MASKS
CHAPTER I
The Map of the Mask
From the map it is evident that masks have been worn in every part of the world. They are older than the idols which primitive man made for himself. Why he invented masks we do not exactly know. They may have originated when man first attempted to impersonate the gods as he sought to control nature. If you can imagine how vast and mysterious the world of nature looked to primitive man and how he felt about all moving things, animals, clouds, winds, flowing water, swaying trees, and creeping vines, you can understand how he came to believe that there were spirits dwelling in such things and that these indwelling spirits had power to work him good or evil. Through offerings and prayers he sought to control these mysterious spirits and make them do his will.
Death was the greatest of all mysteries. Where did the spirit go when it left the body? It must go somewhere. Why not into an animal, or a tree, or even into a stone? Gradually this came to be his belief. His desire for mastery and power over the spirits led him to imagine faces more powerful and compelling than his own which would dominate them. He was full of invention. He invented the mask and became a god. When he wore the mask he believed that he controlled indwelling spirits and even coming events. This belief was true of primitive man the world over.
In Africa, masks were always worn in the tribal religious rites. When a dancer wore a mask, he was no longer an individual for he felt within himself the spirit of all his tribe. When the dance was finished, the mask was taken from the head and worshiped like an idol. These masks were created by the greatest artists of the tribe. They were simple, strong, and severe, without naturalism of any kind. They exaggerated the character of eyes, nose, and mouth in order to give intensity of expression. They were strange, but not terrifying. They were an effort to reveal the inner relations of man, nature, and God. They were beautifully made out of wood, copper, bronze, and ivory.
Quite different masks are found among the primitive people of North America. The Eskimos in Alaska make animal masks such as of the bear, wolf, beaver, and various birds to represent their totem ancestors. Every totemistic tribe has its own animal ancestor which it believes is impressed upon everything around the dwelling. The Eskimos believe that in the early days, if animals wished to assume human form, they could do so at will by pushing up their faces or beaks, as if they were masks. This human or man-like form they called the “inua.” It was supposed to represent the thinking part of the animal, and, at its death, became its shade or ghost. During the many festivals when the Eskimos wore their animal masks, they believed that they actually became the creature that they represented. Some of their masks were ingeniously made with double faces, so arranged that, at certain times in the ceremony, the outer mask which was held in place by pegs could be removed, thus symbolizing the transformation of the animal into the man.
The Indians of California observe annual ceremonies of mourning for the dead. Ten or more men prepare themselves to play the part of the ghosts. Disguised with painted masks, and adorned with feathers and grasses, they dance and sing in the village or rush about at night in the forest, with burning torches in their hands. The relatives of the dead look upon the maskers as their departed friends.
Other Indian tribes disguise themselves by painting their faces instead of wearing masks. The inspiration for the painting comes from a trance or a vision. The dancer makes his request to the leader of the ceremony. “My Father, I have come to be painted, so that I may see my friends. Have pity on me and paint me.” Elaborate designs in red, yellow, green, and blue are put upon the face, with a red or yellow line upon the parting of the hair. The designs most commonly used are sun, moon, stars, crosses, and birds.
The Indians of Arizona and New Mexico, such as the Hopi and Zuni, are ancestor worshipers. They believe that their dead relatives become supernatural spirits or “cachinas” or “kokos.” They consider them guardians that they may call upon in time of distress and need. If the crops have suffered from drought, they bring out the sacred masks and perform the rain dance.
The Zuni believe that the earth is watered by these departed ancestors, who as they pass to and fro continuously over the middle plains collect water in vases and gourd jugs from the six great waters of the world. They are unseen by the people below, because they wear cloud masks.
The masks worn by the Zuni dancers in their great winter festivals bear symbols characteristic of the cachinas and are repainted with great care before each dance. Many and varied are the names of the different masks, such as Mountain Goat-hunter Mask, Thrush Mask, Owl Mask, Buffalo Mask, Dust-in-the-House Woman Mask, Rain-Drop-Maker Mask, Long-Life-Maker Mask.
The ancient Aztecs wore masks decorated with turquoise and shell.
Masks
Indian Corn Maidens
Clowns
Japanese Characters: Old Woman, Devil Mask, Old Man
1 AFRICA (Congo) 2 ESQUIMAU 3 ITALY (Commedia del Arte) 4 ROMAN 5 Greece (Ancient) 6 ASIA (Thibet) 7 EGYPT 8 BRAZIL 9 NEW MEXICO (Hopi) 10 ARIZONA (Zuñi) 11 CALIFORNIA 12 NEW YORK (Benda) 13 PHILADELPHIA (Bellsnickles) 14 ENGLAND (Mummers) 15 FRANCE (Revels) 16 CEYLON (Lion) 17 NEW ORLEANS (Mardi Gras) 18 JAVA 19 SIAM 20 BURMA 21 CHINA 22 JAPAN (No Drama)
In Brazil, masks were used in dances performed in honor of the dead. The mask represented animals, birds, and insects. They obtained their magical power by the wearer imitating the movements and actions of these creatures. For instance, the butterfly masks came by their magic through the dance of two men who imitated the play of these brilliant insects fluttering on the wing, settling on sand banks and rocks. The magic of the swallow masks came through the imitation of the swallow, and so it was with the owl, spider, vulture, beetle, toad, jaguar mask, and others. After the dance the masks were burned in order to drive the indwelling spirits back to their haunts. Even idols needed masks to give them life, and special power over disease and disaster. These masks must be as enduring as the gods themselves, so they were made of terra cotta, shell, and stone. Among the gifts made to Columbus when he landed in San Salvador were some of these sacred masks.
Masks originated in Asia just as they did in Africa and America, through man’s fears and superstitions. In India, China, Japan, and throughout the Orient, they have been used for centuries in religious ceremonies. Gradually they were introduced into court functions, such as wedding and birthday celebrations, and finally animal masks were used to entertain the common people.
The highly involved religions of these eastern peoples, with their countless deities, brought infinite variety to their masks. Their civilization, being old and rich in tradition, gave to the mask subtleties and refinement of characterization that could not be conceived of by primitive peoples. Their masks reflected their clear, well-defined ideas, and showed their artists’ amazing ability to recognize and analyze expressions of the human face. Tranquillity, mirth, cunning, scorn, wrath, and subtle shades of feeling are portrayed. The idea in the mind of the mask maker was so clear that we are never left in doubt as to the meaning of the mask. They are emotional interpretations, never realistic portraits.
Chinese priests used the mask in morality plays showing the rewards and punishments that will be meted out in their many heavens, hells, and purgatories. Their masks are usually horrible or terrifying, sometimes humorous, rarely beautiful. They are worn by gorgeously costumed priests who enact the plays, in pantomime, on stages erected in the temple courtyards.
In Siam, Burma, Java, and Ceylon, the mask passed from the temple to the theater and the strolling players. Much of its old symbolism has been lost, and it frequently becomes merely an elaborate piece of decoration.
Probably the most beautiful masks in the world are the religious or No masks of Japan. These are worn in the sacred No plays, of which there are more than two hundred. They represent the Japanese idea of the appearance of their gods and heroes. Music, dance, and dialogue all are used in the five or six short plays which make the No cycle. The No begins with the bestowing of blessings by the gods and their victory over the demons. A short love story follows, with possibly a bit of humor, and then a picture of the passing of life. The end is a gracious recognition of the favor of the gods. These ancient plays are performed out of doors on a simple platform erected against a wall on which is painted a symbolic pine tree. Masks have been used for more than four hundred years in these No dramas.
The ancient Egyptians used the mask in their sacrificial ceremonies. In the “Book of the Dead” ceremony one may see a priest wearing the jackal-headed mask of Anubis, standing before the bier of the great god, Osiris. The victims kneeling before him wear hare and hawk headed masks. Egyptian kings wore lion, bull, and dragon masks to impress their subjects with their mighty power. Even the mummies wore masks. On the faces of their dead kings they placed masks of pure gold as did the Mycenæans.
The mask, as we know it, came to us through the Greeks. In the worship of Demeter, the earth mother of the Greeks, masks of horses, pigs, cats, hares, and asses were used. Masks were also used in the worship of Dionysus, with dancing, chanting, and chorus. The Greeks, being the first people to have a theater, were also the first people to realize that no human face could portray the sustained expression of tragedy and comedy called for by the great rôles of their dramas. The mask became a necessity. Thespis is credited with its invention. The mask enabled an actor to play female rôles, to play many different characters, and to represent his character in youth, middle life, and old age. The open mouth characterized the Greek mask. Some scholars have believed that a brass mouthpiece was used to amplify the voice of the actor.
The Romans appropriated the Greek mask. Virgil tells us that they hung masks on trees at the time of sowing, in order to better the crops. Noble Romans wore masks of their illustrious ancestors at funerals. The impersonators riding in chariots through the streets were dressed in rich robes of office, resplendent in purple and gold such as the dead nobles had worn in their lifetime. When the funeral procession reached the Forum, the maskers solemnly took their seats on the ivory chairs placed for them on the platform of the rostra, in the sight of all the people. This spectacle, no doubt, stirred memories of the glorious past in the hearts of the old and fired the young with noble ambitions. It is said that Nero wore masks resembling his own face and those of his favorites.
With the passing of glorious Rome the mask became a degraded thing, abhorred by the early Christians.
Throughout the Dark Ages in Europe the mask was used only in the revels, and to celebrate the coming of the New Year and the springtime. Gradually the spirit of revelling slipped into the Church. In England and in France, during the XIIth Century, there was a very famous revel called “The Feast of Fools” that began at vespers on the last day of the year. Two equally famous revels were those of the “Boy Bishop” and the “Feast of the Ass,” celebrated with rout and mock ritual. Such were the excesses indulged in that Pope Innocent III, in 1207 A. D., formally prohibited masking in the church. But it was not until the XVth Century that these revels were effectively driven out. We hear next of the mask in scriptural plays, such as those given at Christmas time. These plays were performed outside the church. During the XIVth Century, we discover the guilds or corporations of craftsmen employing the mask in their religious plays, in honor of royal visits, and in their May Day processions. In fact, all over Europe, at that time wherever the mystery, miracle, or morality play was given, we are sure to find at least occasional use of the mask.
Masks
Upper Row: Bishop, Queen, King
Middle Row: Lady-in-Waiting, Crusader, Child
Lower Row: Jester, Old Woman, Little Jack
In Italy, from the XIVth to the XVIIth Century, the mask was worn by Harlequin, Pantaloon, Pulcinella, the Doctor, and all the characters of the Commedia dell’arte. In the XVIIIth Century, the comedy theaters of France also affected the mask as a dramatic requisite.
During the XIXth Century the mask had degenerated to the crude false faces used by Europeans or their descendants in America. In Philadelphia, children wear masks at Thanksgiving. Masks appear at the celebration of the Mardi Gras in New Orleans, and the old-time custom of wearing masks at Hallowe’en still prevails.
A few years ago a group of artists, foremost among them W. T. Benda, who knew the great and beautiful tradition of the mask and had felt its strange fascination, lifted the mask to a new level of distinction. Anyone who has had the good fortune to see one of their masks cannot escape its spell nor can he rest until he finds an occasion to make a mask.
CHAPTER II
Occasions for Wearing the Mask
We all know the thrill of wearing a mask, but an entirely new and strange thrill awaits him who wears a mask of his own creation. Anyone who has imagination is apt to turn away from the ordinary commercial mask, because his fancy can picture something much more clever and interesting.
When one looks at the calendar he is surprised to find that there are so many days that invite the wearing of masks. The first occasion for wearing a mask that comes to mind is Hallowe’en, that old celebration of the eve of All Saints’ Day. The religious significance of this festival is almost forgotten, but it still marks the fullness of the harvest time and has long been celebrated with masks and merry-making. Even the glowing jack-o’-lantern is a kind of mask.
For occasions such as the New Year and April Fools’ Day the mask may express an individual idea or fancy. There are a few days, however, such as Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Easter, for which masks must be specially designed. These masks should represent the characters that one associates with the occasions. When a story is woven about these characters and then told in pantomime, by actors wearing masks, it may be called a mask. Music and dance add much to the beauty of a mask.
Woodland, park, and garden are ideal settings for masks in spring, summer, and autumn. Arbor Day, Shakespeare’s birthday, and May Day are delightful occasions which stir the imagination and have rich associations in music and literature.
Let us suppose that one wishes to celebrate Christmas with a mask. Christmas is a Christian festival but it is being celebrated more and more by all people who believe in brotherly love and good will. These attributes can become the theme of the mask. The possibilities for developing this theme of brotherly love and good will are endless. The story may be laid in any land. It may center about the life of a great court or about the humblest home. But wherever it is laid, the story must have dramatic interest and touch the feelings of those who see it.
A simple mask may be just as beautiful and moving as a very elaborate mask. Whether it is to be one or the other will depend largely upon the size of the group that wishes to present it, and the place where it is to be given.
Since the mask grew out of the Church, and since the Church provides a beautiful and dignified setting, naturally it becomes a most appropriate place for a Christmas mask. The Church has so much to offer that it is not surprising to find it again welcoming pageantry and the mask. The organist and choir provide the music, members with dramatic talent perform the pantomime, sewing groups make the costumes, while those who have a gift for crafts can make the masks and properties.
A Christmas mask, when given in a school, may require the coöperation of all departments. The English department may find the theme and place it in a period and give it dramatic form and train the reader and maskers in pantomime. In the art department, the masks will be made, the costumes and properties will be designed and decorated. The library furnishes books and plates. The sewing department makes the costumes. The wood-working department makes the properties. The music department finds appropriate music and trains the chorus. The printing department prints programs, posters, and tickets.
Here is an example of the plan and development of a Christmas mask given for children by the pupils of a junior high school. The first consideration was the size of the stage and its possibilities. The second consideration was the attention of the audience. It was thought that an entertainment that lasted an hour would not be too long. The problem then was to find or to make a story that would develop, reach its climax and conclusion within an hour. Naturally this story had to be dramatic, have a simple and clearly defined plot, and its characters few and vivid. The story chosen was laid in England in the XVth Century. The history, art, songs, and customs of that time seemed to lend themselves so readily to a mask. The theme chosen was unselfish love. The characters were the King, Queen, Sage, Lady-in-Waiting, Pages, Peasant Mother, and her son, St. George, the Dragon, the Doctor and Jack, the Giant Killer, and the Morris dancers. Beautiful old English carols were woven into the story, which was told by a reader, accompanied by a harp. The mask begins with the carol “Holy Night, Silent Night.” This is sung by a concealed chorus of boys. The curtains open, the King is seated on his throne, his Counsellor and Page beside him. The reader begins a story of selfishness and greed that rule throughout the kingdom and with a dream of the unhappy King. The Sage opens his great book and counsels the King to send forth messengers to find if anyone in all the land has done an unselfish deed. This alone can save the kingdom. The scene closes with the departure of the pages and the singing of the carol: “We three Kings of the Orient are, bearing gifts, we have traveled afar.”
The second scene is laid in a humble dwelling. Here an old peasant mother awaits the return of her son from his day’s work. The reader tells the story of their poverty, and of the old mother’s courage in facing the day when her son must leave her to go forth into the world. Distant carolers are heard singing:
Good King Wenceslaus looked out on the feast of Stephen.
While the snow lay round about deep and crisp and even.
As the carolers’ voices die away, the son returns and tells a marvelous tale. He has saved the son of a nobleman from a wild boar and as a reward the nobleman offers to take him away to his great castle. The mother rejoices in his good fortune, though it means their separation. The son tells his mother that he has refused the reward in order to stay and take care of her.
They sit down to their humble meal, and bow their heads in thanksgiving. One of the King’s messengers enters, tells of his futile quest and asks them if they have heard of anyone who has performed an unselfish deed. The mother tells of her son’s devotion. The messenger rejoices and declares that in all his wanderings he has heard of nothing but selfishness. He bids them follow him to the court. As the curtains close, the chorus sings: “Joy to the World.”
The third scene shows the King and Queen upon the throne, a Lady-in-Waiting and the Counsellor attending them. The unsuccessful messengers return, kneel before the throne, and sadly bow their heads. The triumphant messenger returns, bringing with him the old mother and her son. The reader tells the story of their devotion and there is general rejoicing. The King bestows blessings and favors and then sends for the mummers, who come in led by St. George and the Doctor with his great bottles of pills (“red to cure, and blue to kill”) little Jack, the Giant Killer, the terrible Dragon, and the Morris dancers.
The mummers perform the old English play of St. George and the Dragon. The Morris men give the stick dance. At the close St. George and little Jack beg pennies from the court, while the dancers go begging through the audience and the chorus sings:
Here we come a wassailing among the leaves so green.
Here we come a wandering so fair to be seen.
The King steps forth and blesses all the people. They kneel reverently as the Christmas chimes begin to ring. The King and Queen now come down and kneel with their people, while the chorus triumphantly sings: “Hark, the Herald Angels Sing, Glory to the New-born King.”
The Christmas mask illustrated in these pages was written about the Crusade of St. Louis of France. It sought to re-create, through music, pantomime, costumes, and dance, the spirit of the XVth Century. It was inspired by the wealth of the material of this period in the Cleveland Museum of Art. Here were examples of Gothic sculpture which gave the note of simplicity and reverence, and at the same time accurate information about pose, expression, costume, and line. The stained-glass windows, enamels, and illuminated manuscripts gave suggestions for color and color arrangement. Old Italian chests and the frames of early Siennese paintings influenced the designs of the necessary furniture. In the art library were found photographs and plates of sculptures of the cathedrals of Chartres, Amiens, and Rheims. These were studied for costumes, headdresses, ornaments, and especially for the types of faces which were to be used in the masks. Examples of early textiles were drawn upon for designs of costumes and background.
The King collection of books on costume at the Cleveland Historical Society furnished references on costumes.
The rare John G. White collection of folklore and music in the Cleveland Public Library furnished songs and chronicles of the time. In this collection beautiful old French music of the XIth, XIIth, and XIIIth centuries was found. The songs were translated and adapted so that they could be sung by children. The action of the mask was made to take place on Christmas Eve, in the year 1255, in the hall of the castle of Count Mathew of Brittany. The mask began with a procession of forty children, in costume, singing this XIVth Century noel:
Lead us, Lord, where He doth lie this night!
There is a Child of Mary born!
Salvation hath He brought to us,
Whom we should worship night and morn.
Lead us, Lord, a star now shineth bright!
In Bethlehem it so befell
That in a stable born He was
Pray Him for grace to serve Him well.
Show us, Lord, where angel wings are light!
The shepherds heard that Angel-song
That grace did bring from out the sky
Where Man was born mankind among.
Conditor, our Lord of Power and Might
Now let each man upon Him call,
Who sits enthroned in Heaven high,
That to His bliss He bring us all.
Masks
Upper: Mummer, Queen, Jester
Middle: Egyptian Priest, Persian Poet, Greek Maiden
Lower: Columbine and Pierrot
These children made a beautiful picture as they grouped themselves before the tall trees at the right and left of the stage. With them sat the soloists and the orchestra. A reader dressed in the costume of the period told the story. A group of sixteen children, masked and costumed as the characters in the story, presented the pantomime.
This mask aimed to impress, through music and the harmony between spoken word and gesture, the deep significance of Christmas.
CHAPTER III
Making the Mask
Anyone who has ever tried to make masks, knows their fascination. A pillowcase with two holes cut in it for eyes may have been your first mask. A paper bag may have been your second mask. What a wonderful chance this gave you to show your originality. You may remember how you labored to express some humorous or grotesque idea. There was the paper nose that you cut, fitted and glued to it, and the ears that you made for it, the mouth that you painted, and the headdress of feathers and quills. Above all, there was the joy of wearing it and of comparing your mask with the masks of your friends.
All masks reflect the ideas and feelings of those who make them. Great masks have individuality and character. How does one make a mask that has character? It is done in some such manner as this: First decide whether your mask is to represent an imaginary character or a historical character. If it is to represent an imaginary character you will have a great deal of freedom in working out your idea, for no one can say, exactly, what a goblin or demon or any fanciful creature looks like. But if your mask is to represent a historical character the problem is quite a different one. In that case you are guided by tradition and also by the structure and proportions of the human face.
Let us suppose that you wish to make a mask of a noble king. He probably would have a high forehead, a straight brow, a strong, firm chin, and a kindly mouth. Exaggerate the high forehead, the straight brow, the firm chin, and the kindliness of the mouth, and you will find that every one who sees your mask will be conscious of its nobility. Is your king young or old? If he is old, there will be hollows about his eyes, nose, and mouth, and his cheeks may be thin. If he is young, his flesh will be firm and there will be no drawn or sagging muscles. Exaggerate the roundness of youth and the thinness of old age, keeping the proportions and qualities which indicate nobility.
The brow indicates mood—surprise and curiosity are shown by arched eyebrows; sadness and grief are shown by drooping eyebrows; perplexity and anger are shown by the drawing together of the eyebrows.
The nose is very important and demands careful study. It should be consistent with the character. Can you imagine a noble, generous king with a short, upturned nose?
The mouth and chin are quite as important as the brow and nose. Beginners often have great difficulty in modeling them, because they forget to consider the profile. The lips and chin must be built out and shaped exactly like those of the human face.
When you have the character of this noble king well in mind, take a pencil and paper and make a sketch of him, front view and side view. Keep in mind the general proportions of his face. Having made your drawing you are ready to begin your work with clay. Measure your face from chin to the crown of the head, and the width of your face from ear to ear. Do this carefully, for a good mask should fit the face of the wearer. Onto a slate or a board crush some newspapers into a mound, about 4 by 6 inches, and 3 inches high. This paper, acting as a core, will save your clay and insure its quick drying. Pack the clay over the paper as in the illustration, to a depth of about 6 inches. If the length of your face is 8½ inches, make the mound of clay 8¾ inches, since the clay shrinks in drying. For the same reason, add an extra ¼ inch to the width. With your drawing before you, begin modeling the clay. Remember that a face is not flat. Observe the plans of the forehead, the cheeks, and eye sockets. The expression which you imagine the noble king to have had should be modeled into the clay and the wrinkles cut into the forehead and about the mouth. You must study your mask from many angles in order to make it lifelike.
Characters from Christmas Mask
If you do not finish your modeling the first day, cover the clay with wet cloths to keep it from hardening. When you have completed your clay model it will require twenty-four to thirty-six hours for it to dry. From this model you are now ready to make either a papier-mâché mask or a buckram mask. If you wish to make a papier-mâché mask cover the model when thoroughly dry with a thin coat of vaseline. Now tear medium-weight wrapping paper, cream and brown for instance, into pieces three or four inches long, soak them in hot water, wring out separately, dip into flour paste, and rub gently between the fingers until they feel like wet chamois skin. Cover the entire surface with the cream-colored strips of paper. The pieces may overlap but there must be no wrinkles. When the entire surface is covered you may apply immediately a second layer. Let this be of the brown paper. Follow this with a third layer of cream and a fourth layer of brown. If your paper is thin, apply a fifth or even a sixth layer to give the necessary thickness and strength. The alternating of the cream and brown will help you to count your layers and insures uniform thickness. Strive to keep a smooth surface and a uniform thickness. Do not forget that in this process the last layer of paper becomes the outer surface of your mask. After twenty-four or thirty-six hours, the paper masks should be dry enough to remove from the clay. Plasticine may be used instead of clay but since it does not harden, this process necessitates making a plaster of Paris mold. The directions for making this are given on page 66.
When you have removed the paper mask from the clay or plaster mold, cut out the eye and nostril holes. If a mask is to be worn by a dancer, the lips should be modeled slightly opened to permit the cutting away of the paper between the lips.
If you decide to make a buckram mask you will require a piece of light-colored buckram about twice the size of the face. Soften the buckram with warm water, then place over the clay model which has been covered with a coat of soapsuds. Press the buckram carefully, so as to bring out all the modeling of the features, then allow to dry.
The next step is the construction of that part of the mask which will cover the head. Here you will need assistance. While you hold the mask to your face, your assistant will take a one-inch strip of heavy paper, long enough to go around the back of the head, and attach it to the outside edges of the mask, just above the ears. If this strip is attached too low, the mask cannot be removed from the head, if too high, the mask will not be held securely. You will soon discover that it is necessary to put the chin into the mask first, when you put it on. A mask should fit the face and head closely. If you follow the steps in the illustration, you will see how this basketlike framework is constructed and how any kind of headdress can be built up on it. When a headdress is completed, and the inside of the mask is finished with a lining of papier-mâché, you are ready to paint the mask. Oil paints are the most practical. Tempera colors, however, may be used. The painting of the mask should emphasize the character.
Complexion is the first consideration. Faces usually are fair, sallow, or swarthy. There are certain masks, however, that are much more effective when they are painted symbolically. The mask of the priest of Osiris was painted a rich green to indicate the fertility of the Nile. The demon mask was painted a greenish-gray. Yellow, vermilion, and black were used to heighten the terrifying aspects. Observation and experiment will guide you in the painting of the eyes, lips, brow, and hair, and also in the subtle violet shadows about the eyes, cheeks, and chin. Beware of timid lines that imitate nature. They say very little when the mask is a few feet away from you. Big, sweeping rhythmic lines make for design and carrying power, and are to be seen in all great masks. The inside of the mask should also be painted, decorated if you like, and shellacked when the oil paint is thoroughly dry. This prevents the breath from softening the papier-mâché. The outside must not be shellacked.
The masks shown in the accompanying illustrations aimed to bring out the most important traits of the character chosen. North American Indian symbolism of design and color was carried out in the masks of the Corn Maidens. Each mask was made by a different person, with a very clear idea in mind of what she wished her mask to express. Notice how like and yet unlike these Corn Maiden masks are. A clown’s face is supposed to show grotesque humor. By exaggerating nose, ears, and mouth, both in shape and color, the grotesque effects of the clown group were produced. Cheerfulness and contented old age are characterized by two Oriental masks shown at the bottom of the page. The demon mask grew out of a careful study of Chinese and Japanese demon masks.
The remoteness and dignity of ancient Egypt are reflected in the mask of the Priest of Osiris. The poetical sensitiveness of the mask of an Oriental poet was inspired by the faces in early Persian miniatures. There is much of wistfulness and subtle character delineation in the mask of the jester. This mask was worn with a parti-colored costume, cap and bells.
The possibilities of character masks are suggested by the photographs of the “Christmas Masque” given by the children’s singing classes of the Cleveland Museum of Art, and by the ninth grade special art class of Fairmount Junior High School, assisted by the Music School Settlement at the Cleveland Museum of Art, Christmas, 1925.
CHAPTER IV
The Costume and Setting for the Mask
Costume is a means of introducing characters, of telling time and place, and of creating dramatic mood. A costume should be different from ordinary clothes, and should have a characteristic quality that will help an actor to interpret his part. Imagine Charlie Chaplin in any other outfit than his own. Do you think this costume of his came by chance? Much thought and experiment went into its creation. Have you ever noticed how this artist wears his shabby, droll, almost pathetic costume, and how he uses it to play upon your feelings? His work is an illustrious example of a great artist’s use of costume.
There are two kinds of costumes, those which grow out of pure imagination and those which reproduce the costumes worn in different periods in different countries. The latter are spoken of as period costumes. Under imaginative costumes come those of Maeterlinek’s Blue Bird which represent fire, water, milk, sugar, bread, and those of the old morality plays, such as virtue, vice, modesty, poverty, envy, and greed.
Imaginative Costumes. Three things are essential to the imaginative costume: appropriate line, appropriate color, and appropriate material. The kind of costume that would represent wind would require drapery, the lines of which would suggest the movement of wind when the body was in motion. Water, however, would require straight, downward falling lines. The color of an imaginative costume is important. Who can imagine a fairy in black or a gnome in white, a character representing spring in russet brown or one representing autumn in yellow-green? Materials likewise have their appropriate uses. Fairies are not weighted down with velvet, neither are gnomes given costumes of gauze.
Period Costumes. When we come to period costumes, accurate information is necessary. The quest leads us to libraries, with their illustrated books, photographs, and plates; to historical and art museums with whatever they may have of original material.
North American Indian Costumes. One costume that is familiar to every American boy and girl is that of the North American Indian. We occasionally see Indians at the circus, as traveling medicine men, or on their reservations. Many museums are making collections of their costumes and their arts. Government publications, such as the beautifully illustrated ethnological reports, with information about almost every tribe, are in most libraries. Many libraries have the wonderful Curtis photographs. The National Geographic and other magazines have illustrations that could also be used.
Indian Costumes
Warrior| | | Maiden| | | Chief
Considering the dramatic part that the Indian has played in American life, what subject could be more appropriate for a mask? Indian life and legend offer an equally vivid and colorful opportunity for the mask. The wealth of material is inspiring. Every community in our country can find somewhere in its history stirring events related to Indian life. What could be more interesting than to weave these incidents of pioneer life into masks? These could be presented by school clubs and boy and girl scout troops, in parks and playgrounds.
Israelite Costumes
Priest
Maiden
Tribesman]
Bible Costumes. A mask with characters taken from the Bible could be very beautifully costumed. One could use pictures of the artist, Tissot, who spent many years of his life in Palestine, sketching costumes that he felt were similar to those of Bible times. His illustrations show how widely the rich Eastern costumes differ from our own. The materials used were fine, transparent linen and silk and cloth made from wool and camels’ and goats’ hair. The various classes of people were distinguished by difference in the richness, costliness, and simplicity of their dress. Ornament is very characteristic of all these Oriental costumes. The sculptured figures on one of the tombs near Thebes show the Israelites brought before their Egyptian conquerors wearing fringed garments. Moses commanded that fringe be worn by his people. This was probably a survival of a still more ancient usage in the family of Jacob. Assyrian reliefs show Israelite captives being stripped of their ornaments, sandals, anklets, embroidered robes and tunics, girdles and armlets, thin veils, caps of network, ear pendants, bracelets, rings, and jewels of the nose.
Egyptian Costumes. The costumes of the ancient Egyptians may easily come into a mask of Bible times. Materials used were fine linen, cotton, and wool. The common people wore merely a piece of linen tied around the loins. Occasionally the skin of a tiger or leopard was thrown over the shoulders. Both men and women wore broad collars around the neck and over the breast. The men wore armlets, bracelets, and finger rings, while the women added to these ornaments, diadems, girdles, and bands of ornament around the breast and hips. The headdress was important, for it indicated the rank of the wearer. The illustration shows the characteristic features of their costumes.
Egyptian Costumes
God Osiris| | | Princess| | | King
Cretan Costumes. If you have ever felt that the ancient costume lacked what we call “style,” behold this snappy, chic little Cretan goddess! With her short-sleeved, closely fitting jacket, full flounced skirt and wasp waist, headgear, loops, and sashes. She might have been the very latest word from Paris a generation ago.
Cretan Goddess
Greek Costumes. When we speak of Greek costumes, we usually think of those upon Greek statues, such as the Athena and Artemis. Since these are in marble or in plaster of Paris, it is quite natural that we should think of the Greek costume as being white. It is interesting to learn, however, that Greek costumes showed a great variety of colors.
Greek Costumes: Man and Woman
The favorite colors were deep purple, red, and yellow. There was a very dark blue and a green described as the color of unripe grapes or frog colored. The materials used, were linen, wool, sometimes cotton, and silk. The costumes worn by the common people were of coarsely woven wool. The finest weaving was worn by the people of wealth. Design was important in the Greek costume. Sometimes it was an all over symmetrical pattern or a floral or an animal pattern. Even the human figure was used as a motif. A fragment having a naturalistic design of ducks embroidered in gold and green on a dark brown background has been found. These designs were sometimes woven into the material, sometimes embroidered, and very frequently painted upon the materials. Border designs beaten out in thin gold were not infrequently stitched onto the dress.
The chief and indispensable garment of a Greek woman was her peplos, which was a piece of material sewed together, open at top and bottom, and reaching from the neck to the feet. The width was equal to the extended arms. It was fastened over the shoulders with a kind of pin or fibula and about the waist with a girdle. Under this she wore a short undergarment. A similar but much shorter and simpler chiton was sometimes worn by the Greek men. The outer garment for both men and women was a kind of cloak or mantle made from an oblong of wool, 7 or 8 feet long by 5 or 6 feet wide. There were many ways of wearing this garment which was called the “himation.” Here is a description of the toilet of the Goddess Hera: “Then she clad her in her fragrant robe, that Athena wrought delicately for her, and therein set many things beautifully made, and fastened it over her breast with clasps of gold. And she girdled it with a girdle arrayed with a hundred tassels, and she set earrings in her pierced ears—earrings of three drops and glistening—and therefrom shone grace abundantly. And with a veil over all, the peerless goddess veiled herself—a fair, new veil, bright as the sun, and beneath her shining feet she bound goodly sandals.” (Lang, Leaf, & Myers.)
Roman Costumes
Soldier| | | Lady| | | Noble
Roman Costumes. Roman dress was patterned after the Greek. It was unbelievably ample. The toga was a huge elliptical piece of cloth in length three times the height of the person who wore it and in width twice his height. Imagine the skill required to arrange this garment. The toga was of thin white woolen stuff. When bordered with purple, it denoted a person holding public office. A purple toga was always a mark of high office. It was sometimes embroidered in gold. Under the toga was worn a short garment called the tunica, which corresponded to the Greek chiton. The dress of a Roman matron corresponded to that of a Roman man. She wore a tunica, loose and without sleeves. Over this a stola which was belted at the waist and had sleeves. Out of doors, she wore the palla, which is identical with the Greek himation. Sandals and sometimes shoes were worn on the feet. These were bright colored and sometimes embroidered with gold and pearls. Roman jewelry lacked Greek refinement.
Costumes of the Early Church. What could be more dignified and beautiful than a mask built upon the history of the early church! The costumes for such a mask would be ecclesiastical in character and would reflect the influences of the Eastern and Western worlds. The materials of these costumes would be rich and colorful and of Byzantine design. The lines of the costumes would very closely resemble the state dresses of the Roman official dignitaries. The illustration shows how elaborate were the vestments of a bishop. In marked contrast but equally interesting were the habits worn by the monastic orders. Here is a brief description of the habits of several of these:
Benedictines wore gowns of black, white, or russet cloth, with white or black fur, and black cape and hood.
Augustines wore black cassocks under white full-sleeved tunics, over all black cloak and hood, square black cap.
Scene from Christmas Mask given by ninth year Fairmount Junior High School pupils at the Cleveland Museum of Art.
Lady-in-Waiting| | | King
Dominicans or Black Friars wore similar habit to that worn by the Augustine monks.
Franciscans or Gray Friars wore long, loose gray cassocks girded with a cord, a hood or cowl, and a cloak of the same.
Ecclesiastical Costumes
Bishop| | | Nun| | | Monk
Carmelite or White Friars wore habits of white throughout, but from about 1240 to 1290 their cloaks were parti-colored, white and red.
Crossed Friars wore blue habits with a plain red cross.
In the early church there were various orders of nuns. They lived in convents, apart from the world, and took the vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience. Their costumes were of extreme simplicity and dignity, in keeping with their religious ideas. Each order had a distinctive costume of gray, blue, brown, white, or black. The materials were wool and linen. Note the full mantle, sleeves, and head-covering.
Crusaders’ Costumes. Every boy and girl who loves adventures has no doubt been thrilled by stories of the Crusaders. The story of Richard the Lion-hearted may come to your mind. This illustration shows you the kind of costumes that he and other Crusaders wore. Beginning in the year 1096, and during the two hundred years which followed, there were nine crusades. People from every country in Europe and from every class set forth for the conquest of Jerusalem and the recovery of the Holy Sepulcher. When these great companies of people set forth each wore the costume of his own country and class, but upon each surcoat was worn the cross. According to the order of Pope Urban II which read: “You are a soldier of the Cross, wear, then, on your shoulder the blood-red sign of Him who died for the salvation of your souls.” What a sight it must have been! Godfrey of Bouillon set forth from his province of Lorraine with 10,000 horsemen and 80,000 infantry, all bearing this blood-red cross upon their surcoats. Raymond of Toulouse led forth, it is said, with 160,000 horse and foot.
Crusader's Costume
Out of the successes and failures of these great pilgrimages came the experience and inspiration that created the literature, architecture, and arts of the Middle Ages, and gave the Christian world many of its saints and martyrs.
XIIIth Century Costumes. One of the greatest expressions of this intensely religious age was the cathedrals. From the infinite number of statues that are carved upon their façades and especially their portals and those statues that are within the cathedrals, from the figures in their stained-glass windows, the brass effigies in their pavements, and their frescoes and paintings, came the most authentic and complete information about the costumes of this period. Illuminated manuscripts and tapestries, such as the Bayeux tapestry, are also valuable sources. Photographs and reproductions of all this material are available. If one is seriously interested in costume he can collect reproductions from a surprising number of sources, such as newspapers, especially the Sunday supplement, magazines, and postcards, and make them into a costume scrapbook.
XIIth Century Costumes: Lady and Noble
The history of England from the time of William the Conqueror to that of King John and Magna Carta furnishes a wealth of material for the mask. Stories of William the Conqueror, Robin Hood and his Merry Men, the Canterbury Pilgrims and Ivanhoe, will come to your mind. English costumes show little change from the IXth to the XIVth Century. The men wore a sleeved tunic, rather short, partly open at the sides, confined by a girdle. Over this tunic, usually very plain, was worn a mantle. It was a universal custom to cross-bandage the legs from the knee down. Pointed caps and shoes or low boots were worn. Women wore long tunics or gowns with close-fitting sleeves, made loose and girt in about the waist. A short tunic with very wide sleeves at the wrist was worn over this. This garment was often richly embroidered. For the out of doors there was an extra mantle with hood. Beautiful ornaments of gold and bronze were worn by both men and women. Coverchiefs were worn over the head, encircling the face and covering the throat and shoulders. The coverchief later became the wimple. Women wore their hair flowing or in two braids brought forward over the shoulders. The men wore flowing hair and the two-pointed beard. The garments of royal persons were made of very rich materials.
An illuminated portrait of Eleanor of Acquitaine represents her “with a wimple with a circlet of gems; her under tunic fitting closely and having tight sleeves is gathered into a rich collar about her throat; over this dress is a long tunic, loose and flowing, bordered with ermine, its full and open sleeves being lined with fur; and over all, there is the ever-present mantle so adjusted that at the pleasure of the wearer it might be drawn over the head.”
XIIIth Century Costumes: Lady and Noble
Richard the Lion-hearted wore over a white under tunic a longer tunic and an almost equally long crimson dalmatic slit up at the sides. The latter garment had very full sleeves. The mantle of royal blue and gold was fastened in the center over the chest by a large morse. He wore gloves jeweled at the back of the hand, and enriched boots with spurs attached with buckled straps.
Here is a description of a XIIIth Century costume of King John. At a certain Christmas festival he appeared in a white damask tunic with jeweled girdle and gloves, his mantle being of red satin embroidered with sapphires and pearls.
XVth Century Costumes: Lady and Noble
XVIth Century Costumes: Lady and Noble
XVth Century Costumes. Romances and ballads founded upon tales of chivalry are colorful material for the mask. These are most frequently laid in the XIVth and XVth centuries. This was the time when heraldry was at its height and there was great interest in armorial devices. These appeared on the rich costumes of the time, which were made from silk, satin, velvet, and cloth of gold. Women wore very long and full skirts, tight waists and sleeves. Rows of buttons appear on waists and sleeves. There is a loose girdle about the hips. The horned, steeple, and butterfly headdresses were most extravagant. Shoes had long, pointed toes. Long mantles were popular. The costumes of the men of the same century consisted of a tight-fitting tunic with tight sleeves, rows of buttons, loose girdle, long hose, shoes with pointed toes. Mantles were of the richest materials and these were splendidly adorned.
XVIth Century Costumes. Masks founded on the life of Columbus and the discovery of America will require costumes following those of the XVIth Century. The costume for men show trunk hose, a jerkin or jacket closed at the throat, sleeves cut and slashed, and a very short coat that was called a doublet. In addition to this there was a very full cloak or cape that hung from the shoulder; a little flat cap was worn with this costume. Short hair came into style early in this century. Women wore full skirts, sometimes extended by a kind of wheellike frame of whalebone that was known as a “farthingale,” tight waists, puffed and slashed sleeves, and wide muffs. The world was ransacked to find stuffs to satisfy the extravagance of the XVIth Century.
The colonial history of the United States is rich in material for pageants and masks. What could be more vivid and interesting than the story of the Pilgrims, Dutch founders of New York, or of the Cavaliers of Virginia? The costumes of these periods are well known to you.
The Cavalier of the XVIIth Century continued the extravagance of the XVIth Century. His hat was wide brimmed and befeathered. There was lace at his neck, wrist, and boot top. His doublet let his fine cambric shirt be seen at the waist.
XVIIth Century Costumes: Cavalier and Lady
The women were equally elegant. Loose sleeves were turned up at the elbows with bows of ribbon. A tight-fitting bodice came down over a full skirt divided in front to show an elaborate underskirt. A wide collar covered the shoulders. This was a time of patches, hair powder, face paints, great feather fans, and muffs of fur, and the wearing of small black masks, presumably as a protection from the sun.
The costume of the XVIIth Century most familiar to us is that of the Pilgrim. It reflects the protest against the worldliness and extravagance of the time. The hat was wide-brimmed and high-crowned, with a wide ribbon band. Plain, wide collars of linen fell over the shoulders of their simply cut garments, which were of home-spun linen or wool. Not all Pilgrims wore somber gray, brown, or black. Many chose deep red, blue, or plum color.
XVIIth Century Pilgrim Costumes
The characteristic features of the XVIIIth Century costume of the French court during the reign of Louis XV and Louis XVI are shown in the high ornate head, dress of the women, the small waist, the wide flounced skirt, the exquisite silk brocades, jeweled and painted fans. The men of this period wore as elegant costumes as the women and gave much thought to their wigs, laces, and snuffboxes.
XVIIIth Century Court Costumes
The Colonial costume followed the XVIIth Century costume in America. It was directly influenced by the fashions set by Louis XV and Louis XVI. The costumes of the men of fashion of the colonies were made from satins, laces, and embroideries imported from France. Their periwigs and their enameled and jeweled snuffboxes were also French. The ladies of this period were equally exquisite. They wore full flounced skirts over huge whaleboned petticoats and tight bodices. Sloping shoulders, powdered wigs, painted faces, and patches were the fashion.
XVIIIth Century Colonial Costumes
When you have decided upon the costume you wish to make, then comes the very practical problem of materials. These need not be expensive since satins, unbleached muslin, cambric, tarlatan, cheesecloth, and oilcloth can be made to give beautiful effects. The advantages of satin are that it has body and texture and comes in a great range of colors. It has the sheen of satin, and is fairly inexpensive. It can be block printed or stenciled with gold, silver, or colors, and made to resemble the richest fabrics. Cambric is less expensive, but has less body and texture. It, too, can be made very effective by block printing or stenciling. Designs taken from fine old textiles in museums or from books or plates can be sketched or traced and then adapted for stencil or block.
Cloth of gold or silver can be made by painting muslin, gauze, or net with gold or silver radiator paint. This can be stenciled by brushing the stencil pattern with rabbit’s foot glue, then removing the stencil and sprinkling the design with gold or silver powder. There are no materials more satisfactory than unbleached muslin or cheesecloth when they have been dyed. These are very inexpensive. The dyeing is not difficult and gives beautiful results for the small amount of time and effort spent. The better standard dyes are very satisfactory, and can be used either hot or cold. By combining the dyes in the same way that you would mix pigments (see page 94) you can produce any true tint or shade that you wish.
Rich effects are often produced by a second and third dipping. Very often colored cheesecloth gains by being redipped. As an illustration, a piece of blue cheesecloth dipped in a green dye bath becomes a lovely blue-green. Experiment with small pieces of your material before you dip the larger pieces.
The accessories of costumes, such as chains, brooches, girdles, and scabbards are often necessary. Beads of glass, wood, clay, macaroni, and various seeds can be painted, enameled, or gilded, and set into papier-mâché for crowns, brooches, bracelets, and earrings. Buttons and glass ornaments can be used in the same way.
The design of a costume must be considered even more than its materials. A designer is an artist who uses fabric, color, and line to create an impression and to express an idea. He should study the play, and understand its dramatic ideas and moods. If he does this, his costumes will be as expressive, if properly worn, as the words of the actors.
Historic costumes reflect in a remarkable way the life, tastes, and feelings of an earlier time. But historic costumes also require an artist to reproduce them. The designer of an historic costume should know a great deal about the people who first wore this particular kind of costume and why they wore it. He will then choose suitable materials and colors, and will try to reproduce characteristic lines and silhouettes.
Last but not least comes the wearing of a costume. This requires two very important things: intelligence and imagination. The wearer, as well as the designer, should know the life, customs, and manners of the period which the costume represents. If he does not know them how can he move and gesture and assume the characteristic attitudes which the period demands and bring the costume into harmonious relation with the setting?
A mask requires but few properties. A throne, a chair, or a stool may be sufficient, if well designed and of the proper period. A rich, colorful hanging or rug against a neutral background will draw your stage picture together and add dignity to a scene.
The throne and stool shown in the photograph on page 178 were made from beaver board, after designs of Gothic furniture. The design was first drawn on the beaver board; to the design were then glued pieces of rope clothesline, while small rolls of papier-mâché were glued on for the lowest relief. The entire surface was then covered with pieces of unbleached muslin which had been soaked in whiting, glue, and warm water. When this was dry a coat of dark earth-brown oil paint was applied. Lastly a small amount of gold was rubbed over the design. The result resembled rich carved wood.
Much can be done with papier-mâché in the making of minor properties, such as croziers, maces, harps, lutes, jewel boxes, helmets, shields, sword handles, and scabbards. Properties should add to the beauty of a scene, never dominate it. They will be much more convincing when they suggest rather than minutely imitate the actual object. A background may be no more than a box hedge and still be most charming.
Everyone is familiar with the beauty of woodland settings. Masks of spring, summer, and the harvest time of Shakespearean plays almost demand some such setting.
Masks of winter bring us indoors. Possibly the best indoor background is the simple gray curtain of velvet, velveteen, monks’ cloth, outing flannel, or cambric. Against it costumes are seen to advantage and lights of all colors may be thrown against it successfully.
Since a mask is a highly conventionalized form of drama, it is possible to use a background painted with appropriate decorative or symbolic designs. An illustration of this is the symbolic pine tree painted on the wall of the temple courtyard for the Japanese No dramas. Screens of various kinds are full of possibilities. In the church or Sunday school, classroom, auditorium, library, or settlement, in the yard, playground, or park, ingenuity, imagination, and taste will always create a fitting background.
CHAPTER V
The Mask with Pantomime, Music, and Dance
The wearing of masks made it difficult for the Greek actors to speak their lines. Naturally they came to rely upon gestures quite as much as upon words to carry their meaning to the audience. This interpretation by gesture led to the development of the art of pantomime.
The great pantomimists had wit and humor. They knew how to take a story and improve it in the telling. Their hands expressed more than their words, and their gestures were a language that all understood. Masks made it possible for each actor to assume different rôles, and his mimicking was in keeping with the character of the mask he wore.
It was no unusual thing in the Greek towns and cities to see a jolly company of these mimes and musicians in grotesque costumes, their faces masked or smeared with soot, riding in chariots through the streets so that they might advertise their plays. These plays were little dramas and comedies in which pantomime and music played an important part.
Pantomime was popular with the Romans and for this reason despised by the early Christians. It survived, nevertheless, through a few obscure actors and mountebanks. Gradually these mimics and their fellows banded themselves together. They appeared at festivals whenever they were summoned, only to disappear afterward into the deep obscurity of a stroller’s life.
The mimics, or jongleurs (as they were called in France in the early Middle Ages), kept alive the tradition of dramatic entertainment. Among the famous mimics was Taillefer, who rode into the battle of Hastings tossing his sword into the air and catching it again, while he sang songs of Roland and Charlemagne. In France and in England the pantomimist was welcome in castle, in convent, and on village green.
From the Vth Century on, the Church gave much thought to forms of dramatic public worship, and sought thereby to interest and instruct the people. Living pictures, accompanied by songs, were used to illustrate the gospel narrative. On great festival days, such as Christmas, Good Friday, and Easter, the priests performed in pantomime the incidents appropriate to the occasion. Out of these very simple rites grew the mysteries, miracles, and the elaborate morality plays in which pantomime played a very important part.
In addition to such sacred plays, there were no end of secular plays. These were given all over Europe by townsfolk and peasants, in the streets, at the fairs, and in the great halls of the castles. Among the most popular of the English folk plays were the St. George plays. These were acted at Christmas time by bands of masked townsmen and peasants who called themselves mummers. Several versions of these old St. George plays, which can still be adapted and used in a Christmas mask, have come down to us. Among the characters are St. George, the Doctor, Little Jack, Father Christmas, the old dragon, and the Morris men.
In Italy during the XVIth and XVIIth centuries there was a popular form of character comedy that was known as the Commedia dell’ arte. This was performed by bands of professional actors who strolled about the country giving their improvised plays to any chance audience. As time went on and their popularity grew, the more clever of these bands established themselves in theaters in the towns and cities, where they gave a great variety of performances. The principal characters of their plays were Harlequin, Scaramouch, Columbine, Pantalone, and Punchinello. These characters all wore masks and were adepts in the art of pantomime. These Italian musicians and actors of the Commedia dell’ arte traveled to Spain, France, and finally to England, where their boisterous humor was warmly welcomed by high and low. Here is an account of one part of the festivities that were given in Kenilworth, in the year 1576:
“Noow within allso ... waz thear showed before her Highness by an Italian, such feats of agilitie, in goinges, turninges, tumblinges, castinges, hops, jumps, leaps, skips, springs, gambauds, soomersaults, caprittiez and flights; forward, backward, sydewize, a downward, upward, and with sundry windings, gyrings and circumflexions; allso lightly and with such easiness, as by me in feaw words it is not expressible by pen or speech ... I bleast me by my faith to behold him, and began to doout whither a waz a man or a spirite.... Az for thiz fellow I cannot tell what to make of him, save that I may geese his back be metalld like a lamprey, that haz no bones but a line like a lute-string.”
Pantomime was popular in England during the Reformation and morality plays were given in dumb show.
French actors were greatly influenced by these clever traveling Italian artists. They set up similar plays at their great fairs and finally established a theater in Paris, in which music and pantomime were developed to the highest perfection.
Until recent years nearly all that we have known of the great tradition of pantomime came to us through the circus clowns. Among these were a few artists such as Grimaldi, who never allowed their art to become low and trivial.
Now, all this is quite changed, since the coming of the movie. The moving picture depends entirely upon pantomime for interpreting character and expressing emotion. The greatest of the movie actors are great pantomimists. When we study the movements and gestures and the facial expressions of such actors as Emil Jannings and Charlie Chaplin, we begin to understand what pantomime really is. Chaliapin is another great actor who understands the art of pantomime and uses it in opera.
Let us see how pantomime, music, and dance were used in the Christmas mask described at the end of chapter II “Occasions for Wearing the Mask.” Masks for this play had been made for the following characters: a dignified king, a mournful queen, a gentle lady-in-waiting, an austere learned bishop, a faithful son, a clever jester, a rollicking band of mummers. Each pupil had made his own mask after very thorough study of the character that he had chosen. Knowing his character well enabled each student to interpret that character when he put on his mask, and for the time of the play, each student sought to become that character, king, queen, bishop, or mummer. The problem for each actor was that of bringing his movements and gestures into harmony with his mask. The king’s movements should be no less dignified and stately than his mask suggested. The unhappy queen must express the sadness of her mask by her drooping head and shoulders and by her impassive hands. Her mask was so modeled that when lifted, it suggested a smile. This expression was required when she lifted her head in joy at her son’s return.
The lady-in-waiting used pantomime to interpret her gentleness and modesty and the music which accompanied her XIIIth Century song. This song, sung off stage by one of the chorus, was singularly appropriate to the pensive quality of her mask.
Lady-in-Waiting’s Song
Though the winter be a-cold
Safe the lamb lies in the fold
Roses red are sleeping
’Neath the brown earth deep and warm.
Spring at last with winter’s storm
Steals now so gently creeping.
Soon the rose will bloom and blow,
Soon the birds sing loud and low.
Love hath breathed not coldly.
Deep in dungeon underground,
Love the knight hath fastly bound.
To these he strideth boldly.
Thou bereft and all alone
By our Lady Mary’s Son,
Weep ye not so sadly!
Of his true love, found again
Never knight was half so fain.
Look! now He cometh gladly.
The jester used pantomime in his dance. His inspiration for his poses came from the illustrations in old manuscripts and reproductions of old manuscripts. He sketches these, and then, assisted by a teacher who understood folk dancing, he worked out every step and pose to the music of this, his song:
Jester’s Song
Here am I, the Count’s good fool.
(Ch.) Aye, aye, ah.
Laughter is my only rule.
(Ch.) Aye, aye, ah.
Tears alone do wake my rage.
(Ch.) Aye, aye, ah.
With a smile I gain my wage.
For jollity am I a page.
Chorus:
O, for joy! O, for joy!
Ah, to thee we dance
To thee we dance,
To thee we dance.
With many a wink and glance
At Merriment’s fool.
List my bauble’s tinkling noise,
(Ch.) Aye, aye, ah.
Kingly crowns my golden toys.
(Ch.) Aye, aye, ah.
Dee, with gallant, blythesome pose,
(Ch.) Aye, aye, ah.
Leap I high upon my toes
To offer my ladie a rose.
Chorus:
What can the mask, the age-old form of entertainment, give us to-day? It is so far from mere representation that it allows us to escape from realism and to enter freely into the world of fine and subtle character interpretation. It is a form of entertainment that lends itself to humor, to dignity, and to beauty, and enlists the finest creative effort.
