Community Theater Green Room Discussion Board: Okay so a plea for help

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   Okay look I KNOW this belongs in this section on this site and is also in another forum as we speak.  BUT I keep talking about this and I need to know something from you all - you who are out there doing the work in the trenches, having the needs of theater officianados, techies, actors, directors, etc., etc.  IF I AM to do this series of DVD's or a book on theater makeup, WHAT IN YOUR OPINION CAN I DO THAT'S DIFFERENT THAN WHAT OTHER BOOKS HAVE DONE??  I have a LOT of books on theater makeup and makeup in general - special effects makeup work and more.  AND I know what I've seen in the nearly 50 years I've been doing makeup that is so poorly done that I long for someone (like myself) to offer a treatise on what it takes to do it right for a variety of situations and venue sizes, etc.  BUT what I DON'T know is what MOST PEOPLE NEED or WANT from a makeup book that isn't being or hasn't been provided already by other treatises on the subject. 

SO I guess I'm asking for SUGGESTIONS, IDEAS, OPINIONS, NEEDS (specific and general) and what in your world isn't being taught or being shared that would help YOU in THE REAL world of community theater.  I want to address makeup from a variety of standpoints as well - NOT just AMATUER BEGINNER work but enough of a variety that it won't bore the masses of those who DO good makeup work but need to take things steps further in their development as makeup artists in theater or whatever it is you're doing.  CAN YOU HELP?  DO YOU WANT to help by providing YOUR personal take on what would help you the most from what you know and what you've seen of makeup work by those who NEED to know how to do it right and how it should be presented that it will best serve those who want to learn?

THIS would give me a REAL PICTURE of what the most pressing needs are in the worlds in which you all exist and especially so when you NEED good makeup work done but there is no-one who knows how.  OR it will give me if nothing else, a jumping off place.  Oh I could come up with an outline - I'm working on one now.  BUT you don't want to see the HISTORY of makeup, or AVANTE GARDE high fashion stuff necessarily, nor all old age makeups, nor animals, monsters or zombies, etc., etc.  -  YOU get my point I think.  If you're like me, you KNOW that good, solid PRACTICAL makeup help is always a god-send and something that is sorely needed and poorly conveyed, hardly EVER taught even on the college level, much less in community theater circles.

While I cannot offer you all a byline on the final result, you'll all certainly know you contributed and will be graciously thanked for your ideas, thoughts, conjectures, problems, issues, needs, concepts, and so on and so forth when I do get this off the ground and out there into the hands of those who need it most - and there are many.  All I have to do now is figure out a way of getting it out there into the hands of those who WANT it and THOSE who NEED it but would never admit to it.

THANKING YOU IN ADVANCE for your ideas and such.

TonyDi

Author	Message
TonyDi Celebrity Joined: 9/13/06 Location: United States Online Status: Offline Posts: 325	Topic: Okay so a plea for help Posted: 5/06/08 at 4:34pm
	Okay look I KNOW this belongs in this section on this site and is also in another forum as we speak. BUT I keep talking about this and I need to know something from you all - you who are out there doing the work in the trenches, having the needs of theater officianados, techies, actors, directors, etc., etc. IF I AM to do this series of DVD's or a book on theater makeup, WHAT IN YOUR OPINION CAN I DO THAT'S DIFFERENT THAN WHAT OTHER BOOKS HAVE DONE?? I have a LOT of books on theater makeup and makeup in general - special effects makeup work and more. AND I know what I've seen in the nearly 50 years I've been doing makeup that is so poorly done that I long for someone (like myself) to offer a treatise on what it takes to do it right for a variety of situations and venue sizes, etc. BUT what I DON'T know is what MOST PEOPLE NEED or WANT from a makeup book that isn't being or hasn't been provided already by other treatises on the subject. SO I guess I'm asking for SUGGESTIONS, IDEAS, OPINIONS, NEEDS (specific and general) and what in your world isn't being taught or being shared that would help YOU in THE REAL world of community theater. I want to address makeup from a variety of standpoints as well - NOT just AMATUER BEGINNER work but enough of a variety that it won't bore the masses of those who DO good makeup work but need to take things steps further in their development as makeup artists in theater or whatever it is you're doing. CAN YOU HELP? DO YOU WANT to help by providing YOUR personal take on what would help you the most from what you know and what you've seen of makeup work by those who NEED to know how to do it right and how it should be presented that it will best serve those who want to learn? THIS would give me a REAL PICTURE of what the most pressing needs are in the worlds in which you all exist and especially so when you NEED good makeup work done but there is no-one who knows how. OR it will give me if nothing else, a jumping off place. Oh I could come up with an outline - I'm working on one now. BUT you don't want to see the HISTORY of makeup, or AVANTE GARDE high fashion stuff necessarily, nor all old age makeups, nor animals, monsters or zombies, etc., etc. - YOU get my point I think. If you're like me, you KNOW that good, solid PRACTICAL makeup help is always a god-send and something that is sorely needed and poorly conveyed, hardly EVER taught even on the college level, much less in community theater circles. While I cannot offer you all a byline on the final result, you'll all certainly know you contributed and will be graciously thanked for your ideas, thoughts, conjectures, problems, issues, needs, concepts, and so on and so forth when I do get this off the ground and out there into the hands of those who need it most - and there are many. All I have to do now is figure out a way of getting it out there into the hands of those who WANT it and THOSE who NEED it but would never admit to it. THANKING YOU IN ADVANCE for your ideas and such. TonyDi
	"Almost famous"

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gaftpres Star Joined: 11/14/07 Location: United States Online Status: Offline Posts: 80	Posted: 5/06/08 at 10:27pm
	How about addressing that make up could be done quickly, effectively and on a shoe string budget. Our CT and Community college theatre are all strapped for cash and must make do with what they can afford and make it work. Special effects are good things to know, but not used that often. I say a quick face and cheap would help most small theatres. Good Luck
	Old volunteers never die, they just get recycled!
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TonyDi Celebrity Joined: 9/13/06 Location: United States Online Status: Offline Posts: 325	Posted: 5/07/08 at 7:49am
	GREAT IDEA!!! THANKS for the suggestion. I know that in most theaters they hardly let you in the door until about an hour and a half before the show and sometimes that makes for VERY fast makeup jobs. Then too, actors show up late and slap things on and often expect it's enough - or good enough when it's really not. Something like this might be a good idea for those people and those times when time is of the essence. Great thought. As well, budgets are ALWAYS an issue - especially for the individual actor who SHOULD provide their own makeup and build a small, useful kit over time - rather than rely on the company or other people to loan them something because they haven't given enough thought or investment to their own kit from which to draw. TonyDi
	"Almost famous"
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JoeMc Celebrity Joined: 3/13/06 Location: Australia Online Status: Offline Posts: 832	Posted: 5/07/08 at 10:57am
	Use some prac example of adding Lighting, probably around about a couple of Kilowatts in all. Also a demo on using ordinary street makeup, as compared to stage.
	[western] Gondawandaland "Hear the light & see the sound! TOI TOI CHOOKAS {may you always play to a full house!}
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Linda S Celebrity Joined: 4/16/05 Location: United States Online Status: Offline Posts: 312	Posted: 5/07/08 at 11:44am
	I would be interested in having examples of putting on make-up for a small house in contrast to a big house. ie make-up for the same character for a 100 seat theater as opposed to a 500 seat theater. I also would like to see the street make-up use in comparison to stage make-up. Linda
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TonyDi Celebrity Joined: 9/13/06 Location: United States Online Status: Offline Posts: 325	Posted: 5/07/08 at 1:25pm
	Yet again more great ideas and examples to play with. I know that LIGHTING is a MAJOR issue that some - dare I say MOST - people don't consider much less understand the concepts of with using makeup. It's that age old issue of wearing RED makeup or other certain colors only under certain lighting conditions it becomes something else that's FAR too obvious. I'm thinking of John Barrymore's use of makeup and lighting for HIS version of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde - using an old lighting trick to make his Mr. Hyde makeup show up under a lighting change thus altering his character. Same idea. But just amazing how much difference lighting can make too - when it's VERY bright and you THINK you have enough makeup on, you still can get washed out VERY quickly. Great idea Joe. I'll plan toward that as well. And Linda, MOST of the makeup work I have done has been for small theaters. I mean I've done stuff at the Opera House here and 500 seaters as well, and frankly there isn't a LOT of difference in HOW you apply it - just HOW MUCH you apply. As I've said before, if an actor who is 30 does an old age makeup and it looks legitimate up close, then even from the back row of a 500 seater it will look like an older actor (with some minor but heavier work). Just like if an old person plays a role onstage they'll look their age. So if the 30 year old does a good makeup job to look older, then they'll look older up close AND far away. The idea of using STREET makeup in comparison to stage makeup is another GREAT idea. We're usually told it's because theater makeup is pigmented much heavier than regular street makeup - but the more I do this and the longer I've been at it - I'm beginning to think that there is NOT as much difference as they'd like us to believe - thus they can CHARGE us much more for STAGE "theater" makeup than they do for "street" makeup. There is SOME difference, but economy wins out these days. But THANKS all for more great ideas. These are the "PRACTICAL" things I was hoping to hear because they're applicable and make the difference in the real work and real world beyond what most of the theater makeup books try to teach. SO yeah, thanks again. KEEP 'EM COMIN'....these are great ideas. TonyDi
	"Almost famous"
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neilfortin Celebrity Joined: 11/20/06 Location: United States Online Status: Offline Posts: 210	Posted: 5/07/08 at 3:32pm
	I would love to see basic before/after shots, things that are used most offen...Beast from BATB, Old age, monkeys from the Wizard of Oz, Animals for the Lion King, seeing pictures of things as opposed to just words, or even drawings definitely helps us-visual learners. Call me crazy, but a chapter on removal and salvage techniques would be great, how can you save the crepe-hair beard you just made, or homeade prosthesis...and definitely the best way to remove some of the more in depth peices so they can be used again. I always have trouble blending in the wig hair lines to the real hair lines on the forehead as well...that might be something small to cover.
	Community Theater makes us smile
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JoeMc Celebrity Joined: 3/13/06 Location: Australia Online Status: Offline Posts: 832	Posted: 5/07/08 at 4:14pm
	as i prefer not to be a warm prop, Luvvie & rather shrink away into shadows these days. I often come across those who, because they wear makeup normally, don't bother to add any for a show. Also they tend to get a bit shirty, if one dares to suggest, it doesn't work, with the colour gel & hues used in the wash'n machine - and that's just the blokes! Which brings up another thought of cleaning the stuff off afterwards, especially for the more macho believers of the breed. I know this was an issue back in the 50's in Britain. As it was an offence for males to wear makeup, in the street. Which could be a throw back from those times, for a sensitive Ocker yobo like me?
	[western] Gondawandaland "Hear the light & see the sound! TOI TOI CHOOKAS {may you always play to a full house!}
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Props, Scenery, Costumes and Makeup
Community Theater Green Room Discussion Board :Producing Theater :Props, Scenery, Costumes and Makeup

Topic: Okay so a plea for help( Topic Closed)