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.