Mask Workshops

Bespoke workshops are available of whatever length and combination of subjects you are interested in. Contact me on falsefacesmasks@gmail.com to discuss. I am a licensed chaperone, so I can offer workshops for children as well as adults. The basic workshop options are:

• MASK-MAKING FOR ADULTS - Half-day or full day.

  An introduction to performance styles with masks, followed by some exploration of the principles of mask design. Participants then design their own theatre mask, and sculpt it in clay. The masks are then formed in Worbla thermo-plastic. Participants then explore the use of the masks in a series of exercises and improvisational scenarios.
  

• MASK-MAKING FOR CHILDREN - Half-day or full day.

  Warm up games which focus on freeing up movement, exploring animal movement and elements. Mask design session, drawing mask designs. Sculpting mask designs in clay. During a break, I will form the masks in Worbla thermo-plastic over the clay designs. In the second half we explore playing in the mask and how it’s different to playing without.

• MASKED PERFORMANCE AND COMMEDIA DELL’ARTE - 1 or 2 days.

  Warm ups and movement exercises designed to prepare actors for full-body movement and engagement and high-energy performance. Introduction to the archetypes of the Commedia dell’Arte. Introduction to the practical use of masks and “mask-time” on stage - finding the eye-line of a mask. The stylized movement of the various traditional Commedia dell’Arte characters. Status games and how they contribute to building improvised scenes and scenarios. Improvised scenes played in masks.