The Age of Masks

One difficulty of the play is the need of a head on stage when Agave comes back from the Mount Citharion. An effective representation must be found for this, be it tactile (like a prosthetic head, the use of which I do not find attractive) or symbolic.

When we got the project I imagined I would much rather make use of masks than a prosthetic head, which in my case is out of question, I do not find them useful, as it would destroy the illusion and transport the audience back into themselves, making them aware of themselves, of the theatre.

So I took to the research of masks:

First the Ancient Greek of course, where the use of these objects was crucial to make the audience recognise the persona, the gender of the characters.

Notice the differences between these two pairs.

I personally found that the second ones from the pairs were a bit... perhaps wackier, more playful. And the first ones were more attractive, more worked upon, which for me raised its worth.

 Dionysus

Warrior

I cannot hold back from looking at wonders inspired by the faerie-folk. This organic, beautiful kin, has the lightness which I had originally attribute to the followers of Dionysus. 

 An Oberon mask from Fantasy Guilde Studios

Titania Mask from Fantasy Guilde Studios

Crypt Dweller from Fantasy Guilde Studios, for Pentheus?

Jane Klugstons Fantasy Fest masks

An elegant white fantasy mask

Fantasy masks on the firecer side

Serpent Lord

DLX Tauren mask

Another strange find was "Fantasy Masked Statues", I would most certainly would not want to bump into one of these by accident on a nighttime stroll. They certainly do set an "atmosphere" as the website cites.

After looking at fantasy inspired masks, my heart took me down the path it desired, I looked for "creepy masks" and I found this beautiful pair which I could imagine for my crazed Maenads:

Julia Sanderl made these in April 2008, on her site she wrote: "Here are the completed mask examples that I created. The fabric additions on the left mask were recycled headdress materials from my friend Lara."

About the female face she says: "This is a sample I made to demonstrate the process of mask-making for my students. Inspiration was derived from African art, and body art from a variety of cultures. While working on this face, I was thinking about the ritual scarring practiced by many African tribes, Maori facial tattoos, and the Indian art of Mehndi. The neck coils are reminiscent of the Kayan women of Myanmar and Thailand who modify their bodies by stretching out their necks with ornamental brass coils."

However, it is not just these masks that are inspiring, looking at the rest of her Art also has a tribal-esque playfulness to it.

A picture I took in Vrbnik on the island of Krk, Croatia this July.

More  to come later!