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Thursday, October 12, 2023
Wigmaker helps ‘Hair’ weave its own hirsute world at Portland Center Stage
oregonlive.com: The first thing you notice about Portland Center Stage’s current production of the musical “Hair” is … well, the hair.
(Runner-up: the nudity.)
How hairy is “Hair”?
Quite.
2 comments:
Ana Schroeder
said...
This article was so fun to read. I am not particularly drawn to costumes and, least of all, wigs, so it was fascinating to read about the process and the collaborative efforts working on a show that is all about wigs. I particularly liked how individual each costume and wig is to each actor. I thought it was so fun that the costume designer based each costume off of the actor's zodiac sign. It really feels personal and still stays within the liveliness of the time period. It was also so fascinating how the wig designer made each wig follow the actor's natural hairline. I guess I assumed it would be more difficult to rework a bought wig to make it look natural than make a new wig, but realistically, it seems good for budget and time to just rework an old wig. I am curious to know how many actors are using their real hair, particularly actors of color who might use protective styles to add length to their hair.
I love how different elements are larger at play for different shows, and this one happens to be hair, which normally, is an element that is not the most developed. I was really interesting reading about Jessica’s approach and development of the wigs, and it was really interesting knowing that the wigs are adjusted to match the actor’s hairline. Everything in theatre is always so “out there” and exaggerated, from the movements, the makeup, to the costumes, but for wigs, it’s so much more subtle, and it has to stay hidden. But not only does it have to stay hidden, it has to hold and hide the mic pack, which I think is a very impressive and hard job to do. I haven’t done many shows involving wigs, but the ones that I have done, the wigs never did a good job at holding up. I’m really looking forward to be able to learn more about wigs and hair, and how and when to use them, and ways to secure them secretively and properly.
2 comments:
This article was so fun to read. I am not particularly drawn to costumes and, least of all, wigs, so it was fascinating to read about the process and the collaborative efforts working on a show that is all about wigs. I particularly liked how individual each costume and wig is to each actor. I thought it was so fun that the costume designer based each costume off of the actor's zodiac sign. It really feels personal and still stays within the liveliness of the time period. It was also so fascinating how the wig designer made each wig follow the actor's natural hairline. I guess I assumed it would be more difficult to rework a bought wig to make it look natural than make a new wig, but realistically, it seems good for budget and time to just rework an old wig. I am curious to know how many actors are using their real hair, particularly actors of color who might use protective styles to add length to their hair.
I love how different elements are larger at play for different shows, and this one happens to be hair, which normally, is an element that is not the most developed. I was really interesting reading about Jessica’s approach and development of the wigs, and it was really interesting knowing that the wigs are adjusted to match the actor’s hairline. Everything in theatre is always so “out there” and exaggerated, from the movements, the makeup, to the costumes, but for wigs, it’s so much more subtle, and it has to stay hidden. But not only does it have to stay hidden, it has to hold and hide the mic pack, which I think is a very impressive and hard job to do. I haven’t done many shows involving wigs, but the ones that I have done, the wigs never did a good job at holding up. I’m really looking forward to be able to learn more about wigs and hair, and how and when to use them, and ways to secure them secretively and properly.
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