IN CONCLUSION
Perhaps no other calling is as fascinating as that of the stage. Are
we not happiest when we are least mindful of ourselves, and does not
absolute self-forgetfulness come with a complete realisation of a
personality that is foreign to us? Plus this is the pleasure to be
derived from the knowledge of the strength possessed which enables the
swaying of multitudes by sympathy.
To the born actor his art is a delightful pastime. All his observations
of art and life augment his knowledge of character and his ability to
portray emotion.
The less gifted should study perpetually. The world is full of odd
volumes in strange and interesting bindings. To the student of make-up
the binding is of no less interest than the matter within.
Try to store vivid recollections of the distinctive types; collect
caricatures and prints; they will be most suggestive and helpful.
If you possess even only a slight talent for drawing, cultivate it
assiduously, for it is obvious that the actor who can draw will be
able to make-up better than the one who cannot.
Visit picture galleries and turn them into museums of types. I know of
no other gallery that interests me so much as the National Portrait
Gallery. When I am in London I try to visit it at least once a week.
There I realise what each one of a legion of distinguished men looked
like.
If a play revives some period of history, try to see some of the
pictures of the greatest painters of that day, or at least get
reproductions of their work. Perhaps the very man that you require is
standing in some dim canvas only waiting for you to make him live again.
Remember that each period of history had its distinctive types. Think
of the people of Gainsborough, of Velasquez, the portraits of Holbein
and of Dürer.
If you are to present a man of an alien race, try and give him his
national peculiarities without offering his country the insult of
burlesquing them. I think it is a sign of decadence of our stage that
we strive to heap ridicule on almost every type that is not a product
of our own land.
If any of the dark races are to be presented, such as Africans, Red
Indians, or Japanese, trustworthy photographs may be bought which will
prove an admirable guide.
If you are to portray a well-known historical character, read
everything you can about the man. Perhaps you will have the fortune to
come across a detailed description by one of his intimate friends.
If the man you represent follows any particular trade or calling, try
to get acquainted with some such men. Take, for example, a foundry
hand. Get permission to visit a foundry; go there several times, till
the significance of the work is borne home to you. You will eventually
realise not only what the men look like, but the way they feel, and
will be able to suggest the way in which they toil. Tinker, tailor,
soldier, sailor, rich man, poor man, beggarman, thief. What a drama of
characterisation the line conveys; each is stamped with his trade or
condition.
Go again and again to life; let your body and brain reflect it. Make
your types actual.
A Parliament, a Court, a ward of a hospital, with its quiet doctor
going from bed to bed. The deck of the steamer, the interior of a
bus--they each become a school where valuable lessons may be learnt.
Unless you suffer from very definite physical or vocal limitations,
strive not to get grooved in your work. Do not repeat yourself over and
over again in each new part that you play.
Remember that the number of types in the world is infinite; that
the playwright is always striving to present to the public some new
character.
Ever add to your knowledge, and recollect that work is life's great
recompense. Thank God your toil is endless.
ILLUSTRATIONS
KING LEAR
Blow, winds, and crack your cheeks! rage! blow!
You cataracts, and hurricanoes, spout
Till you have drench'd our steeples, drown'd the cocks!
You sulphurous and thought-executing fires,
Vaunt couriers to oak-cleaving thunder-bolts,
Singe my white head! And thou, all shaking thunder,
Strike flat the thick rotundity o' the world!
Crack nature's moulds, all germes spill at once
That make ingrateful man!
[Illustration]
[Illustration]
KING LEAR
This old man torn to rags by a tempest of emotion, on the ultimate
boundary of life, is obviously difficult to portray; tenderness and
rage, madness and dignity, must all be shown. He is pent, baffled, and
buffeted by things physical and mental for a while. Then there is the
hurried decay of body and of brain.
In Fig. 1 observe that the nose has been slightly built up. This is
done to give added dignity to the face. For the great weight of beard
and hair would tend to make the nose look smaller than it really is.
After the nose has been built up the wig is put on that the position
of the join may be indicated, also what parts of the natural hair must
be treated with white paint. The groundwork is laid on: this should be
of 2-1/2 yellow and a little brown. The shadows round the eyes are of
groundwork mixed with blue. The wrinkles are of groundwork mixed with
additional brown and lake. The temples should be shadowed with this
colour.
Find out where the wrinkles would come by pursing up the face. Use as
many as possible to suggest extreme old age, being always mindful that
the intentions of nature are not ignored. Be careful that the lines
on the face are not drawn in too decisive a manner, as at a distance
they seem much stronger than they really are. The modelling tool is
most suitable for the drawing and the subsequent modification of the
wrinkles. It may be also used for applying the more delicate high
lights. Each wrinkle should be accentuated with a light just above it.
Fig. 2 shows the make-up at a stage when it is ready for the addition
of the moustache and beard. Observe the whitened hair just above the
temples. This is done with white grease paint.
Fig. 3 shows the beard in position. A tape goes over the head to
partly support its weight, and it is secured with spirit gum. Note the
blending of the left cheek and beard with crepe hair, also how half the
chin is covered, observe how the character of the face is altered by
the bushy eyebrow. Fig. 4 shows the make-up almost complete and ready
for the wig to be put on. Put the wig on, carefully blending the join.
Accentuate wrinkles and shadows here and there. Powder and treat the
eyelashes with white paint.
DON QUIXOTE
Fantastic to the point of madness, of romantic daring. Simple and kind;
and above all a nobleman of great dignity.
I have chosen this extreme make-up as a foil to the Falstaff.
Falstaff is a creature of utter coarseness. Quixote as a singularly
imaginative man is one of extraordinary sensitiveness.
The chief effort was to make the face as long and as thin as possible.
First compare the four progressive prints. See how much longer the
head is in Fig. 4 than in Fig. 1. As the four photographs are taken
to exactly the same scale it is possible to accurately measure with a
draughtsman's compass the additions that have been made to the chin
and forehead. It will be found that the head has been increased by one
third.
First the nose is built up with paste. By giving it a very pronounced
hook it is decidedly lengthened and thus made to accord better with the
new proportions of the face.
The prominences of the forehead and cheek bones are next accentuated
with nose-paste (Fig. 1).
The wig is placed in position and the forehead made up with a ground
work of 2-1/2, yellow, and 13, a flesh colour that should suggest
parchment. The wig is then removed until the make-up is almost
finished. This keeps it from becoming soiled.
Covering the face with groundwork is the next step. A sunken appearance
is given to the eyes by painting round them with brown. Shadows are
worked into the cheeks. Lines are drawn from the inner corners of the
eyes down on to the cheeks. Similar lines are indicated at either side
of the nose. A broad perpendicular stripe from the nose to the top of
the forehead, and the temples are darkened.
[Illustration]
[Illustration]
Yellowish high lights are placed on the forehead at either side of the
central shadow and round the temples in such a way that their depth is
accentuated.
High lights on the cheek bones and above the various wrinkles make the
face more vigorous.
The false eyebrows, the moustache and beard are gummed in position.
The beard is blended with loosely combed crepe hair which is afterward
trimmed.
The wig is again put on the shadows and high lights carried up with the
false forehead.
Yellowish powder is next dusted all over the face. Colour similar to
the wig and beard is applied to the eyelashes. The lips are painted
with a colour that should not be too dark.
FALSTAFF
If I were sawed into quantities, I should make four dozen of such
bearded hermit's staves as Master Shallow. It is a wonderful thing
to see the semblable coherence of his men's spirits and his. They,
by observing of him, do bear themselves like foolish justices; he,
by conversing with them, is turned into a justice-like serving-man.
Their spirits are so married in conjunction with the participation of
society, that they flock together in consent, like so many wild geese.
If I had a suit to Master Shallow, I would humour his men, with the
imputation of being near their master; if to his men, I would curry
with Master Shallow that no man could better command his servants. It
is certain that either wise bearing or ignorant carriage is caught,
as men take diseases, one of another; therefore, let men take heed of
their company. I will devise matter enough out of this Shallow, to keep
Prince Harry in continual laughter the wearing-out of six fashions,
which is four terms, or two actions, and he shall laugh without
intervallums. O, it is much, that a lie, with a slight oath, and a
jest, with a sad brow, will do with a fellow that never had the ache in
his shoulders! O, you shall see him laugh, till his face be like a wet
cloak ill laid up.
[Illustration]
[Illustration]
FALSTAFF
A volcano of carnality capped by a head that seems red hot with fleshly
passions.
Of all the examples in the book this is the most exaggerated.
In exaggerating to a point of almost buffoonery it has been my wish to
show to what extremes make-up could be carried--extremes that should
usually be avoided.
The chief intention was to give great additional breadth to the head
and face, as opposed to the Don Quixote, in which case the head has
been lengthened as much as possible.
What this additional breadth amounts to may be realised by referring to
Fig. 1 of the progressive prints.
In Fig. 2 the wig is shown with the silk joined to it from which the
cheeks and double chin are to be formed. With spirit gum the edges of
the silk are joined round the eyes, mouth and nose. Next the cheeks and
chin are padded, and the drawstring at the lower edge of the silk is
tightened (see Fig. 3).
A large nose of nose-paste is formed (Fig. 4).
Pouches of nose paste are placed beneath the eyes and these are blended
with the false cheeks, effectually covering the joins.
A groundwork of No. 3 grease paint made deeper with yellow, carmine,
and a little lake is applied evenly all over the face, or perhaps it
would be better to call it a mask. This will bring its various elements
into accord.
Blotches of carmine mixed with a little yellow are dabbed on the nose
and cheeks. High lights of white mixed with a little yellow are placed
on the forehead, on the pouches under the eyes, and on the cheeks.
Blend these with the groundwork carefully.
The beard and moustache are so placed that the actual outlines of the
cheeks are lost. The beard is blended into the cheeks with crepe hair.
The eyelashes are coloured with reddish yellow making them seem
smaller.
SHYLOCK
Shylock. I am bid forth to supper, Jessica:
There are my keys. But wherefore should I go?
I am not bid for love; they flatter me:
But yet I'll go in hate, to feed upon
The Prodigal Christian. Jessica, my girl,
Look to my house. I am right loth to go:
There is some ill a-brewing towards my rest,
For I did dream of money-bags to-night.
[Illustration]
[Illustration]
SHYLOCK
A dignified figure really, but under the lash of persecution disclosing
the evil qualities of revengefulness and craft. Strong, cruel, and
resentful.
The nose is built with nose-paste and carefully modelled after it is
joined. In the progressive prints, Figs. 1 and 2, two views are given
of it.
The groundwork is of No. 3 yellow, a little lake, brown, and 13. Before
this is applied to the face, the wig is put on; but after the spreading
of the groundwork it is again removed, that it may not be soiled during
the subsequent stages of the make-up.
The colour for the shadows and wrinkles is formed of the groundwork
with brown and lake added. The cavities of the eyes should be
strengthened with this. Deep grooves are painted from the corners of
the nose, a sunken appearance given to the temples, and crows' feet
drawn from the eyes.
The high lights come above the wrinkles; and are placed on the most
prominent parts of the forehead.
The beard, which is of a mixture of black, deep red, and grey hair, is
next gummed into position, taking care that no grease paint is on any
part of the face to which the gum is to be applied. (See Fig. 3.)
In Fig. 4 the blending of the beard with the cheek is shown, also the
placing of half the moustache and a false eyebrow. Observe the small
piece of crepe hair that is placed just under the lower lip.
The wig is again put on and carefully blended with the forehead.
A rather deep reddish powder is suitable for the make-up. The lips are
coloured with carmine and lake mixed.
HAMLET
A mirror of emotions. The mouthpiece of protesting souls. A creature of
sensitiveness absolute. His face must express almost the entire range
of the passions. Very pale, studious, of great mental strength and
refinement.
Groundwork 2-1/2, a little yellow and a very small quantity of brown.
Flesh colour that should vaguely suggest ivory. A little white rubbed
on to the most prominent parts of the forehead adds intellectuality to
the head.
The shadows which should be of the groundwork deepened with brown are
so arranged that they intensify the sensitiveness of the face. They are
used under the brows to give soulfulness to the eyes and to make the
forehead seem more prominent. A line is drawn round the upper part of
the nostrils to give delicacy to the drawing of the nose. The darkening
of the division of the upper lip and of the cleft chin makes the face
seem thinner. The shadows on the temples and on the cheeks also help
this illusion.
Cream-coloured powder is applied to the face and neck.
The eyebrows are carefully drawn with brown in a wide clear arch and
are afterward lightly combed.
The eyelashes are strengthened by drawing a black line along the edges
and this line is carried a little way out at the outer corner of the
eyes. A tiny spot of carmine at the inner corner by the tear-bag lends
lustre to the eye.
The lips nobly drawn in carmine give passion to the mouth.
The hair is of crisp clean curls which suggests vigour and alertness.
Hamlet when impersonated by fair men has usually been played in a
fair make-up, and this example is worth following. The subtle natural
peculiarities of a fair face make a dark make-up unsuitable to it and
_vice versâ_.
For a fair make-up the same advice should be followed, leaving all the
brown and nearly all the yellow out of the groundwork, and finishing
with rouge. The make-up should be much brighter and the wig of flaxen.
[Illustration]
[Illustration]
HAMLET
The time is out of joint; O cursed spite,
That ever I was born to set it right!
* * * * *
HAMLET (SECOND PRINT)
POLONIUS. * * *. What do you read, my lord?
HAMLET. Words, words, words!
POLONIUS. What is the matter, my lord?
HAMLET. Between who?
POLONIUS. I mean, the matter that you read, my lord.
HAMLET. Slanders sir; for the satirical rogue says here that old men
have grey beards; that their faces are wrinkled; their eyes purging
thick amber, and plum-tree gum; and that they have a plentiful lack of
wit, together with most weak hams: all of which, sir, though I most
powerfully and potently believe, yet I hold it not honesty to have it
thus set down; for yourself, sir, shall be as old as I am, if, like a
crab, you could go backward.
IAGO
The personification of cunningness, craft and deceit. A brilliant mind
and an utterly corrupted spirit. One that enjoys to contemplate and to
study mental suffering.
Pale skin, dark brown hair, and a reddish beard.
Observe the building of the nose. Its bridge runs in an uninterrupted
line up to the forehead.
Note the deep shadow of the temples and the manner of colouring the
cheeks.
The drooping moustache gives the face a singularly sinister expression.
The beard is of crepe hair and is so arranged that it gives the skin a
goatlike appearance.
See instruction for the making of beards.
[Illustration]
[Illustration]
OTHELLO
Of great natural dignity, simple and loyal. Driven to irresistibly
follow an impulse when it has once seized his mind. Tortured to
distraction by Iago. All the primitive savagery of his race is
manifested.
The nose is first depressed by crossing it near the tip with a silk
thread which is tied at the back of the head. A small piece of kid is
placed under the thread, thus keeping from coming into contact with
the skin. The nostrils are built out until the nose has a Moorish
appearance.
The face is first covered with 2-1/2 and subsequently with a mixture of
Nos. 10 and 13.
The colouring is made much stronger round the eyes.
High lights are faintly suggested on the forehead and on the cheek
bones.
The beard, which had better be of crepe hair, should be so applied that
the flesh shows through.
Reddish brown powder is used, and the make-up is finished by painting
strong black lines on the edges of the eyelids. The eyebrows are also
of black. The lips are No. 13 with a little carmine added.
Ear-rings and a turban help the make-up.
OTHELLO AND IAGO
IAGO. I will in Cassio's lodging lose this napkin,
And let him find it. Trifles, light as air,
Are to the jealous, confirmations strong
As proofs of holy writ. This may do something.
The Moor already changes with my poison:
Dangerous conceits are, in their natures, poisons,
Which, at the first, are scarce found to distaste;
But, with a little act upon the blood,
Burn like the mines of sulphur.--I did say so:--
_Enter_ OTHELLO.
Look, where he comes! Not poppy, nor mandragora,
Nor all the drowsy syrups of the world,
Shall ever medicine thee to that sweet sleep,
Which thou ow'dst yesterday.
OTHELLO. Ha! ha! false to me? To me?
IAGO. Why, how now, general? no more of that.
OTHELLO. Avaunt! be gone! thou hast set me on the rack--
I swear, 'tis better to be much abus'd,
Than but to know't a little.
IAGO. How now, my lord?
OTHELLO. What sense had I of her stolen hours of lust?
I saw't not, thought it not, it harm'd not me:
I slept the next night well, was free and merry;
I found not Cassio's kisses on her lips:
He that is robb'd, not wanting what is stolen,
Let him not know't, and he's not robb'd at all.
IAGO. I am sorry to hear this.
OTHELLO. I had been happy, if the general camp,
Pioneers and all, had tasted her sweet body,
So I had nothing known: O now, for ever,
Farewell, the tranquil mind: farewell content!
Farewell the plumed troop, and the big wars,
That make ambition virtue! O, farewell!
Farewell the neighing steed, and the shrill trump,
The spirit-stirring drum, the ear-piercing fife,
The royal banner; and all quality,
Pride, pomp, and circumstance of glorious war!
And O, you mortal engines, whose rude throats
The immortal Jove's dread clamours counterfeit,
Farewell! Othello's occupation's gone!
IAGO. Is't possible, my lord?
OTHELLO. Villain, be sure thou prove my love a whore:
Be sure of it; give me the ocular proof;
[_Taking him by the throat._
Or, by the worth of mine eternal soul,
Thou had'st been better have been born a dog,
Than answer my wak'd wrath.
IAGO. Is't come to this?
OTHELLO. Make me to see't, or, at the least, so prove it,
That the probation bear no hinge nor loop,
To hang a doubt on; or woe upon thy life!
IAGO. My noble lord,--
OTHELLO. If thou dost slander her, and torture me,
Never pray more; abandon all remorse:
On horror's head, horrors accumulate:
Do deeds to make heaven weep, all earth amaz'd,
For nothing canst thou to damnation add,
Greater than that.
IAGO. O grace! O heaven forgive me!
Are you a man? have you a soul or sense?
God be wi' you; take mine office. O wretched fool,
That liv'st to make thine honesty a vice!
O monstrous world! Take note, take note, O world!
To be direct and honest is not safe.
I thank you for this profit; and, from hence,
I'll love no friend, sith love breeds such offence.
OTHELLO. Nay, stay:--Thou should'st be honest.
IAGO. I should be wise; for honesty's a fool,
And loses that it works for.
OTHELLO. By the world,
I think my wife be honest, and think, she is not.
I think that thou art just and think thou art not.
I'll have some proof: Her name, that was as fresh
As Dian's visage, is now begrim'd and black
As mine own face. If there be cords, or knives,
Poison, or fire, or suffocating streams,
I'll not endure it. Would I were satisfied!
IAGO. I see, sir, you are eaten up with passion;
I do repent me, that I put it to you.
You would be satisfied?
OTHELLO. Would! nay, I will.
IAGO. And may: But, how? how satisfied, my lord?
Would you, the supervisor grossly gape on?
Behold her tupp'd?
OTHELLO. Death and damnation! O!
IAGO. It were a tedious difficulty, I think,
To bring them to that prospect: Damn them then,
If ever mortal eyes do see them bolster,
More than their own! What then? how then?
What shall I say? Where's satisfaction?
It is impossible you should see this,
Were they as prime as goats, as hot as monkeys,
As salt as wolves in pride, and fools as gross
As ignorance made drunk. But yet, I say,
If imputation, and strong circumstances,
Which lead directly to the door of truth,
Will give you satisfaction, you may have it.
OTHELLO. Give me a living reason she's disloyal.
IAGO. I do not like the office:
But, sith I am enter'd in this cause so far,--
Prick'd to it by foolish honesty and love,--
I will go on. I lay with Cassio lately;
And being troubled with a raging tooth,
I could not sleep.
There are a kind of men so loose of soul,
That in their sleeps will mutter their affairs,
One of this kind is Cassio.
In sleep I heard him say,--"Sweet Desdemona,
Let us be wary, let us hide our loves!"
And then, sir, would he gripe and wring my hand,
Cry, "O sweet creature!" and then kiss me hard,
As if he pluck'd up kisses by the roots,
That grew upon my lips: then laid his leg
Over my thigh, and sigh'd, and kissed; and then,
Cry'd, "Cursed fate! that gave thee to the Moor!"
OTHELLO. O monstrous! monstrous!
IAGO. Nay, this was but his dream.
OTHELLO. But this denoted a foregone conclusion;
'Tis a shrewd doubt, though it be but a dream.
IAGO. And this may help to thicken other proofs,
That do demonstrate thinly.
OTHELLO. I'll tear her all to pieces.
IAGO. Nay, but be wise; yet we see nothing done;
She may be honest yet. Tell me but this,--
Have you not sometimes seen a handkerchief,
Spotted with strawberries in your wife's hand?
OTHELLO. I gave her such a one; 'twas my first gift.
IAGO. I know not that: but such a handkerchief,
I am sure it was your wife's, did I to-day
See Cassio wipe his beard with.
OTHELLO. If it be that,--
IAGO. If it be that, or any that was hers,
It speaks against her with the other proofs.
OTHELLO. O, that the slave had forty thousand lives;
One is too poor, too weak for my revenge!
Now do I see 'tis true.--Look here, Iago;
All my fond love thus--I do blow to heaven:
'Tis gone.--
Arise, black vengeance, from thy hollow hell!
Yield up, O love, thy crown and hearted throne
To tyrannous hate! Swell, bosom, with thy fraught,
For 'tis of aspics' tongues!
IAGO. Yet, be content.
OTHELLO. O, blood, blood, blood!
IAGO. Patience, I say; your mind, perhaps, may change.
OTHELLO. Never, Iago. Like to the Pontic sea,
Whose icy current and compulsive course
Ne'er feels retiring ebb, but keeps due on
To the Propontic, and the Hellespont;
Even so my bloody thoughts, with violent pace,
Shall ne'er look back, ne'er ebb to humble love,
Till that a capable and wide revenge
Swallow them up.--Now, by yond marble heaven,
In the due reverence of a sacred vow [_Kneels._]
I here engage my words.
IAGO. Do not rise yet. [_Kneels._]
Witness, you ever-burning lights above!
You elements that clip us round about!
Witness, that here Iago doth give up
The execution of his wit, hands, heart,
To wrong'd Othello's service! Let him command,
And to obey shall be in me remorse,
What bloody business soever. [_They rise._
OTHELLO. I greet thy love,
Not with vain thanks, but with acceptance bounteous,--
And will upon the instant put thee to't:
Within these three days let me hear thee say,
That Cassio's not alive.
IAGO. My friend is dead; 'tis done at your request:
But let her live.
OTHELLO. Damn her, lewd minx! O, damn her!
Come, go with me apart: I will withdraw,
To furnish me with some swift means of death
For the fair devil. Now art thou my lieutenant.
IAGO. I am your own for ever. [_Exeunt._
BOTTOM THE WEAVER
A bucolic egoist, vain, dense, and narrow.
The groundwork for this is No. 3 with a little 13 added. White is
rubbed into the cheeks in the shape of high lights to broaden the
appearance of the face. A triangular shadow painted on the under part
of the nose makes this feature seem to tilt upward. The eyebrows are
almost entirely obliterated with thick grease paint, as also are the
eyelashes. The small perpendicular lines at the ends of the eyes seem
to reduce their size. The corners of the mouth are extended with paint,
and the tight-fitting wig drawn well over the forehead seems, while it
diminishes the size of the head, to make the face appear larger.
Much of the stupidity of countenance is due to expression.
BOTTOM THE WEAVER
Bottom _awakes_. When my cue comes, call me, and I will answer: my
next is, "Most fair Pyramus." Hey, ho! Peter Quince! Flute, the
bellows-mender! Snout, the tinker! Starveling! God's, my life! stolen
hence, and left me asleep. I have had a most rare vision. I have had
a dream,--past the wit of man to say what dream it was. Man is but an
ass, if he go about to expound this dream. Methought I was,--there is
no man can tell what. Methought I was, and methought I had,--but man
is but a patched fool if he will offer to say what methought I had.
The eye of man hath not heard, the ear of man hath not seen, man's
hand is not able to taste, his tongue to conceive, nor his heart to
report, what my dream was. I will get Peter Quince to write a ballad
of this dream; it shall be called Bottom's Dream, because it hath no
bottom; and I will sing it in the latter end of a play, before the
duke: peradventure, to make it the more gracious, I shall sing it at
her death.
[Illustration]
[Illustration]
PIERROT
The symbol of all things theatrical. The utterly impersonal medium for
dramatic expression.
The mask of white destroys the distinctions of colour, race, or
station. He may be emotionally, all things to all men.
Most professional clowns cover their faces with a mixture of pure oxide
of zinc and lard, and then powder thickly with dry oxide of zinc. This
is the method that I adopt. Some may prefer to first paint the face
with white grease paint and then powder with the zinc.
The lips are painted with carmine. The eyes are outlined with black,
and the eyebrows are definitely drawn. A spot of carmine is placed at
the inner corner of each eye.
ROMEO
The most romantic of the Shakespeare heroes, and physically the most
attractive.
As he is a beautified edition of Hamlet, the instruction for making-up
is similar. Only no effort should be made to arrive at the intellectual
type of face that is striven for in the case of the more serious part.
The groundwork should be No. 2-1/2 with 3, a little 13, and yellow
added to give it Italian warmth.
After powdering, the cheeks may be dusted with dry rouge, and this
should be carried up to the temples; a little on the end of the chin is
also helpful.
In juvenile make-ups it is always advisable to make the forehead
lighter than the rest of the face, as it gives a feeling of animation
to the countenance.
[Illustration]
ROMEO
ROMEO. He jests at scars, that never felt a wound.
[_Juliet appears above, at a window._
But, soft! what light through yonder window breaks?
It is the east, and Juliet is the sun!
Arise, fair sun, and kill the envious moon,
Who is already sick and pale with grief,
That thou, her maid, art far more fair than she
Be not her maid, since she is envious;
Her vestal livery is but sick and green,
And none but fools do wear it; cast it off.
It is my lady; O! it is my love.
O! that she knew she were!
She speaks, yet she says nothing; what of that?
Her eye discourses, I will answer it.
I am too bold, 'tis not to me she speaks:
Two of the fairest stars in all the heaven,
Having some business, do entreat her eyes
To twinkle in their spheres till they return.
What if her eyes were there, they in her head?
The brightness of her cheek would shame those stars,
As daylight doth a lamp; her eyes in heaven
Would through the airy region stream so bright,
That birds would sing, and think it were not night.
See! how she leans her cheek upon her hand!
O! that I were a glove upon that hand,
That I might touch that cheek.
THE APOTHECARY IN "ROMEO AND JULIET"
This grim compounder of death-dealing drugs was for me a most
interesting part to play; I made him up from head to foot.
From the costumier I got the oldest garments that I could procure. At
the elbows, knees, and heels, I destroyed them with acid, so that when
I had them on the joints protruded. The coat and cloak, if I did not
carefully bind them round me, disclosed my ribs.
Wherever flesh showed I painted it in such a way that it suggested
emaciation, and though in reality I am well favoured with flesh I was
told that on the stage I looked like a skeleton done up in a bundle of
rags.
ROMEO AND JULIET
APOTHECARY
APOTHECARY. Who calls so loud?
ROMEO. Come hither, man. I see that thou art poor;
Hold, there is forty ducats: let me have
A dram of poison; such soon-speeding gear
As will dispense itself through all the veins,
That the life-weary taker may fall dead,
And that the trunk may be discharged of breath
As violently, as hasty powder fired
Doth hurry from the fatal cannon's womb.
APOTHECARY. Such mortal drugs I have; but Mantua's law
Is death to any he that utters them.
ROMEO. Art thou so bare, and full of wretchedness,
And fear'st to die? famine is in thy cheeks;
Need and oppression starveth in thy eyes;
Contempt and beggary, hang upon thy back,
The world is not thy friend, nor the world's law
The world affords no law to make thee rich;
Then be not poor, but break it, and take this.
APOTHECARY. My poverty, but not my will, consents.
ROMEO. I pay thy poverty, and not thy will.
APOTHECARY. Put this in any liquid thing you will,
And drink it off: and, if you had the strength
Of twenty men, it would despatch you straight.
[Illustration]
[Illustration]
THE THREE WITCHES IN "MACBETH"
These sub-human creatures, weird, mysterious women that seem akin to
cats and bats and toads.
The first was made up by binding the nose down as is described in the
instruction for Othello.
The groundwork was of No. 2-1/2 with a great deal of yellow and a
little brown. The cheeks were deeply shadowed, as were also the
cavities of the eyes. The lines running from the nostrils to the
corners of the mouth were strongly defined. The form of the lips was
completely obliterated. Strong shadows were painted round the mouth.
The illustration shows how definitely yellow and white were used for
high lights.
For the second witch I carried my nose upward by putting a silk thread
under it, which I attached to the wig. Similar groundwork was used, and
the same type of shadow was placed on the cheeks and round the eyes.
The teeth were partly painted out with cobblers' wax. Finely cut crepe
hair was dusted on the chin.
The third witch had a nut-cracker type of nose and chin built of
nose-paste. The cheeks were built out as in the case of Don Quixote.
Moles and warts were freely scattered about the lower part of the face,
some of them being armed with bristles.
The colour for the groundwork and shadows was similar to that used for
the first and second witches.
As I have been so frequently asked how I managed to get three
photographs of myself in one print, I may explain that separate
negatives were taken, which were subsequently combined in a composite
print.
MACBETH
1ST WITCH. Thrice the brinded cat hath mew'd.
2ND WITCH. Thrice and once the hedge-pig whin'd.
3RD WITCH. Harpier cries:--'Tis time, 'tis time.
1ST WITCH. Round about the cauldron go;
In the poison'd entrails throw.
Toad, that under cold stone,
Days and nights hast thirty-one
Swelter'd venom sleeping got,
Boil thou first i' the charmed pot!
ALL. Double, double toil and trouble;
Fire, burn; and, cauldron, bubble.
2ND WITCH. Fillet of a fenny snake,
In the cauldron boil and bake;
Eye of newt, and toe of frog,
Wool of bat, and tongue of dog,
Adder's fork, and blind-worm's sting,
Lizard's leg, and owlet's wing,
For a charm of powerful trouble,
Like a hell-broth, boil and bubble.
ALL. Double, double toil and trouble;
Fire, burn; and, cauldron, bubble.
2ND WITCH. Cool it with a baboon's blood,
Then the charm is firm and good.
[Illustration]
[Illustration]
UNCLE TOM
This kind-hearted negro, the idol of children, devout and forbearing,
has ever made a profound appeal to me.
The make-up is in many respects similar to that of Othello. In fact
exactly the same instructions may be followed for shaping the nose.
The wig, beard and moustache, eyebrows and the colour of the face, give
it of course an entirely different character.
The ground is of brown, with a little 13 added to give it warmth. Great
care should be taken to get this colour well to the edges of the eyes
or you will look more like the minstrel type of negro than that variety
which was found on the plantations of Kentucky.
The hands and arms, neck and ears, should all be carefully made up.
[Illustration: ST. DUNSTAN
English Church Pageant, 1909.]
[Illustration]
[Illustration]
FLEURY
Gay, debauched, and lascivious.
An extreme type of French bohemian.
Notice how the moustache is brushed back from the mouth; the insolent
droop of the eyelids, and the elevation of the eyebrows.
The nose runs directly up into the forehead as in the case of Iago. The
hair is long and curls in bushy masses.
Full instructions for making the beard will be found in the description
accompanying the progressive stages of the false beard.
A large black-rimmed eyeglass helps the characterisation.
ABSINTHE
_Liné._ Drink?
FLEURY. Absinthe.
LINÉ. Do you--do you--excuse me--paint? [_Fleury shakes his head and
drinks._] You are a poet?
FLEURY. Yes, my friend, I am [_drinks_]. I sing an answer to the
siren's song. It is a ballad of such enchanting lewdness, they hold
their breath to listen, and silenced they are lost. Many a dainty
female thing, drunk with voluptuous ecstasy, has crept into my nets.
LINÉ. On what seas do you roam?
FLEURY. Seas! He that mentions water in my hearing, even if he
dignifies it with the name of sea, insults me gravely. The only
liquid of my life is that which but a moment since made virile this
poor glass, that now alas is dead. [_Fleury's glass is filled, and he
drinks, smacking his lips._] An ocean was not too much. Nay, all the
fluid systems of the world I'd gulp within. An ocean here [_putting
his hand upon his stomach_], a lake upon my tongue. Through every vein
a burning river run, and to my brain great clouds would rise through
which pale opalescent rainbows would never cease to play.
_From a Play by_ CAVENDISH MORTON.
THE PROFESSOR
Men who study assiduously a certain branch of the animal kingdom
sometimes grow to look more or less like the things they contemplate.
This etymologist has cultivated a family resemblance to the insects
that he studies.
The inquisitive eyes and the impertinent nose might well become a
mosquito.
The nose is elongated with nose-paste.
The groundwork of No. 3 is used. The shadows and wrinkles are of
lake mixed with a little blue. The high lights are of pale yellow.
The eyebrows are of grey made by mixing black and white paint. The
eyelashes are thickly coated with white.
The face is treated with very light powder.
The spectacles, unkempt hair and velvet cap, all give characteristic
touches.
Particular attention is called to the hands. They are shadowed at all
spaces that occur between the bones with a mixture of lake and brown.
Veins are outlined in blue and high lights on the bones and veins are
accentuated with pale yellow.
THE PROFESSOR
I caught it myself. I could dance for joy. It bit me on the wrist. I
watched it suck my blood. I let it quietly feed, then I put a little
glass over it and held it down until it was dead.
See I have a ring upon my arm. I'll show you its sting under a
microscope.
[Illustration]
[Illustration]
THE SOUL STRUGGLE
In this, physical expression is given to the profound spiritual
conflict that takes place within a man of definitely dual personality.
He alternately comes under good and evil influences, each transition
coming suddenly. As the changes occur while the character is in view
of the audience, the whole effect has to be produced by the altered
expression of face and of form.
When working this character up I studied the effect in a full-length
mirror, striving constantly to make one character more and more
dignified, while the other was persistently degraded, till, ultimately,
I attained the most distinctive contrast of character that it was
possible to achieve without the aid of artificial make-up.
SIR THOMAS MORE
This print is included that it may be compared with the actual Holbein
print. It shows how important accuracy of detail in the costuming of a
part is.
When I impersonated this character in the Chelsea Pageant, every London
paper commented on the success of the make-up, the _Times_ saying, if
the Chancellor were to rise from the grave even he could hardly tell
the difference between us; the _Standard_, that I realised Holbein's
portrait with startling fidelity, and the _Daily News_, that I looked
as if I had stepped directly out of Holbein's well-known canvas; while
the _Sketch_ and _Referee_ called me a living Holbein.
[Illustration]
[Illustration]
[Illustration: SIR THOMAS MORE IN HIS GARDEN AT CHELSEA]
[Illustration: SIR THOMAS MORE BIDDING FAREWELL TO HIS FAVOURITE
DAUGHTER]
The additional pictures of Sir Thomas More are reproduced to show how
well the illusion of character was maintained under the most trying
conditions possible.
Make-up usually seems more real when seen by artificial light, but as
at the Chelsea Pageant, 1908, I had no such aid, the achievement of
absolute reality was all the more difficult.
[Illustration]
[Illustration]
NAPOLEON
An example of how historical accuracy should be striven for. The
success of this presentation depends on the actor more or less
definitely resembling the first Emperor of the French.
In my own case the only change I had to make in my appearance was to
have my hair suitably cut.
I went to infinite pains however to have each part of the costume an
exact copy of that he wore.
As very few prints are seen of Napoleon in Coronation robes, perhaps
the illusion will not be so striking as it would have been had I chosen
to represent him wearing his well-known hat. I preferred however to
represent a less hackneyed picture.
NAPOLEON
DIDEROT. I have seen him on his throne.
BARBEILLON. Was it wonderful?
DIDEROT. Wonderful! He looks like a baby swaddled in glory, sitting on
his high chair.
BARBEILLON. Well?
DIDEROT. It was wonderfully pitiful and pitifully wonderful. So
terribly final. There he sat like a bad boy who had stolen the toyshop.
He knows that no new thing may be created, so he sifts the old, and
selecting the best puts them together as children build with blocks.
He assembles with a perfection which sickens. Triumphant arch or
wedding trousseau is arranged with equal facility.
BARBEILLON. How was he dressed?
DIDEROT. The dandy of eternity, he had been to the clothing bazaar of
time; taken what he fancied--Cæsar's hat, Queen Elizabeth's collar,
Louis' cloak.
BARBEILLON. Extraordinary!
DIDEROT. I know; but it was all so right. Round his neck a chain, an
aviary of linked golden eagles. On his breast a mighty cross of five
points as if it were built to crucify the senses of the world upon. In
its centre a great N, the symbol of negation to humanity. No! no! no!
it said to all mankind. But I felt from the look in his eyes that it
had burnt through to his own heart. He is not blazing satisfaction,
only smouldering discontent.
I wonder if he'll smoulder out.
_From a Play by_ CAVENDISH MORTON.
[Illustration]
[Illustration]
[Illustration]
FALSE BEARDS
False beards may be procured ready made on gauze, or may be made upon
the face.
When a very large growth of hair is desired the wigmaker's production
is most suitable, but a small beard will have a much more natural
appearance if it is made up directly upon the face.
The twelve prints illustrating the method of work, practically explain
themselves, but a few descriptive words may be helpful.
Crepe hair is in far too curly a condition when procured from the
wigmaker, to be used with much success.
I moisten and comb out a large quantity of it, then allow it to dry.
Fig. 1 of the progressive prints shows the hair being combed out, Fig.
2 being roughly cut into shape. In Fig. 3 this piece has been gummed
into position. In Fig. 4 a circular bunch has been gummed to the chin.
Fig. 5 the piece under the lower lip. Fig. 6 the covering of the cheek
from ear to chin. Fig. 7 a small piece that runs from the corner of the
mouth into the beard. Fig. 8 a blending of the beard with the cheek.
Fig. 9 the placing of half the moustache. Fig. 10 the trimming of the
beard. Fig. 11 illustrates how the moustache may be arranged; and Fig.
12 that the beard may be pulled into any form.
The hair should not be pulled out in thick masses, and when it is in
position may be brushed and combed even as a real beard might. It may
be trimmed into any shape with an absolute certainty of its being
realistic.
* * * * *
Transcriber's Notes: Italic text is denoted by _underscores_. Obvious
printer's errors corrected. Every effort has been made to replicate
this text as faithfully as possible, including obsolete and variant
spellings, non-standard punctuation, inconsistently hyphenated words,
and other inconsistencies.
End of Project Gutenberg's The Art of Theatrical Make-up, by Cavendish Morton