Book Review: Theatre Masks - Out Side In

 

In the interest of not burying the lede, Theatre Masks Out Side In : Perspectives on Mask History, Design, Construction, and Performance by Wendy J. Meaden and Michael A. Brown is currently on sale from the publisher at 25% off.

I've been hoping a book like this would come out, so I could finally use an in-print up-to-date textbook in the maskmaking class I teach. For the past 18 years I've had to make do with a cobbled-together list of recommended yet out-of-print titles full of great ethnographic information and technical construction details, peppered with horrifying  OSHA violations like maskmakers smoking cigarettes in their workspace while using open containers of acetone.

These co-authors cover a vast range of topics pertaining to masked performance and theatrical tradition, from how actors and directors approach masked performance to traditional and modern media and methods for making masks. They touch on all the things I try to convey to my students about the contexts in which masks are used, in performance and in cultural/ritual/spiritual celebration. They consider the history of masks in the theatre (ancient Greece, Commedia dell'Arte, etc.), but also how masks are used in various cultures, as PPE, and as elements of disguise, and how those might appear in staged performance.

The book includes several appendices with a variety of useful content--project worksheets (a number of projects are suggested throughout the text), a spreadsheet for tracking/budgeting masks for a production, lists of mask collections in museums and plays which feature masks, etc.

My one negative thought about this book: Superficially, I dislike the cover design. As a fellow Focal Press author [1], I presume their experience was much like ours--minimal input on the cover. It feels very textbooky, not eyecatching, which I don't suppose textbooks need to be since they aren't competing for attention on bookstore endcaps or whatever. Meh.

Disclosure: when this book was being compiled, one of the authors contacted me about using images of my and my students' work. Those are included in the text, in the chapter on maskmaking techniques/methods. We received no compensation for those contributions, nor do I feel obligated to write/publish a "puff" review praising the book. It genuinely is a fantastic new resource and I will be using it as a textbook in my class the next time I teach it.

[1] I should mention that my book is also 25% off right now, here.