods that may be available to you. The first thing is to make use of things in you environment, this means if you are at school then study your environment because quite often there will be pieces lying around from past dramatic performances that you can make use of and adapt into something else more suited to the character you will be playing, you could also look for things around haytheatre.com the home that could be made into special outfits, but this all depends on how much time you have.

If you are on a slightly bigger budget you may consider renting an outfit, this can be especially effective when putting on a play that involves masks, as a professional look can be the best thing to help an audience believe a character. But sometimes for local arts groups you will find that a lot of the cast prefer to make their own outfits to really add a unique personality and custom fit to their art.

Renting masks can create some of the right theater and effects as getting the right masks for the drama will create the right look for a character, you need a mask that will be instantly recognizable to an audience so it is usually best to get professional quality they can also make alterations for that perfect fit.

It all depends on the type of appearance you wish to create as different cultures from around the world have their own ways to represent a story. Our ancient ancestors used masks extensively to create plays; typically these were silent productions for the mask wearer with the audience only hearing the narrator of the drama. The earliest recorded use of masks were found in Greece but discoveries have also been made in African communities and used to frighten away evil and demons, and would have been accompanied with loud gestures and sign language. They are also used to this day in healing ceremonies.

Masks and costume masks also provide an essential role to the deaf and hard of hearing, the use of a mask and costume will ensure that everybody can understand and follow along with the play. This can also be especially good for students who speak another language as this will also make the mask wearer easily understandable.

Whatever type of play you want to cast the costumes will be essential throughout the theatrical experience, Whether you are putting on a school play, a college production or a professional artistic performance.

These days’ theater masks are still used for decoration, and people like to put them on a wall around the house. But the real life looking ones are made from latex or neoprene with a lot of outfits being made from leather, this is especially true in the film industry where masks are becoming more and more lifelike designed to bring out the emotions of the audience.

There are many uses of theater masks and costumes, whilst the acting is still the most important, the mask will create a believable character and a perfect fit to any theater production.

For more information about theater masks and helpful resources please take a look.

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *