The 'Mask' in Modern Theatre Production

Kari Gaarder Losnedahl

The Theatre and Theatre Collections / Le théâtre et les collections de documents

International Association of Libraries and Museums of the Performing Arts
16th International Congress, London, 9-13 September 1985
Proceedings of the Congress

Société Internationale des Bibliothèques et des Musées des arts du spectacle
16ème Congres Internationale, Londres, 9-13 september 1985
Procès-Verbal

London 1986, pp. 41-45

The theme of my paper is the use of make-up in a modern theatre production, documented through a series of slides. As the pictures, I find, speak for themselves, I will comment just briefly on a few points in this connection: The importance of documenting this particular part of the live theatre, and also the use of slides as documentary material in relation to genuine research work, as well as popular information.

The use of make-up in theatre dates from earliest times, and was used by all actors not wearing masks. Make-up - theatre - is connected to conventions and has changed and developed in accordance with them. The general technical development, for instance the introduction of electric light, has also caused a fundamental change in theatrical make-up. The technical improvement in make-up itself has also had a great influence. Roughly one might say that today make-up has three aims: 1) to disguise, 2) to embellish, 3) or just to stress a certain characteristic feature. These points might sometimes be fused.

Whereas the mask has been the subject of much and varied research-work, rather little has been done on theatrical make-up. There may be different reasons for that. One reason might be the low opinion make-up in general suffers from. It has often been thought of as vulgar to try to embellish one's features using artificial means. The elevation and mysticism which have followed the mask have not been connected with make-up. And this in spite of the fact that they both belong to religious rituals in primitive societies, and they both belong to the theatre. I will say that today make-up plays a more important part in the theatre than does the mask. Another reason for the lack of information and research-work concerning make-up is the fact that while the mask exists as an object after the end of the performance, make-up is washed away. And this is due to the art of the theatre in general: it is the art of the moment.

The research scholar in the art of the theatre is therefore faced with a very specific situation: the actual object of research is non-existent. For this reason theatre collections have a rather special role when compared with other collections, in that they contain the documentary material which forms the basis and starting point for research - the object itself not being available.

However, the theatre itself is a very unique institution where the process of making the piece of art might be of interest equal to that of the piece of art itself. To collect documentary material of live theatre is therefore a demanding and manifold task. Items of interest are not limited to the actual performance only, but concern the whole procedure. That includes not only the work that takes place, before a production is ready for staging, but also the "silent", back-stage work which has to be done every night.

It is often difficult, though, to be systematic in collecting material, since the documentation concerning the art of the theatre in many cases can be just as ephemeral as a performance. Make-up is already mentioned. Costumes, wings, props, etc., become worn out, are thrown away, or changed and used again for new productions. Also the theatre itself may give little thought to preservation.

The amount of space, money and manpower available are also decisive factors in the work of collecting adequate material. Likewise the relationship between the collection and the theatre/theatres, as well as the aim of the collections will vary from institution to institution. There might be museums or archives which form a collection relating to one particular theatre, or there might be collections devoted to one special person. Other collections are devoted to theatre in general, or to the history of national theatre, and so on. The purpose or intention with the collection will influence its form and content.

Bergens Teatermuseum (The Bergen Theatre Museum), which I represent, was opened in 1919, and is thus the oldest theatre museum in Scandinavia (when concerning the opening) and among the oldest in the world. Up to 1944, when the building was destroyed by a bomb, it was housed in the old theatre building in Bergen, which had been built as early as 1800. This was the oldest bourgeois theatre-building in Europe, and here Henrik Ibsen worked from 1852 till 1857. After the disaster in 1944 in which several people were killed - among them the founder of the museum, Sigvald Johannessen, the museum led a rather varied life, until it was reopened in 1980 in a patrician villa from the 1880s in the University area in Bergen. This house also comprises the Theatre Archives (started in 1969), and the Institute of Theatre and Drama at the University of Bergen.

The museum is first and foremost devoted to theatre material from Bergen. The archive has a collection of more general interest, but with emphasis on Bergen Theatrical History. It also functions as the archive for Den Nationale Scene (The National Scene) in Bergen - at present the only professional theatre in Bergen. The archive is incorporated into the Institute, whereas the museum is an associated part of it.

Apart from the formal links between the museum and the archive on the one hand, and the theatre on the other, all three are naturally mutually dependent on each other. This means that, for instance, the archive receives photos, manuscripts, posters, programmes, annual accounts etc., from the theatre at the end of each season. The material is registered in the archive, and made available for study and research. The museum receives models, costumes, props, sketches, etc., from the theatre each year. The theatre may also deposit material with the museum or may lend out material for special exhibitions. In the same manner the museum lends objects to the theatre when necessary.

The target group of the two institutions - the archive and the museum is somewhat different. The task of the archive is to make material available for scholars and students whereas the museum must also cater for a wider group, children and adults, who are not necessarily engaged in the theatre, but who are either ordinary theatre-goers who want a deeper understanding of, or more insight into, the world of the theatre, or else are simply curious as to what a theatre museum might be! Documentation in the museum has, therefore, to be presented in a manner easily comprehensible and popular, at the same time as it must be intellectually justifiable. An important part of this presentation is, in my opinion, to bring forth the fact that this is about "live theatre". By this I mean a work of art which will remain history, as we are left with small aspects of it documented but as a whole it is inaccessible.

It is, however, important - in genuine research, and in the field of presentation and communication - to be aware of the modern aids available, and to utilise the new media technology.

(In my opinion it is also important to be aware of the emphasis within humanistic research generally, on the use of pictures, (visual expressions) at the expense of the written word.)

Video-taping of performance has long been an important part of theatre documentation. I am not here going into detail as to the advantages and disadvantages of this type of documentation, but will briefly comment that legal encumberances attached to this type of procedure prohibit a general and popular use of it in Norway.

Another aid is the use of slides, for instance in series. This is a well-known medium used by museums and in teaching. There are many possibilities here. I shall concentrate on one of them. As already mentioned, the setting up of a production is often of equal interest to the scholar as the production itself. To be able to understand the theatre as an institution of art, as well as a presenter of art it is important to know what is going on off-stage - the silent part of theatrical work. Although all elements in the theatre influence each other and are interdependent, it is possible to extract parts of the process, to approach it, so to say, in the middle, to focus and throw light on one particular aspects.

In the more popular forms of presentation it is important that the information is not too long, that it is interesting and enlightening, and at the same time correctly documented.

I am now going to present a series which illustrates the process two actors had to go through every evening when putting on make-up for the production of "We won't Pay. We won't Pay" by Dario Fo, staged at Den Nationale Scene in 1980. It is important here to underline the general fact about a procedure like this: it is part of the work the actor must deal with every night. The time it takes to do the "mask" differs, though, from production to production, from character to character, dependent on how intricate the "mask" is. Often the actors need help every night.

The special thing about this series is the way it shows how two blue-eyed Norwegian actors are changed into Italians or, rather, how to make them look in accordance with the Norwegian idea of Italians. The aim of this make-up was then to disguise in order to stress characteristic features. The make-up expert, responsible for these make-up masks, was Haaken Hede. The actors, however, were taught to put on the masks themselves with some assistance. Registrar: Aloysius Valente. Stage designer: John-Kristian Alsaker. Actors: Karin Simonnaes (who unfortunately died last year) and Rolf Berntzen.

The series was made in connection with an exhibition at the Historical Museum in Bergen in 1981 in which both Den Nationale Scene and the Theatre Museum were involved. The theme was "Masks and Men". Photographer: Trygve Schønfelder. Producer: Kirsten Broch who, after the exhibition, has used the series when giving information about and presenting the theatre to school classes and other groups. (Kirsten Broch is the Head of Dramatics at Den Nationale Scene.) The series will now probably be stored in the Theatre Archives made available both for scholars and for more popular presentation in the museum.

However, the genuine researcher ought to bear in mind some facts so as to prevent misunderstandings from occurring: the lighting during photography was different from that on stage, and the make-up expert was not present to adjust the make-up. These facts are important to the scholars and must follow the registration of the slides.

On the other hand, I doubt whether this information is necessary for a popular presentation. There ought to be a distinction between popular information and scientific documentation. The presentation, however, must never become so popular that it affects the validity of the documentation.

Before the presentation I would like to sum up some facts which point out why I find the documentation of make-up in theatre of value, and the advantages of using slides in presentation and documentation:

Make-up has a general appeal for the public. (Metamorphosis possesses magical appeal.)
Documentation preserves a part of that which is transient in a performance: make-up which, in contrast to masks which can be taken on and off, disappears when it is washed off after curtain-fall
It gives insight into the silent work in the theatre.
It illustrates an important aspect of work in the theatre which can be seen in isolation without the whole being necessarily displaced.
It is of documentary value to researchers
The material (slides) is easily stored. (Takes up little space).
The material is easily moved and can be shown in places other than the institutions that own them (museums/archives).
Bearing in mind the importance attached today to analysis of visual expressions and mass communication, this type of documentation is up-to-date.

16th Congress

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