MakeUpMania.com
The Classical Stage Makeup Work Sheet


Basic Supplies Needed:
Various Flesh Tone Foundations in Creme, Cremesticks or Pancakes
Transluscent Powder
Nude, Beige, Bisque, Dark Brown, Brown, Carcoal and Black Eyeshadows.
Dusty Rose, Soft Beige, Sienna and Peach Cheek Colors.
DP, 42, Red and Sienna Lipsticks.
Tawny and Raisin Lip Pencil.
Light Brown, Dark Brown, Brown/Black, Charcoal and Black Eye Pencils
Professional Cake Mascara - Black and Brown
Several Flat, Round, Fluff and Chisels Brushes
Spatula and Mixing Palette
Powder Puffs.
Professional Makeup Sponge Wedges
Aqua Sponges and/or Sea Sponges
Quick Clens Makeup Remover


Additional Supplies Suggested:
Various Charachter and Fantasy Tone Foundations in Creme, Cremesticks or Pancakes
Kryolan Aquacolor Palettes
Thick Blood
Hair Gel
Spirit Gum
Toupee Tape



General Safety Precautions
This worksheet is for the professional use of makeup only. Although these products have been used through out the professional industry for years and "tested" on thousands of people, some people may have reactions to the varied products used in this medium. If sensitive to cosmetics in general - or allergies are known - it is best to avoid using makeup on anyone until investigated further. If any reaction occurs remove immediately. If any rashes occur or worsen after removal, seek medical attention. Do not assume you can do more than you can or take risks where you or your actor may be harmed. Stay away from the eyes with all cosmetics, adhesive and removers, allow for ventilation, keep brushes clean, always have fresh water, removers and paper towels accessible. If wearing on stage or on set it is a good idea to have an emergency removal kit - if the actor gets hurt while in heavy character makeup - the kit can go to the emergency room so the piece can be removed. Stunt men and women in particular have been known to end up there with full on prosthetics. By applying any makeup to anyone, it is assumed you are doing so professionally and you are responsible for yourself and the person you are applying it on.
Think the process through before starting.
Be safe.

Makeup for the Stage
Stage makeup is standard for performances on stage simply because of the distance and lighting. Without it the actor is not seen and his ability to emote is lost. This is the one area of makeup artistry that really pushes the boundaries of light and dark, that is highlight and shadow. Remember it is the first law of makeup artistry that is key to stage makeup application.
The First Law Of Makeup Artistry:
Anything that is lighter than the skin tone will bring forward. Anything that is lighter than the skin tone pushes back.


Prepping the Skin
Make sure skin is clean and free of oils or lotions. When using various types of makeup, it maybe required that the skin is prepped with moisturizer,( i.e. a creme foundation) or without a moisturizer (i.e. a pancake makeup). Prep the sking appropriately for the type of foundation base you will be applying.

The Foundation Base
Choose the type of foundation you want for the Foundation Base. If you work with Cremes they must be powder set. The advantage of Cremes is that they are more easily blended and the powder set can help to make it wear better under heavier perspiration. They disadvantage to cremes is that it does take a bit longer to powder set . Apply Creme foundation with makeup sponges wedges either latex or non-latex, your preference. Latex sponges usually are a a little less expensive.
The advantage of pancake is that you do not need to powder set the makeup. It dries to a powder finish naturally. This disadvantage is that they may take a bit longer to learn detailed blending and a heavy perspire-er will break it down faster. Apply the pancake with a damp Aqua Sponge or Sea Sponge.
Choose the appropriately color to match or change the actor's skin tone as needed.
Powder is applied with a POWDER PUFF, not a brush. You want to apply the powder so throughly that it is pressed through the makeup and so in a sense, it is attaching the makeup to the skin. A brush will merely dust the top surface and the oil base sitting next to the skin, is still moveable.
You will need to pour about a teaspoon of powder onto your puff and fold your puff in half, push the powder into the puff by rubbing the sides of the folded puff together. Now when you apply th puff to the face, powder will not go everywhere, and when you need more, simply tap the puff onto the back of your hand, and it will bring the additional powder to the surface. You need to only load your puff once with this technique.




Contouring for the Stage
There are so many facets to contouring for stage. That is why stage makeup in itself can be a life long career, where the extreme moves into the Grand Opera Makeups and can actually look like face painting backstage, the lines being barely blended and highly stylized.
For this Worksheet however, we will stick to basic corrective ideas (versus classic theatrical old age makeup and round face and thin face) for an average size theatre. We want the audience to see the best possible attributes of the actor. So correction makeup techniques can be employed in the theater. When we talk about corrective makeup - what do we mean?
We are correcting to the "perfect" face. That would be the oval face, perfectly balanced both vertically and horizontally. The eyes are almond shape and set perfectly in the eye socket, not too deep or protruding. The lips are full and balanced, not too thick or thin, too small or too wide. With this idea in mind we will look at the actors face and decide what we can do to bring out the best features and diminish the one that are not proportioned or well balanced. Also paying close attention to the nonverbal features; the eyes, brows and lips. It is so essential for the actor to have these expression points seen very clearly by the audience.
One of the major factors to take into account for Stage Makeup is the size of the theatre and specific lighting for the stage. Basically the stage is a platform that is seen at various distances by the audience. That and the lighting tends to make the human face appear on stage, flat and less dimensional.
So part of the application of classical makeup for the stage employs highlight and contour knowledge.
You should use colors lighter than the base foundation color to highlight the parts of the face that naturally stand out, such as the front of the forehead, the t-zone the chin and front of cheeks. You push the naturally receding parts of the face back with colors darker than the Foundation Base tone you used.
These areas are the temples, the hallows of the cheeks and under the chin and back under the jawline.
When this techniqe is done correctly, it merely strengthens the actors natural features, or these techniques can be
employed to make corrections and to create characterr.


Brows ~ Eyes ~ Lips

The brows, eyes and lips are the non-verbal features of the actor that must be paid attention. In order for the audience to be able to read the emotions of the actors, these features should be focused on and made to stand in cosideration of the size of the theatre. This can be achieved through the uses of contour
and hi-lite and the value of the colors being used.

Makeup Wear and Removal
.
If the makeup was applied correctly and if there is not excessive perspiration or theatrics that may cause deteriorationof the makeup, then it should wear fine through the performance. In cases where the makeup is not holding up, other types of makeup and sealers should be investigated; such as the Tempoary tattoo colors, Green Marble SelR, Final Seal etc. Theatrical makeup is easy to remove with soap and water, creme cleansers and makeup removers.


Eva Marie Denst for MakeUpMania.com 11/12/2004
Updated 05/20/2007

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