Masks:

Evocation and Transformation 

The Use of Masks in Ritual And Improvisation

By: Doug Rosentrater

Masks can be mirrors, doorways, projections, abstractions, and icons. 
They are personae, ancestors, descendants, us and not us.

They are time caught, frozen, transformed, twisted open and closed shut.

A masked person stands outside the sphere of ordinary conduct. 
The Mask is a bowl to hold energies, to receive and pour from.

Masks have an individual existence, independent from their crafts-people, 
wearers, and those to whom the mask is on temporary loan.

The first masks were discovered, not made. They were vibrations of divinities and demons, historical personages, allegories, parodies, parts of the self, saying what could not be said otherwise.

Mask can be positive and life giving, or it can be distorted and fixated. It can be used for evocation, efficacy, as the bridge between man and the supernatural, for exorcism and healing, as an entertainment, to increase the power of a person, and to demonstrate their material and spiritual achievement.

We receive the masks we deserve. We wear them and they wear us. Once worn, they can never be fully removed again. Others attempt to place masks upon us. Once a mask is removed, what remains... Masks lie underneath masks. The masked person has gained a certain freedom and committed to a certain responsibility.

Masks represent guardians, deities, clowns and tricksters, archetypes, windows, dead-ends and openings. Anthropomorphism is the placing of human characteristics upon inanimate objects, as echoes, reflections, resonance's.  Masks allow the other mind to emerge, assert, triumph. They become a tool for the real self.

One who sups with the gods and demons has permanent dinner partners and bedmates.

Even as a decoration on a wall, a mask affects the space. Packed away, it's dreams rub against our dreams, and if two or more are placed together, they will talk late at night.

The true face is that of someone without a face, a mask. What was your mask before you were born? What will your mask be after you die. We wear the face of each person we meet. Yet we don't really see our own masks. The mask that hides also reveals.

Where do masks and make-up, masks and costumes, masks and dance, masks and dialogue, begin and end. Firelight begins the action in a mask and shadow directs the action.. A puppet is an extension of a mask. A mask does not need to reside on the head.

The earliest records of masks are in cave paintings. The Japanese Noh Theatre has a viewing room used to become the mask before going on-stage. Certain Balinese masks cannot be touched with the left hand. The Eskimo craftsperson allows the mask to come out of the raw materials. Haida mask open as to reveal inner-mask

Mask Work: Exercises

Process: 

concept/evocation...gathering of materials...
the making... the wearing...the storing.
The making of a mask may be a dangerous process.

The need for grounding/centering...the calling/evocation... 
the assuming/transformation...the act...the banishing/return.

The most startling masks are those worn by people unknown to the audience.

How do we create a series of personal masks? How does this link up with other masks? 
What does the reverse side of the mask not shown to the audience tell you? 
Take a photograph and symmetrically divide up the face - how symmetrical is it actually?

What is the breath of the mask like? 
The eyes should always be added last, for once they are in place, 
the mask then sees.

Creating Masks:

The Magician (power)
The Shadow (fear, the hidden)
The Trickster (cunning)
The Fool (innocence, willingness)
The Listener (compassion)
The Green Man/Earth Mother (life force)
The Mask That Chooses You
The Face of Foreseeing
The Weight of Mankind
The Healer and The Destroyer
The Essence
The Union - Animus/Anima
The Ancient One
The Broken Pieces Face
The Mask That Mirrors What It Sees
The Dream Time Face
The Top Dog - Under Dog
The Face of What Remains
The Face of the Law
The Face That Lets Go
The Face of Power
The Face of the Answers
The Face of Love

COSMOLOGIES FOR THE USE OF MASKS - be sure that you are comfortable with and knowledgeable of each realm before venturing in ...

ELEMENTS: 
earth 
air 
fire 
water 
wood

COLORS: 
blue 
red 
yellow 
green 
brown 
white 
black 
rainbow 
transparent

WONDERLAND:
Alice
The White Rabbit
The Mad Hatter
The Cheshire Cat
The Jabberwock

PIPER AT THE GATES OF DAWN:
The Rat
The Mole
Toad
The Badger

HOLLYWOOD:
Clark Gable
Bette Davis
John Wayne
Marilyn Monroe

PLANETS: 
Mercury 
Venus
Earth (Gaia) 
Mars 
Saturn 
Jupiter 
Uranus 
Neptune 
Pluto


CAMELOT: 
Arthur 
Merlin 
Guinevere 
Morgan LeFay 
Lancelot 
Gawain 
Pellinore 
Modred 
Talesin

THE RAINBOW:
Dorothy
The Tin Woodsman
The Scarecrow
The Cowardly Lion
The Wizard
The Witch of the West

KABBALAH: 
Kether 
Binah         Chokmah
Geburah     Chesed
Tiphareth 
Hod 
Yesod         Netzach
Malkuth

THE TAROT:
The Magician
The Fool
The Star
The Devil
The Priestess
The Wheel of Fortune
The Chariot

NATIVE AMERICAN: 
Buffalo 
Bear 
Eagle 
Raven 
Coyote 
Trout

COMMEDIA DELL'ARTE:
Capitano     Harlequin
Pantalone     Pulcinello
Dottore         The Lovers

THE MORRIS DANCE: 
St. Christopher 
The Dragon 
Robin Hood 
Maid Marian 
Little John
The Hobby Horse 
The Green Man