A Study in Make-Up

As part of the process of creating our "world of Hippolytus" we explored many ideas to complete and complement the themes and costumes of the production.

Abi (Producer) and Millie (Director) a.k.a exactly one half of the production and directorial team spend an incredible hour or so in a professional stage make up shop and took great care to source the right products to make the characters come to life on stage.

After a long day of rehearsing with the cast we came home and couldn't resist "testing" the bruise palette and fake blood...which led to a good few hours of transforming Abi into every character in the play - even the boys!

Needless to say it was a good way to spend a snowy evening! Abi's final words were "My face is sore!" However, we recognised that we needed to adjust important aspects of the make-up, such as enlongating the brow in the Nurse and Female Chorus characters to accentuate the bird like aspects, to define bone structure and complement the exaggerated flick of the eyeliner. 

We also experimented with the layering of the colours to create authentic bruises and bloody injuries for Hippolytus' death scene. 

Here is the photographic evidence:

Abi as a man...It took a while to get used to the stippling sponge and we now know that only a little product is needed to creat a natural effect.

 Practising using the bruise wheel and fake blood:

 Using the grey base and purple shadow to create Phaedra's corpse make-up:

 Practising the accentuated, feathered flick for the Nurse's eyeliner:

 Provisional fully made-up Nurse:

 Natural and dewy look for the Goddesses:

 The Bird of Paradise make-up for the female chorus:

 Above is without accentuated eyebrows, the rest is the final provisional look: