MASK MAKING

Run time: 3 - 7 days

Stepping into a heightened, magical way to perform.

In this long workshop, participants will create their own masks and bring them to live. They will first cast their own faces onto plaster gauzes, then mould the cast with shapes and volumes, add materials and colours and, when the mask is dry and ready, bring their purely unique creature into life, through multiple acting exercises.

This is a high-level workshop, is fit for actors who already have a good level of physicality and are willing to push themselves beyond the boundaries of realism.

Skills:

  • Mask making

  • Living in the mask

  • Improvisation technique

  • Character creation

  • Different levels of physicalisation

Knowledge:

  • Plaster manipulation & basic sculpting

  • Making a cast and using materials

  • Breathing technique for masks

  • Synaestesia in character creation

  • Transforming a creature into a human character

Francesca has studied different mask techniques. Learning the basics of Bartenieff work with pioneer Maria Conagra and Lecoq alumni Kuniaki Ida, she has then deepened her knowledge in larval masks with Charlotte Musko and Eliot Shrimp. She has then extensively worked Commedia half masks with Carlo Boso, and modern clowning with Philippe Gaulier. Throughout, she has also worked as a mask maker in various studios across Europe, and performed with different mask styles.