Submitted by Kathleen Bragle, New York
Idea posted July 8, 2003
Q: I'd like to give the girls in my choir a mini-course in stage makeup to make sure they look their best. Any ideas?
A: I ALWAYS turn this whole area over to parents. With my musicals I have built up a regular supply of "stuff." We ask for donations because some parents are Avon and/or Mary Kay people. We had all our makeup donated this year. We DON'T use any base makeup. The one year we did, it was awful. Usually we put color on their lips, cheeks, and some eyeliner. We have individual lipsticks for each kid, and some bring in their own. My boys don't mind too much. I am very straightforward and tell them that this is what is involved in doing theatre and that without makeup, they'll look pale on-stage, and the audience won't make out their features. On our dress rehearsal day, the kids are in costume and sit in the audience to watch each other, and they can SEE, with our rented stage lights, exactly what I am talking about. The really FUNNY thing about all of this is that some of our boys choose, very quietly of course, to keep some of the makeup ON after we have performed for the rest of the school. They are very identifiable as having been in the show to the rest of the school. They are "famous!" HA!
With your group, I would suggest recruiting a parent who has some expertise in this area. If the girls wear makeup already, they probably would never think to add more to what they already do on their own - and they really need to.