Mask Theatre
Brian Bezdicek
Glass Mask Theatre - Stories on stage that stir the soul. A Dublin based theatre company directed by Rex Ryan, committed to the work of exceptional Irish and International playwrights.
The idea of using a neutral mask to train actors was first introduced by Jacques Copeau at The Theatre du Vieux Columbier. Copeau started with hoods, moved to a blank form and then discovered the need for a mask that represented neutrality. His students carried this idea away from his school. It was Jacques Lecoq along with the Italian sculptor Sartori who fully developed the methods and the neutral mask itself for actor training.
The neutral mask is a mask of calm. It is without expression and represents a being that has no past and no thought of the future. It exists only in the present. The mask is used to help the actor understand and develop a heightened sense of discovery, awareness of the space, a greater presence and a profound awareness of self. It is an extraordinary tool for actor training.
We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze how you use this website, store your preferences, and provide the content and advertisements that are relevant to you. These cookies will only be stored in your browser with your prior consent.
Necessary cookies are required to enable the basic features of this site, such as providing secure log-in or adjusting your consent preferences. These cookies do not store any personally identifiable data.
The real joy of the show comes from the anticipation of watching Faust select another mask, his back to the audience, and waiting to see what character will emerge from the pantheon of faces hanging behind him. Faust works seamlessly, giving each character a unique voice and shape and practically melting into the masks themselves. There are times when it is difficult to remember that a man stands under the seemingly simple strip of leather.
While you will see some Brechtian V-Effect techniques in this production, many have become less effective on a modern audience. Today, tactics like placards and spass are more common and less alienating. However, Director David Morgan wants his audience to experience that same sense of alienation during his production of Mother Courage, with the hopes that they will be able to think critically about it. Morgan has chosen to approach his alienation through the usage of character mask.
All of these questions are important. They will not only help you to reflect upon your experience with Mother Courage on a deeper level, but they will help you gauge whether or not Director David Morgan was successful at accomplishing an alienation of you as an audience member.
In the Heart of the Beast Puppet and Mask Theatre (also known as Heart of the Beast or HOBT) is an American puppet company and nonprofit organization based in Minneapolis, Minnesota.[1] The theatre serves audiences through puppetry performance and education. The company has written and performed scores of full-length puppet plays, performed throughout the United States, Canada, Korea, and Haiti and toured the Mississippi River from end to end. The theatre historically sponsored the annual May Day Parade and Ceremony that was seen by as many as 50,000 people each year.[2][3]
The annual parade hosted by In the Heart of the Beast Theatre drew large crowds and showcased large puppets and floats and entertainment by performers.[20] Each year's parade/festival had a theme, ranging from Spring and environmental topics to social topics like peace and racial justice.[21] The event also featured a festival in Powderhorn Park and a Tree of Life Ceremony involving more than 300 performers.[2]
In 2019, HOBT announced the 2019 May Day would be the last May Day they would organize, and that they would be taking time off from producing May Day to reimagine ways this celebration could be more decentralized, inclusive, accessible, and sustainable.[22]
In March 2019, a short documentary entitled "Children of Spring" premiered. The documentary focuses on the children involved in the May Day parade and festival.[23][24] The film premiere helped raise $15,000 for May Day.[25]In February 2023, the Board of HOBT decided to release May Day Celebrations to the community. Following that announcement, future May Day events or actions were independently produced by community groups, and not part of official HOBT programming.[26]
It's a busy old summer for our Walkabout acts this year, but there's still chance to add a bit of chaotic naughtiness to your party or event. Our Crimplene Crusaders, Cheapskate Caterers or Midwives on Call would be delighted to create joyous mayhem wherever you would like! Just get in touch...
With the Vamos Theatre Mask Library, teachers can use a set of 32 character masks for one half term for a minimal fee. It's a chance to try out the joy, playfulness and confidence-boosting power of masks with your students.
Never heard of you before; staying in Taunton for a few days with friends so was looking for theatre entertainment. Tourist Info came up with you. Went along not knowing what to expect and wow what a great experience. All in our 70s and had front row seats at Tacci-Morris Arts Centre. Enthralled was the word we all used to express our delight at your performance. Will certainly be looking out for your productions in/near South Devon. Boy on the Roof was so expressive and non-verbal communication so important. Thank you. Wendy
Full mask theatre taps directly into the power of empathy and encourages awareness of our shared human experiences in an increasingly isolating world. Through partnerships, Vamos Theatre tells socially relevant stories, collaborating with a variety of contributors from all walks of life in the creation of engaging and entertaining live theatre that gives a voice to those who are often without one. By promoting the transformative potential of full mask theatre across the globe, and educating and campaigning on the importance of empathetic communication, we aim to change the way people see the world.
Here was another great evening from Chris Vervain Mask Theatre. As with their Trojan Women from last year this was Greek theatre pure in intention and well delivered, its inducements, its piety, and exhortations in full flow and the more compelling for it.
Once more, masks and once more, uncanny to look at. As a dramatic device they distance and yet fascinate. An audience member complained about not being able to understand the actors because of the masks, but I would only suggest that perhaps his hearing is defective. Vervain (and mask acting) demands enunciation from the cast, and they fulfil.
One realises, on seeing the cast unmasked, just how hard it must be to act en masque, under theatre lights and too, in Attic heat! Projection is required, clarity and force of voice. Tone of voice becomes crucial. There needs must be a physicality overwrought in appearance without mask, but necessary when wearing one. An expansive, almost stereotyped gestural code, close to mime, become critical. Too, en masse, nothing can match the picture of a stage full of masked players. The effect is spooky.
I am unable to comment on the achievements of the Vellacott translation, nor as to whether it was apposite here to use it as the source text for staging or whether Mr Vellacott intended for it to be staged (if I chance upon a copy, maybe it says in there). As a dramatic text it certainly works, and credit must go to the young actors for their feats of memorising a text full of odd words, classical references and names. No wonder a prompt sat close at hand, lest there be any mistake.
It must be difficult to speak to a mask, through a mask. It must be hard too, to take a fake head (Rawle as Agave) (or skull, pace Hamlet again) and direct to it, and by extension to us, a great weight of grief and sadness. It must be hard to make the words live, and the themes of this most distant and different world live as relevant to our own, and yet the cast succeeded in doing so.
The Chorus too, delivered their lines with authority, splitting the speeches and narration between themselves in with assurance. Their choreography by Jemma Gould brought to mind black-figure vase work and proto-slyphides. (Are the Maenads kin and sisters to those same fey beings?) Lighting from Luis Alvarez was nuanced and unobtrusive, exactly what this piece demanded.
Music Theatre of Connecticut is the premier provider of musical theatre performance and training. Founded in 1987, we produce an annual series of Equity productions featuring New York professionals (MTC MainStage), six annual student productions, and a conservatory-style school of performing arts with curriculum-based training for students ages four through high school, including the nationally-recognized College-Bound in the Performing Arts program for performance career-focused high school students.
The unique synergy between our professionals and students not only fosters an atmosphere where both can achieve their full artistic and creative potential in a nurturing, non-competitive environment; but also endows students with the vital life skills of mutual respect, self-confidence, problem solving, socialization, and collaboration which provide fundamentals of success in all professional and personal life paths. Our educational focus is on each student\u2019s individual growth and development through sequential training, multiple performance opportunities, and mentoring by our full-time professional faculty and MainStage Artists-in-residence; so that continuity of a vibrant legacy of the art and craft of musical performance is ensured for ensuing generations.
c80f0f1006