How is correct stage make-up done?

[Guest lil_dega]

Hi! i have been dancing and performing for more than 15 years now but up until now, i'm still worried that my make-up during performances are no good. there was even this one time when our ballet teacher hired a professional make-up artist to teach us to do make-up, or sometimes they come during performances to do the make-up for us! also, what colors are good for pictorials? some say stage make-up is still different from make-up for pictorials, but i can't seem to know which ones to apply or not to apply. i don't know the difference between these two. hope you can help me on this! thanks heaps!

[Mel Johnson]

There are a lot of factors (and Max isn't the only one!;) ) involved in stage makeup, like how big is the auditorium where you're dancing? How powerful are the lights for the ballet you're doing? What colors are used in the lighting? Is the movement you have to do fast or slow? What colors are in the costume? What is your natural coloring? Do you need much corrective makeup to conceal a weak chin, for example?

 

In many places, very little more than street or office makeup is needed, if the theater is a school, where the audience is relatively close, and the lighting relatively weak, as these venues are really designed as speakers' platforms. If you're working in a professional, full-size opera house, with hundreds of instruments in the light plot, and all of them active, then a considerable amount of makeup is necessary just to make you look normal!

 

A really good book that is used by many as a textbook is Richard Corson's Stage Makeup. Get the most recent edition for the best information as to manufacturers and colors which are available.

[Guest lil_dega]

thank you very much! there are a lot of things to consider when it comes to make-up, i see. well, i'll try and get a copy of that book. thanks again!

[Mel Johnson]

A suggestion - get one through your local library - a brand new copy costs over $100, but as it's a textbook, it may be easier, and much cheaper to get your very own copy used. Amazon.com has a used book service that works very well.