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Thursday, February 11, 2021
Covid-safe on stage: a new frontier in costume design
Mirage News: NYU Tisch School of the Arts designers are embracing masks as part of a return to live performance
Does a rose by any other name smell as sweet…through a mask? Can Romeo and Juliet fall in love if they’re always kept six feet apart?
This is absolutely ridiculous. I cant imagine thearer where half of the actors faces are covered and they all have to stay 6 feet apart. The eyes are the window to the sound but I mean they cant do all the work of showing emotion!the mouth is super important. "It’s the actor’s tool, it’s the director’s landscape, it’s the designer’s landscape, it’s everything." And the physicality of acting and dynamics between characters are super important. Its one of the ways we communicate as humans. How can you put on Romeo and Juliet if they can't be within 6 feet of eachother. I get that not all companies can quarantine for 2 weeks before a performance like the movie casts because you have more rehearsals but I just wish there was another way. When they were talking about masks and costumes I immediately thought they designed masks fitting for the characters but they did flesh colored masks to blend in. Of course it didn't look good so... they started designing unique masks. I think a cool part about this us we can try thinking of these plays in the context if a pandemic. Its a cool thing to think about.
I guess it's a good thing that costume designers are having to incorporate masks into their designs, because at least it means that there are costumes to be made for a show to be put on. And I'm glad that people are beginning to see that masks can be incorporated as a stylized element, and not just treated as a cumbersome block to action. I've made a lot of masks myself out of a fairly standard pattern, so it kind of shocked me at the customization the costume shop is doing for the sizing and fit of the masks, but it makes sense that they would want the actor to be as comfortable and secure as can be possible, in order to not detract from their work on stage. Using masks as a through line for characters is genius—having a double cast in one show would confuse me so much, but the masks give a strong visual cue to the audience that these characters are the same.
I have so many mixed feelings about this kind of theatre. It’s a good thing that people are able to find new and creative ways to create theatre within covid safety regulations. However, at the same time, covering the entire bottom half of an actor’s face does take away so much of the performer’s character in that we don’t get to see much of that nonverbal communication that many of us portray through our facial expressions. On the other hand, I don’t think it would be that drastically bad considering for the past year we have begun to learn how to read other forms of nonverbal communication when it comes to our eyes and body language. I believe that whatever normal that we get to once covid dies down will be a new normal and we will get better at reading and understanding people through the “windows to the soul” rather than their mouths. All that being said, I still feel like wearing masks for an entire show would take away a lot of what a show could really be.
Of course I do not love the idea of masked theatre, but I understand the necessity and the creativity that went into it. Designing masks specifically for the characters is a great way to make them less of a requirement and more of a part of the costume. While it does in fact limit the actors ability to use facial expressions to their advantage during the show it may lead to some interesting alternatives and creative ways of working around that. I can see how these masks would be less practical for musical theatre as singing in a mask is a whole different beast to conquer. However I can see how the design of the masks if brought up the face like a masquerade mask, as well as a nose and mouth covering mask, could connect theatre to its original ancient forms if distantly. I do have some concerns with the safety of the masks though as the article talked about gauze or mesh being used in the creation of the masks and I wonder if that is completely safe.
I do not really know how I feel about this type of theater. This seems like the most obvious solution for the time being, which leaves me thinking, where is the innovation? I honestly think a socially distanced show where actors are not allowed within six feet of each other could make for some really interesting and experimental choreography, but the masks are where I get lost. It is hard enough to read someone’s expression or even hear them with the mask on when they are talking directly to me, so what makes these designers think that actors will be able to sufficiently convey a script when their faces are covered? I feel like time would be better spent creating pre-filmed performances when audiences are able to read the actors more clearly without masks. The one good thing about this type of show is that the audience is limited to a few inside the university. I would not be happy if this type of performance became widespread.
I found this article quite interesting. I think it is very odd to have to watch a play like Romeo and Juliette and have there be masks. I didn’t really understand much of the direction they were going in but I guess if it was set in a time of pandemic it would make more sense. obviously it seems like the designers embraced the fact that there would be masks for all the actors. I think the picture from Golden Boy was a little jarring. If I’m not mistaken that play is set like pre ww2 so it seems kind of weird to have the context of preforming in a pandemic for that show. Also the fact that they all had the same exact mask on makes it seem like they are all the same thing. I guess I can see how all having the same mask may get us to not notice the masks, but for me it just looks like every character is mandated to wear the same mask. I think there was a missed opportunity, I think the mask can be more of a character choice, what does it mean if a character wears 3 mask, or what does it mean when some has a N95 mask vs a neck gator. -Evan Riley
6 comments:
This is absolutely ridiculous. I cant imagine thearer where half of the actors faces are covered and they all have to stay 6 feet apart. The eyes are the window to the sound but I mean they cant do all the work of showing emotion!the mouth is super important. "It’s the actor’s tool, it’s the director’s landscape, it’s the designer’s landscape, it’s everything." And the physicality of acting and dynamics between characters are super important. Its one of the ways we communicate as humans. How can you put on Romeo and Juliet if they can't be within 6 feet of eachother. I get that not all companies can quarantine for 2 weeks before a performance like the movie casts because you have more rehearsals but I just wish there was another way. When they were talking about masks and costumes I immediately thought they designed masks fitting for the characters but they did flesh colored masks to blend in. Of course it didn't look good so... they started designing unique masks. I think a cool part about this us we can try thinking of these plays in the context if a pandemic. Its a cool thing to think about.
I guess it's a good thing that costume designers are having to incorporate masks into their designs, because at least it means that there are costumes to be made for a show to be put on. And I'm glad that people are beginning to see that masks can be incorporated as a stylized element, and not just treated as a cumbersome block to action. I've made a lot of masks myself out of a fairly standard pattern, so it kind of shocked me at the customization the costume shop is doing for the sizing and fit of the masks, but it makes sense that they would want the actor to be as comfortable and secure as can be possible, in order to not detract from their work on stage. Using masks as a through line for characters is genius—having a double cast in one show would confuse me so much, but the masks give a strong visual cue to the audience that these characters are the same.
I have so many mixed feelings about this kind of theatre. It’s a good thing that people are able to find new and creative ways to create theatre within covid safety regulations. However, at the same time, covering the entire bottom half of an actor’s face does take away so much of the performer’s character in that we don’t get to see much of that nonverbal communication that many of us portray through our facial expressions. On the other hand, I don’t think it would be that drastically bad considering for the past year we have begun to learn how to read other forms of nonverbal communication when it comes to our eyes and body language. I believe that whatever normal that we get to once covid dies down will be a new normal and we will get better at reading and understanding people through the “windows to the soul” rather than their mouths. All that being said, I still feel like wearing masks for an entire show would take away a lot of what a show could really be.
Of course I do not love the idea of masked theatre, but I understand the necessity and the creativity that went into it. Designing masks specifically for the characters is a great way to make them less of a requirement and more of a part of the costume. While it does in fact limit the actors ability to use facial expressions to their advantage during the show it may lead to some interesting alternatives and creative ways of working around that. I can see how these masks would be less practical for musical theatre as singing in a mask is a whole different beast to conquer. However I can see how the design of the masks if brought up the face like a masquerade mask, as well as a nose and mouth covering mask, could connect theatre to its original ancient forms if distantly. I do have some concerns with the safety of the masks though as the article talked about gauze or mesh being used in the creation of the masks and I wonder if that is completely safe.
I do not really know how I feel about this type of theater. This seems like the most obvious solution for the time being, which leaves me thinking, where is the innovation? I honestly think a socially distanced show where actors are not allowed within six feet of each other could make for some really interesting and experimental choreography, but the masks are where I get lost. It is hard enough to read someone’s expression or even hear them with the mask on when they are talking directly to me, so what makes these designers think that actors will be able to sufficiently convey a script when their faces are covered? I feel like time would be better spent creating pre-filmed performances when audiences are able to read the actors more clearly without masks. The one good thing about this type of show is that the audience is limited to a few inside the university. I would not be happy if this type of performance became widespread.
I found this article quite interesting. I think it is very odd to have to watch a play like Romeo and Juliette and have there be masks. I didn’t really understand much of the direction they were going in but I guess if it was set in a time of pandemic it would make more sense. obviously it seems like the designers embraced the fact that there would be masks for all the actors. I think the picture from Golden Boy was a little jarring. If I’m not mistaken that play is set like pre ww2 so it seems kind of weird to have the context of preforming in a pandemic for that show. Also the fact that they all had the same exact mask on makes it seem like they are all the same thing. I guess I can see how all having the same mask may get us to not notice the masks, but for me it just looks like every character is mandated to wear the same mask. I think there was a missed opportunity, I think the mask can be more of a character choice, what does it mean if a character wears 3 mask, or what does it mean when some has a N95 mask vs a neck gator. -Evan Riley
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