Stage Directions: Head of Wigs and Makeup Sandra Smith shows us backstage and inside the Royal Shakespeare Company's (RSC) Wig Room, where actors have their wigs fitted before they go onstage. She shows how the team works and talks through the different styles of wig the RSC uses for a show, and what happens when an actor steps into the wig room and they've had a bad day...
8 comments:
This article is super cool. I love being able to see behind the scenes of theatres all around the world. I really like how the main aspect of this article is a video. One thing, albeit a small detail, I really liked in the video was when she was showing part of the process specifically with the design sketches, one of the characters in the show is named Bianca, and I am such a fan of the way Bianca sounds with a British accent. Besides her saying my name, I loved seeing the method they use to mold the actors’ heads. I feel like tape and cellophane is a rather simple method, but it goes to show that sometimes cheap and simple methods are just as functional. I also found it super interesting how they literally made the wigs hair by hair. I cannot imagine how time consuming it is to sit and tie thousands if not millions of hairs onto the wig. I feel like that could also be very straining on the eyes.
I think it's so cool to be able to take a peek behind the scenes and get to see what happens in the wig room of a theatre that uses wigs for many of their productions. People don't always think about the intense process that goes into designing the hair/wigs, choosing which wig would suit which character, styling the wig, and then finally making it work with the actor. Quick changes without wigs can already be very fast-paced stressful. I can't even imagine how much time it must take to perfect a wig change in order to complete the quick change in enough time to get the actor back on stage. I really enjoyed that the video included the way people in the wig room interact with the actors and make the wig room into a comfortable space where the actors can speak about whatever they are dealing with. I think creating that sort of environment is extremely important in the theatre world.
This article makes me want to make a wig for an actor, makes me want to fit an actor's wig, do an actor's hair, do an actor's makeup... It is very rare to see the hair and makeup side of technical theatre. In high school, the hair and makeup department was hugely important but far less celebrated. Moving onto college, I realized there wasn't even a hair and makeup department, it went right in with the costumes, which makes perfect sense, but I was used to hair and makeup being its own thing all throughout high school. I like how this article/video is not just about wigs and tech, but also about human connection between the actors and the hairdressers and how the relationship between them must be a supportive and respectful one. Often tech is seen as distinct from acting, but they really are very intertwined, for one cannot exist in its best form without the other.
I truly loved this article. I think wigs have so much more power than they are given credit for, but bad wigs are one of the easiest things to spot when you sit in the audience of a show. And they can discredit the entire design or aesthetic or visual of the show in one cruel swoop. That's because everyone in the world knows what hair looks like, we see it a million times over, every single day. So if something seems the slightest bit off, we stop believing it to be true, and all the magic is lost. But wigs like the ones in this article are magic. Well-done wigs can add so much to a show and can make costume changes and the pre-show process so much easier for both the performer and the dressers. I am very glad this article focused on that process, because it is such a crazy skill that is often overlooked and underappreciated.
I love that there are so many facets to theatre. In one area you have people welding steel together to create a scenic element and in another you have people putting strands of hair together to create a look for an actor. I feel like there is something for everyone to love or appreciate in theatre. With that being said, it is really incredible how people are able to create so much personality with hair. I struggle with figuring out what I want to do with my hair on a daily basis, so I can't imagine having to create different wigs, each with an individual personality for multiple actors. I have heard actors say that once they get into full costume, hair and makeup, they fully transform into the character. So all of these elements are so crucial because of what they do to the person wearing it. Of course, the people who do this are skilled and go through periods of research, but it is still a very admirable craft, and I know there is much more to it than just creating personalities. Wigs are like the props of the costume world. They can be small or big. They can subtly be in the background or they can be in your face. Either way, they bring so much character and completion to the overall image. Also, if they are not done properly, they can truly ruin things.
Wow!! I loved watching that video. The wigs that are created by Royal Shakespeare Company are just amazing!! The process of making the mold of the actors head and then making the wig from scratch by sewing in each individual strand of hair is just so fascinating!! I would love to know more about wigs. They are such a powerful tool in the costume world. You can completely transform what someone looks like by just putting a wig on them. You can make someone who has short hair instantly have long hair! I would love to take a class on wig making it just looks like a lot of fun. And the wigs are so realistic that they use at Royal Shakespeare company. The head of the wig department was talking about Taming of the shrew and how the director wants to genderbend certain characters. So, the wigs are allowing them to do that!
Wig making and styling is by far one of the most detailed and incredible art forms I've seen but I also have to admit wigs kind of scare me. Something about having fake or not your own hair on your head really weirds me out which is so unfortunate because I would love to love to want to learn this. Wigs are one of those things that you don't appreciate how well it's been made until it's not well made. A well-made wig can completely transform a person, persona, or character in a frighteningly drastic way. It's crazy what our hair can contribute to the veneer we put on for the world. I love their ideas of juxtaposing the softness of the gender swapped male characters with the harshness of the women's hairstyles. It had never occurred to me that design choices were made with that level of insight for character details like hair.
Watching the process behind the wigs is insanely interesting. It may seem like a small detail, but so much effort is put into making a wig believable. The part that baffled me the most was watching them physically make the wig. The fact that it must be pieced together by each strand of hair is insane. The patience alone is incredibly admirable. The video shows how just like a piece of clothing, a wig must have renderings and a design. With more extravagant shows, the wigs get more detailed and intense, so it's fascinating to see how they approach creating the wig. When I tried on the wigs during stagecraft, the two curls I did in my hair were painful and the wig was itchy, so I can only imagine what the actors with a million curls and a Victiroian wig on must be feeling. Overall, it was an effective video with plenty to learn from for future costume designers.
Post a Comment