Art In The Spotlight

says. “One of my favorite tricks when doing exaggerated stage makeup is to highlight and outline every feature with a bright white eyeliner, a light shade of concealer, and finish off with bright setting powder.”

She emphasizes that actors must look like the best version of themselves when they’re getting into character, whether they’re walking into an audition for a stage performance or preparing for a TV commercial.

Heavier makeup products such as Dermablend, Era, Dermacol, Ben Nye, and Mac are stage essentials that need to hold up against every type of lighting, sweat, quick changes, and stage kisses. “The stage lights emit a lot of heat,” Gabbard says. “Add a few dance numbers in weighted costumes, plus racing around backstage, and you are a walking sauna! Live stage makeup needs to be able to withstand any and all conditions.” Being up close and personal with the performers is one thing when applying stage makeup, but what about from the audience’s point of view, especially for patrons seated in the last row? For makeup artists and set designers, all angles and perspectives must be considered.

“When sitting in the audience watching a play or musical, we want to be able to see the performer’s facial expressions no matter how far back we are seated,” Gabbard says. “If the makeup is too light or too subtle, the performer will look flat and washed out.”

For this reason, features need to be “enhanced, highlighted, and bold” through exaggerated contour to define the face, vivid blush to make the face pop, and “bold strokes of eyeshadow both on the lid and in the crease” to create the illusion of larger eyes.

Valerie Henry, a local costume designer who has done work for New Haven’s Long Wharf Theatre and Free Shakespeare Company (among others) emphasizes that