Category Archives: Classes

Stage Makeup Class Pages 6: Syllabus

[This page is part of a mirror of my Canvas learning system pages I created for my Drama 112 Intro Stage Makeup class at DVC. If you want to use this content for another Canvas class shell you can find it in Canvas Commons by searching for “Tara Maginnis” and you can download all or part of this directly into your shell with all the extra cool formatting of colored divider lines, right side embedded Giphy animations, etc. already put in, if you are working with a different system, it is ok to copy and paste from here, and then customize the pages as you need for your classes].

DRAMA-112 Stage Makeup
SPRING 2023    Section Number: 1332

Catalog Course Description

DRAMA-112 Stage Makeup

  • Department: Performing Arts  
  • Division:  Applied and Fine Arts  
  • Units:  3.00  
  • Grade Code: Student choice Repeatability: 0  
  • Number of Hours Per Semester
  • Lecture: 54.00
  • Laboratory: 0.00
  • Activity: 0.00

“This course Presents the Study of the aesthetics, materials, and procedures of stage makeup. Corrective makeup, aging techniques, makeups which are in line with a play’s given circumstances, character makeup applications, makeups which accurately depict historical eras and cultural demands, and abstract/linear makeup design projects will be covered. “

Class Time & Place:

Monday & Wednesday 11:10AM – 12:35PM in the PAC-3 (Makeup Room & Men’s Dressing Room).        

Instructor:

Tara Maginnis    Cell phone or text me any time 11am-11pm!      XXX-XXX-XXXX

email: Put your name here Name@email.com

See my costume and makeup design portfolios at: 
http://tara maginnis.com

 Office Hour

Mondays & Wednesdays 1pm-2pm in PA121  


Instructional methods: 

Because this class is usually larger than the makeup classroom can fit, the class will be divided into two groups staggered to rotate in the class spaces for much of the semester.  Students in each group will begin by viewing a video demo in the men’s dressing room next door, where my virtual self will show you how to do a style of theatrical makeup.  At the next class meeting you will spend time in the makeup room working on your own face (or that of a volunteer you bring to class) and getting help from the real “live” me in how to do the assigned makeup.  A very few classes are done in a single large group (where indicated in the calendar).
Videos: If you miss a video demo, or just want to do video-watching at home, please hasten to see it before you get behind. Watch lessons at home online at the provided links on Canvas. On the Canvas site there are also links to MANY OTHER VIDEOS TO HELP YOU IN CASE YOU ARE NOT A MIDDLE-AGED WHITE FEMALE!

Class Photo Page:

https://photos.app.goo.gl/tsnLLtwe21bRnKUM8   Photos that I take of your makeup in class will be posted there, where you can download or print out the images.  I copy-left my photos so you may use them any way you wish, however, for this reason let me know if you do NOT want photos of you or your work put online. I will still take photos of you for grading, but I will not post them if you do not want your images set free in the world in this way. We instead email them to you.

Textbook:

A Guide for Makeup by Robin and Stuart Carlson, 1982 available as a free PDF at https://archive.org/ details/ guideformakeup00cars depending on your learning needs I can also assign, loan and/or recommend alternate books to help you with study in special areas, or for better academic understanding. If you have a special need for word-based learning, step by step photo how-to info, or are mainly interested in sfx makeup or body painting, chances are I have a book that will help you.  


Disability Statements:

“Students who require alternative formats for course materials or adaptive equipment because of a specific disability can request them through the Disability Support Services office. The High-Tech Center in LC-¬‐107 is an adaptive technology computer lab available for students with disabilities and is open Monday-¬Thursday from 9am-¬‐5pm, and Fridays from 9am-¬‐1pm. Please contact Carrie Million in LC 112 or at 925‐685-1230 ext. 2553 for more information”.  (You can also ask me for any sort of help for your needs.  For example, if you have a need for a quiet space for sensory overload or anxiety, you can go to the “Welcome to Vienna” storage room in the back of the PA1 costume studio & close the door and/or turn off lights. It is super quiet and you can wrap yourself in a fuzzy coat too!  —Tara).
                                        
Required Materials:  

 Note: If you are allergic or hyper sensitive to oil-based makeup you may substitute a water-based kit like Mehron All-Pro Starblend Theatrical Makeup Kit, or Ben Nye Theatrical Cake Makeup Kit.  However, these kits are more difficult to use, and sometimes more expensive, so do not do this on a mere whim.

  1. Full-size deluxe crème (oil-based) student theatrical make-up kit:  Every major theatrical makeup company (Ben Nye, Mehron, Graftobian, & Kryolan) makes excellent deluxe student makeup kits. They cost $60-90. If you already have bought a full-size student theatrical makeup kit like the ones required, feel free to use it, the choice of brand is immaterial to this class, though since I have pale pinky skin Ben Nye is my personal favorite.   If your skin tends towards pale gold you may prefer Kryolan, and if your skin is dark, you will probably prefer Mehron because they do dark kits better than most other brands. If you are in the middle pick any one you can find at a good price.  Graftobian kits are available at the DVC Bookstore by request at the counter, or you can order Ben Nye in person at Encore Theatrical Supply in Pleasanton or buy Kryolan kits in person at their US headquarters in San Francisco, or all of these may be ordered online. 
    •    https://us.kryolan.com
    •    https://www.mehron.com
    •    https://www.stagemakeuponline.com
  2.  4 or more flat Nylon/Takelon angled or straight “shader” brushes about 1/4”–1/2” wide, labeled with your name, for having a brush for each color you use. Note: You can usually get this type of brush in a package with other inexpensive brushes at big art and/ or crafts stores like Michaels or Jo-Ann.  By going to their web site coupon pages before you go to the store you can usually get either a 40% or 50% off coupon that will make such a packet of brushes very inexpensive.  Michaels.com also sells a good (no discount) $5 bag of suitable brushes both in store and online
  3. Two or more packages of makeup remover towelettes labeled with your name for getting makeup off your face. You can get this at any Dollar store unless you have special skin needs. Keep them fresh by “burping” and resealing them each time you remove a towel. Huggies Baby wipes are also OK!
  4. A jar of cold cream labeled with your name for brush cleaning. $ store.     
  5.  Two or more wash cloths or ripped up towel pieces labeled with your name for brush cleaning. White ones’ work best.
  6. A portable mirror for doing makeup in impromptu locations, labeled with your name.
  7. A small container to hold water, like a recycled yogurt cup, tin can or folding cup, labeled with your name. Pull something out of a recycle bin.
  8. A binder or computer file folder to save your makeup renderings, your research images, and photos of your work for the Morgue/ Portfolio project.
  9. A container like a tool box, large cosmetic bag, Zip-lock or even a cardboard shoe box, labeled with your name.
  10. Pencil sharpener & colored pencils (or crayons) for doing your makeup renderings.
  11. Small scissors for cutting crepe hair.    
  12. A big safety pin for slicing cuts in scar wax. 
  13.  Dental floss for removing nose and scar wax.
  14. You can, and likely should, plump up your kits with any interesting and/or cheap Halloween or street makeup you already have, or find cheaply during the semester.  Fall is an especially good season for picking up neat stuff like this at Hot Topic, CVS, Claire’s, Icing, etc. and at big box retail stores and “Dollar” stores in the “seasonal” departments in October.  Spring is less so, but not empty of opportunity.                                                                                                                                                          
    DRAMA-112: Stage Makeup
    A.    Describe the steps used in creating a theatrical makeup design. 
    B.    Demonstrate proficiency in basic make up application. 
    C.    Identify the various types of makeup techniques which commonly used in theater. 
    D.    Create a theatrical makeup design for a specific character, in a specific production.
            Grading: 
    Grading is based on a system of points given for successful completion of assignments. When checking the Canvas Course assignment grading page, check at the far right for your percentages to tell how your grade is doing as you go along:
    •    500-450 pts (100-90%) = A
    •    449-400 pts (89-80%) = B
    •    399-350 pts (79-70%) = C
    •    349-300 pts (69-60%) = D
    •    299-0 pts 59-0% = F

  
Students who wear Glasses: 


Some students who wear glasses (other than reading glasses) find the mirrors in our makeup room are inadequate for clear vision without glasses.  Other students also sometimes find this to be true.  If you wear glasses, and are having trouble with our mirrors, you can try my standing magnifying mirror with built in light and/or my two pairs of “makeup glasses” to help you, before deciding which of these types of vision aid to buy at your local drugstore for home use.        Students with Beards and/or skin Problems   If at any time, for any reason, you want to avoid doing the assigned makeup on your own face, you may bring in a volunteer whom you have recruited for the purpose.  Some students have elected to do this for a full semester with one volunteer, or intermittently with several.  If you already have a beard you will need to plan on finding a volunteer on which to apply a beard for your group’s Beard Makeup Day or apply crepe hair to another part of your face or body to do the project.


Definitions:    


•    Rendering- drawing of a design which one intends to execute.
•    Makeup rendering- drawing of a makeup design one intends to execute
•    Morgue- an organized file of clippings
•    Makeup Morgue- an organized collection of clippings, pictures and old renderings to aid in inspiration for makeup design.
•    Portfolio- An organized picture-book of your work in a visual medium
•    Makeup Portfolio- An organized picture-book of your work in Makeup.


Combined Makeup Morgue/Portfolio Project:  

Throughout the semester, gather images from magazines, books and/or online that you find inspiring or useful for research, on the makeup research topics we cover.  Save them in your folder or binder along with your makeup renderings and photos of your completed projects and the binder/online morgue may be turned in for 30 pts of credit during the final exam period.  You will get the binder back as soon as it is graded, the very same day.  You may also do this project in alternate electronic forms such as Linked-In pages, Portfolium Folio pages, Google sites, Wix portfolios, Pinterest boards, PowerPoint or Google Slides presentations or any other format that I and your fellow students can view.                  

   
Learn your new Mantra of Enlightenment: “There is nothing wrong with my face!”


While a makeup class is an appropriate place to discuss age, race, disease, genetics, smoking, drinking, gender, acne, tattoos, body issues and lots of other hot button topics as they relate to the human face, that is not a license to give anyone a hard time about any of these issues.  Please treat this class as a supportive therapy group that can help you learn to accept, and revel in, your face.  Help your classmates do the same. 

More Details on the Final Project!
Mythical Creature Makeup Final Project:


Create a makeup for a God, a Fairy, a Mythical Beast or Alien, that combines elements from the natural world (characteristics of animals, plants or minerals) and humanoid appearance.  The skin MUST have a color, texture or pattern that is not normally human.  You may use store-bought or home-made prosthetics or stencils if you wish.  Some examples to inspire you —->

•    Rawhead and Bloody Bones, blood running down face, skinless (?) With bones poking out. Shaves or scalps bad children as they sleep, eats runaway children.
•    Jenny Greenteeth, river-hag or lake monster, green skin, long seaweed hair, sharp green teeth, turns into pond and duckweed to drown people.
•    The Ao Ao, a cursed hybrid of man and sheep with fangs, devours mountain travelers.
•    The Lorelei, a beautiful but deadly mermaid who lures sailors to steer their boats onto the rocks to drown and be devoured.
•    Black Annis, cave dwelling, blue-faced one eyed crone with iron claws.  Eats children and lambs, wears a skirt of their skins, can transform into a cat, an Ancient goddess of child sacrifice.
•    Nellie Longarms, a water hag who drowns children, and snatches children up after their bedtime.
•    Werewolves, unfortunate humans who turn into wolves at full moon.
•    Quetzalcoatl one of the manifestations of the Aztec sun god Tezcatlipoca and represented as a man-feathered serpent hybrid.
•    Dragons, both good and bad, are fire breathing reptiles, some with the ability to fly or transform into human shapes. In Asia, they are a symbol of virtue and power, in Christian Europe a symbol of the devil.
•    Tsukumogami are Japanese objects of ordinary household use, that have acquired a living soul after 100 years of faithful service to man.  Usually harmless spirits, they may act up or play tricks on their owners if they feel neglected, ill-treated or rejected because they have broken.  These include Morinji-no-okama (a possessed tea-kettle), Zorigami (a possessed clock), Kyorinrin (possessed papers or scrolls) and others.
•    Gargoyles Architectural representations of imaginary monsters in stone.
•    Klingons Warrior-cultured aliens from Star Trek.
•    The Phoenix A beautiful bird spirit found in many cultures.  Associated with female characteristics in Japan where they are often included in bridal dress patterns, in China they are the symbol of the Empresses of old, in Russia, it is the Firebird, associated with the Fire Flower, a symbol of female and natural reproductive power, and in Western tradition, it is symbolic of rebirth after disaster, especially fire, which is why it is the symbol of San Francisco, depicted on the City’s flag.
•    Goblins In Oz, underground mining creatures made of stone, fearful of eggs, in Harry Potter, small magical bankers and silversmiths who reasonably resent their 2nd class treatment by wizards.
•    The Green Man Pre-Christian British god of the forest, frequently depicted as part tree, especially oak. 
•    An Alicanto, is a mythic Chilean night-flying bird that feeds on gold, silver, and jewels, and has the sparkling iridescent feathers and eyes to show for it. If a miner follows an alicanto without being caught, he may find silver or gold; however, if the alicanto discovers him, the bird will guide him off a cliff, and he will fall to his death.
•    Raven/Coyote Native American trickster spirits with superpowers that include an ability to appear human. However, their greatest powers are an ability to fool the wicked and seduce the beautiful.
•    The Tin Woodsman, Tic-Tock the Clockwork Man, and other mechanical and or metal men from Oz and elsewhere.
•    Coppelia, an attractive 18th Century girl automaton doll (or a real girl pretending to be one).
•    A Kitsune-tsuki is a Japanese fox spirit, usually a represented as beautiful woman with fox like features (into which foxes were supposed to be able to transform), or a real woman, possessed by a fox.
•    Plataea an ugly, but lovesick, swamp nymph.  Sweet but plain, often played by a man in drag, she must be funny, but touching, ugly, yet appealing, and visually connected to her role as a swamp dwelling aquatic nymph. She thinks she is fabulously beautiful.
•    Villja, a supernaturally beautiful Middle-European forest nymph with long hair and the ability to drive men mad with unobtainable desire.
•    The Green Lady, a British ghost or woodland spirit similar to a Villja in that her beauty has a hypnotic effect on men, but she also sometimes drains them of life like a soul-draining vampire.
•    Hombre Gato, an Argentinian Cat-Man, similar to a werewolf, in that he transforms from human into Cat-Man at night, and preys on those traveling the streets after dark.
•    Yuki-onna the snow ghost of Japan takes the form of a beautiful girl as white and blue as the ice and snow she dwells in, she may kill a traveler by a kiss, freezing him instantly.

•    Snegourichka the Russian “Snow-Girl” of 19th Century folktales was similar in melting properties to the American Frosty the Snowman, an immortal snow maiden, who melts near fire, or when love fills her heart, or instead becomes human and mortal because of love.  In the Soviet era, she was transformed into the perky and plucky Granddaughter of Ded Morotz (Father Frost), the tall, thin, doddering Santa-Claus type figure associated with the New Year.
•    The Mishibizhiw, the Under Water Lynx/Great Water Panther of the Great Lakes region, is the king of all North American lake monsters with a body like a Lynx with fish scales on it’s back, a face like a man with a fur mane, glowing red eyes, horns, and a long spiky tail like a dragon with a fish tail end.  Their roar sounds like water, and copper comes from them, if angered they cause storms that can kill travelers.
•    The Impundulu or “Lightning Bird” of Africa is a huge black and white bird demon-vampire, that can transform to a handsome young man and call down lightning.
•    Golem a man made of clay and brought to life by a learned rabbi to perform tasks, he follows instructions, sometimes a bit too literally.
•    Basilisks/Cockatrices are nasty and dangerous hybrids of snakes and chickens, that grow when a rooster hatches a snake egg, or a snake (or toad) hatches an egg laid by a rooster (not a hen).  Both can kill you with their stare, but are deathly afraid or weasels or their smell.
•    The Rainbow Serpent is the life-giving aborigine spirit of water in Australia.  Variations are too many to name, hit up Wikipedia for a rainbow of options!
•    The Rainbow Dragon of China is more of a mixed bag of good/evil portents and male/female concord and conflict.  Again, check Wikipedia for ideas.
•    Bhramari is ‘the Goddess of bees’ in India. She is associated with bees, hornets and wasps, which cling to her body.
•    Macchanu is a demi god/merman son of the god Haruman (divine monkey companion of the god Rama) and the mermaid princess Suvannamaccha.  
•    The Chupacabara (“Goat Sucker”) modern urban legend from Puerto Rico has spread worldwide with subsequent variations as this legend continues.  They are imagined to be vampires of livestock variously described as “a reptile-like creature, said to have leathery or scaly greenish-gray skin and sharp spines or quills running down its back” or “strange breed of wild dog. This form is mostly hairless and has a pronounced spinal ridge, unusually pronounced eye sockets, fangs, and claws”.

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Stage Makeup Class Pages 5: Copy of Welcome Letter

[This page is part of a mirror of my Canvas learning system pages I created for my Drama 112 Intro Stage Makeup class at DVC. If you want to use this content for another Canvas class shell you can find it in Canvas Commons by searching for “Tara Maginnis” and you can download all or part of this directly into your shell with all the extra cool formatting of colored divider lines, right side embedded Giphy animations, etc. already put in, if you are working with a different system, it is ok to copy and paste from here, and then customize the pages as you need for your classes].

Welcome Letter in Screen Reader Format

Welcome to Drama 112 Introduction to Stage Makeup!

Salutations! 

 I am your teacher Tara Maginnis. I am also normally the Costume Designer for the faculty directed plays we usually do at DVC  Links to an external site.each year, as well as the teacher of  DR113 Beginning Costume Design each Spring. You can see all the fun stuff I get up to at DVC as well as the weird research projects I do at home at my personal website  https://TaraMaginnis.comLinks to an external site.  

If you need extra help or information at any point in the semester you can contact me at:

  1. Cell Phone/Text: XXX-XXX-XXXX (11am-11pm except while driving or during meetings where I will call/text back when I’m able.)
  2. email: Email@email.edu (or from your Canvas inbox)
  3. Email response time 24 hrs on weekdays, 48 hrs on weekends, the exception to this is tech weeks of our shows when normally I am at DVC for absurdly long hours and things may go slower than usual weekdays. (I too need to sleep occasionally).

Welcome! 

  I am pleased to welcome you to Drama 112 Introduction to Stage Makeup This class is not anything like a regular cosmetic makeup class where you primarily learn how to “fix” things wrong with people’s faces. While we have one lesson on “corrective” makeup (because it is in the catalog, so we have to), I personally believe that “THERE IS NOTHING WRONG WITH YOUR FACE!” In my class you will instead learn how to make yourself look older, angrier, happy & sad, how to look like a person of another gender, how to look like an animal, a gothic horror, a person with a funky nose, or scraggly beard, a crime victim, a kabuki actor, a drag diva, and ultimately a mythical creature. We are not here to learn to “fix” your face, we are here to play with your face so we can help you, (or the people you make up) become a character.

Dates

Our course will meet face to face in the bowels of the PAC on Mondays and Wednesdays starting August 22 and ending December 7 .  To get there, find the PAC and follow the brightly colored signs I will post on the first day to find the splendid “Costume Dungeon” level of the building where PA-3 is located. However, besides meeting face to face you may also access the class Canvas page from the time DVC chooses to let the class come online on and until your DVC Insite/Canvas login credential dies.  Since Covid ran amok, most everything for doing the class remotely is also there, so if you have to stay home with quarantine( or a hangover), you can catch up online!  We are “High-Flex” so you can Face to Face or do stuff asynchronously as life demands.

This is not an online course, but you may use the online interface Canvas on your hours, at your pace if life interferes.  You should also check out the Canvas site because it has a wealth of good extra info like videos for different ages, genders and skin tones, and more detailed information than can be put in an 18-page syllabus, and (lots of fun silly animations and links.)   

Individual Needs 

Information from the DVC Website:

Students who require alternative formats for course materials or adaptive equipment because of a specific disability can request them through the Disability Support Services   https://www.dvc.edu/student-services/disability-support-services/ office.

If you are struggling with basic needs such as food, housing, medical  https://www.dvc.edu/basic-needs/health.html or mental health services     https://www.dvc.edu/enrollment/counseling/wellness.html, money for textbooks, etc, check out DVC’s Basic Needs Page  https://www.dvc.edu/basic-needs/index.htmlLinks to an external site. to access our many resources for your well-being ranging from telehealth services  https://www.dvc.edu/basic-needs/timelymd.htmlLinks to an external site.food pantry https://www.dvc.edu/basic-needs/food.htmlLinks to an external site. and money for textbooks and school supplies  https://www.dvc.edu/basic-needs/covid-19-emergency-grant.html (like a makeup kit)!

DVC also recognizes that students may have technology needs. Students in need of assistance can check out assorted tech items by going to the Technology Loan Page  https://www.dvc.edu/online-education/technology-loans.htmlLinks to an external site.  to fill out a form for requesting the equipment. If you have questions, please contact Kristina Gomez

Course Expectations

Show up, do your makeup research, renderings and makeup and have me take your photos.  If you do stuff at home, take your own photos.  In either case post your photos online so we have a record of them and I can give you grade points.

Required Course Materials

  1. A Full-size deluxe crème (oil-based) student theatrical make-up kit [needed by Week 3, and available at the DVC bookstore or online]
    1. Examples:
      1. https://stagemakeuponline.com/collections/ben-nye/products/ben-nye-theatrical-creme-makeup-kit?variant=32011359060099Links to an external site.
      2. https://www.mehron.com/creamblend-all-pro-makeup-kit/Links to an external site. (great kits for dark skin tones)
      3. https://www.graftobian.com/product/student-theatrical-makeup-kit-deluxe/Links to an external site. (sold at DVC Bookstore)
      4. https://us.kryolan.com/product/supracolor-kitLinks to an external site.
    2. A multicolored face paint palette with bright colors is highly desirable, but not required if you do all your makeup projects at DVC (where we have loaner face paints).
      1. https://www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/JY0BTVNNZ1P1?ref_=wl_shareLinks to an external site.
    3. 4 or more flat nylon/takelon angled or straight “shader” brushes about ¼-½” wide [needed by Week 4]
      1. Examples:
        1. https://www.michaels.com/white-synthetic-brushes-by-artists-loft-necessities/10122057.htmlLinks to an external site.
        2. https://www.joann.com/folkart-angle-5-pack-brush-set/15247877.htmlLinks to an external site.
      2. 2 or more packages of makeup remover towelettes [needed by Week 3]*
      3. A jar of cold cream [needed by Week 3]*
      4. Wash cloth or ripped up towel piece [needed by Week 3]*
      5. A bar of soap [needed by Week 3]*
        1. *Any of these you don’t already own can be had for $1 at any 99c Only store.
      6. Mirror
      7. Textbook: Links to an external site. A Guide for Makeup by Robin and Stuart Carlson, 1982 ( https://archive.org/details/guideformakeup00cars  With a free PDF)  Why, you may wonder, do I have this kind of simple PDF text?  Because I must assign a text, yet there is no really good general theatrical makeup textbook available that does not have 90% of the content geared to white people.  Ditto for crummy textbooks.  I can’t reasonably be telling you to spend $40-80 on a textbook that may be 90% useless for many of you, so I’m assigning a free one, which does have some good basic info, even if it too is geared to white people.  Please when you go off and become a great makeup artist, WRITE A BOOK that is properly inclusive. (I’m just a costume designer, or I’d have done it already.)
      8. If you wonder why there is very little information for people of color in stage makeup books, it has to do with legacy systemic racism in theatre. During the era when stage makeup books began to be written (in the late 19th Century) almost all stage roles in Western theatre were performed by white actors. Much of the early history of Western stage makeup books is all about how to makeup white people as people of other races.  If this historical topic interests you, you can see scans of many of these early makeup books, whose influence is still felt in the present day on my site at http://taramaginnis.com/theatrical-makeup-history/Links to an external site. Be warned, there are a lot of disturbing images in these books!

Stage Makeup Class Pages 4: There Is Nothing Wrong With Your Face!

[This page is part of a mirror of my Canvas learning system pages I created for my Drama 112 Intro Stage Makeup class at DVC. If you want to use this content for another Canvas class shell you can find it in Canvas Commons by searching for “Tara Maginnis” and you can download all or part of this directly into your shell with all the extra cool formatting of colored divider lines, right side embedded Giphy animations, etc. already put in, if you are working with a different system, it is ok to copy and paste from here, and then customize the pages as you need for your classes].

Watch this video where I explain the whole theme of the class in the weirdest way possible:

Grab a mirror and start making faces.  Don’t be shy, go for it!:

Man pulling face
Laughing Jester
Two court fools grimacing.

Think that I’m telling you to do something I don’t do myself?  WRONG!

Tara smiling and frowning animation
Tara smiling in wonder animation
Tara making multiple facial expressions
Tara wiggles her lips from side to side
Tara squints and laughs

“Tara’s Glasses” AlbumLinks to an external site.


Then watch this video and start to feel your face to find the bony bits:

So, now, feel your face, and the bones and muscles as you move your face.  Find the indent near the back of your jaws, find the subtle ins and outs of your forehead, the edges of your eye sockets.  Feel the bone and cartilage of your nose and the location of your brow ridge in relation to your eyebrows.  In the next few days, whenever you feel tense, pull out a mirror, flex and massage your face and start looking at the interesting component parts.  It is relaxing, and will help you in the coming weeks!


Always remember,

THERE IS NOTHING WRONG WITH YOUR FACE!!!

Beautiful female heads opening in a loop revealing another identical head looking at the viewer, calm and repeating endlessly.
Animated Gif of simple mask like faces falling into each other in a mesmerizing inward tunnel-loop of calmness.
Animated Gif of assorted smiling face photos of differing kinds all with eyes looking at the viewer.

Stage Makeup Class Pages 3: Meet Your Professor: Tara Maginnis

[This page is part of a mirror of my Canvas learning system pages I created for my Drama 112 Intro Stage Makeup class at DVC. If you want to use this content for another Canvas class shell you can find it in Canvas Commons by searching for “Tara Maginnis” and you can download all or part of this directly into your shell with all the extra cool formatting of colored divider lines, right side embedded Giphy animations, etc. already put in, if you are working with a different system, it is ok to copy and paste from here, and then customize the pages as you need for your classes].

Tara in trick hat with ears that move

I am very pleased to have you in my class.  Really, I actually am. You student people are fun!  If you are in doubt check out 10 years of photos of how much fun my DVC makeup students are. Some facts about me: 

Tara on her 1st birthday with  her mother Marion Maginnis
  • Born in Northern California.
  • Went to a California Community College (College of Marin).
  • Transferred to San Francisco State University and got a BA in History.
  • Got a MA in Theatrical Design at CSU Fresno.
  • Got a Ph.D. in Theatre History at the University of Georgia.
  • My dissertation was on Fashion Shows, Strip Shows and Beauty Pageants.
  • Tara in Russia 1994I once presented papers at two conferences on the same weekend in Los Angeles. One was a UCLA Conference on Burlesque, the other a Strippers Convention!
  • I worked as a Professor at the University of Alaska, Fairbanks for 18 years.
  • You can vaporize hot water into a cloud instantly there in Winter.
  • I’ve been teaching stage makeup classes since the early 1990s.
  • I took a year off to live alone in St. Petersburg, Russia in the mid 1990s as a hippie theatre artist.
  • I don’t speak Russian. I can’t do times tables.  I will likely be unable to remember your name or connect it properly to your face. (This is part of why I take your “mug-shots”.)
  • As my mother was dying in 2007 and her vision was messed up, I read her all 7 Harry Potter books out loud, including doing all the funny voices.
  • I obsessively collect 1860s-1920s men’s detachable shirt collars.  
  • I watch MSNBC while I cut up my old soda bottles into flowers like this:
  • I have been working at DVC as Costume Designer for the Drama department since 2008.
  • You can see my costume designs here.
  • If you need to contact me you can always text or call me at XXX-XXX-XXXX 11am-11pm, but if you just want to visit at my office half “hour” this is when it happens: Tara Maginnis Office “Hour” Mondays & Wednesdays 1-2pm in PA 121 (cubicle off the Greenroom with giant wooden scissors in the window).

Stage Makeup Class Pages 2: Week 1 Schedule: Syllabus, Mugshots & Info!


[This page is part of a mirror of my Canvas learning system pages I created for my Drama 112 Intro Stage Makeup class at DVC. If you want to use this content for another Canvas class shell you can find it in Canvas Commons by searching for “Tara Maginnis” and you can download all or part of this directly into your shell with all the extra cool formatting of colored divider lines, right side embedded Giphy animations, etc. already put in, if you are working with a different system, it is ok to copy and paste from here, and then customize the pages as you need for your classes].

Monday January 23: Pick up the Syllabus. Explanations about makeup kits & have me take your class “mugshot” photos.

HOMEWORK: READ THE SYLLABUS, FIND A KIT, MAKE FUNNY FACES IN THE MIRROR, TODAY AND EVERY DAY THEREAFTER.

Wednesday January 25:  Split into two groups to watch the Short Makeup Videos in the Men’s Dressing Room, and then do Practice Drawing Makeup Renderings on Face Outline Sheets in the Make-up room by turns.


Go on to page 3

Stage Makeup Class Pages 1: Explanation & Greeting Page

So, while I’m primarily a costume designer/tech, I’ve been teaching intro to stage makeup classes since the early 1990s. In 2005-6 I filmed a bunch of videos (or rather Kade Mendelowitz of the Theatre and Film Department of UAF and owner of Multimakers) filmed me while I made up my face and talked), so when I moved to a place where they wanted makeup classes of 20-30 people enrolled at DVC, and two 1hr 25 minute sessions weekly but the makeup room is crowded with anything over 15, It was handy to split the class into two groups that alternated watching me do the demo by video in the men’s dressing room (or eventually at home online) and doing the makeup in the makeup room.

You can find all the videos at my YouTube Channel The Costumer’s Manifesto at my Makeup Class Playlist.

However, if you are a teacher who uses the Canvas learning system, you can also go to Canvas Commons and search “Tara Maginnis” and find a bunch of class pages that go with these videos that explain to my own students how to do the assignments that go with the videos. Additionally, I inserted a bunch of YouTube videos of other folks how-tos on people of other genders and skin colors than a middle aged white chick (what I was when I did the videos), so students who needed advice from a male or non-white perspective could easily find these.

However, if you don’t use Canvas, or are a student who has been locked out of it at the end of the semester, I’m going to copy and paste a bunch of this stuff here as a mirror. If you are a teacher feel free to copy and paste anything you want (That is why it is on Canvas Commons) but do please remove my phone # from pages and insert your own contact information in it’s place, since every single semester I get a lost student who thinks I’m their professor and phones or texts me, and it typically takes between 30 minutes to an hour to track you down for them… I’m going to try to remove my info on these versions, but I may miss one.

So this image above is a screencap of the first page which has the usual recommended distance delivery stuff:

Introduction to Stage Makeup

This is Drama 112 Introduction to Stage Makeup

Salutations!

This is your teacher Tara Maginnis (contact info below).  I am pleased to welcome you to my introductory course in theatrical makeup. “This course presents the study of the aesthetics, materials, and procedures of stage makeup. Including “corrective” makeup, aging techniques, makeups which are in line with a play’s given circumstances, character makeup applications, makeups which accurately depict historical eras and cultural demands, and abstract/linear makeup design projects will be covered.” —DVC catalog.

By the end of the course, you’ll learn (and execute) a wide variety of types of stage makeup and finally build a portfolio of your work!  If you need extra help or information at any point in the semester you can contact me by text, email or phone XXX-XXX-XXXX .  I am also at DVC after our class on Mondays and Wednesdays till 8pm most times, and also come in Tuesdays and Thursdays (In Spring semester only) for teaching my Costume Class 12:45-5:35 and work after Dinner from 6:30-8pm those days .  So, Monday-Thursday, text or phone me to find where I am hidden in the vast PAC building if you need me. When you can’t get here to see me, I’m usually conscious for phone or text 11am-11pm, though I won’t be texting while driving, in a meeting, or the shower… 

You already have all you need right here…

Moving image of magical makeup face: Starman

Lots of what you want to know is right here though.  Because Covid forced all of us to go online, nearly everything you need for class information-wise is right here on Canvas.  Get sick with Monkeypox (or just a cold), and miss class?  It is all here and you can catch up.  Even before 2020 most of this class was also mirrored online and I’ve always allowed students to do work at home when they need to, or watch class videos online instead of watching them in the Men’s Dressing Room.  You can come in and play in our splendid makeup room and have me do my personal photo shoot of your makeup (SO MUCH FUN!!!), or you can mess about with your face on the weekend and turn it in online.  This is not advertised as a “Hi-Flex” class, but you can mostly treat it like one.  

However, to begin, you must start somewhere, so I suggest you go each weekend to Modules  even if you are coming in to class for every session so you are prepared for your class work.  Go step by step through through the weekly assignments in order.  Or you can just go to the silly  “Magic Button” to be taken directly to the Modules:

Magic Button!
  • —– Tara Maginnis
  • Phone/Text: XXX-XXX-XXXX (11am-11pm)
  • email:  PUT YOUR TEACHER EMAIL HERE
  • Response time usually 24 hrs on weekdays, 48 hrs on weekends

Go on to the Next Page

Activity Page: Learn about Portfolios for Art and Craft Occupations

I just made this page for inclusion in a DVC Career Education Canvas Class Activity Page for students – any student suggestions to make it better?

Activity Page: Learn about Portfolios for Art and Craft Occupations

Most artistic and craft based occupations require you build a portfolio of your work.  You need this so employers and clients will be able to see the quality of your design and/or construction work before they hire you.  A portfolio is there to show the employer/client your aesthetic abilities, your range of styles, and demonstrate your ability to present and organize your work product.  In broad general terms this applies for all artistic professions, regardless of type.  You can learn about the specifics of your particular art(s) in a later project, but for now, view the following videos and web pages on a small sample of the wide assortment of jobs that require portfolios, and then reflect on what parts of this might apply to making a portfolio of your work. 

Carpentry Services in Home Design (Links to an external site.)

Fashion Design Portfolio (Links to an external site.)

Ceramic Sculpture Portfolio (Links to an external site.)  (Links to an external site.)

 (Links to an external site.) (Links to an external site.) (Links to an external site.)Architectural Planning, Design, and Photography (Links to an external site.)

Game Developer Portfolio  (Links to an external site.)  (Links to an external site.)

Character Design, Package Design, Identity Design (Links to an external site.)

Wedding Photographer Portfolio (Links to an external site.)  (Links to an external site.)

Custom Artificial Limb Prosthetic Design (Links to an external site.)

Cosmetic Dentistry (Links to an external site.)

Seeing what portfolios look like for these professions, describe what you think you can or should put into a portfolio to demonstrate your abilities in your area of study.

Activity Page: Learn about Portfolio Types

This page I just made for use in Career Education Canvas Class at DVC. I’d love it if my students at DVC would try it out and give feedback on how to make it better!

Activity Page: Learn about Portfolio Types

Most artistic and craft based occupations require you build a portfolio of your work.   A portfolio is there to show the employer/client your aesthetic abilities, your range of styles, and demonstrate your ability to present and organize your work product.  In broad general terms this applies for all artistic professions, regardless of type. 

There are multiple formats portfolios can take. Many folks choose to do more than one type of these so they can show their work to the largest audience.  However, to begin with, it is best to choose one, and work up from there.  Read through these descriptions of the main types, and then consider which portfolio type you wish to work on first.

Traditional portfolios that you can carry around with you.  (Port=to move about, Folio=pages, or a book of pages.  Portfolio=a book of pages you can carry about).  Most commonly, something like this for bringing to an interview:

PORTFOLIO

Flickr Photos

Slideshow Portfolios are very old school as well, (and used to be the very expensive old way to mail out duplicate copies of the above format, on actual film slides) but they have been significantly modernized by PowerPoint, and are now one of the cheapest and easiest formats to create and share .  They also can form a basis for making the next two types of portfolio. PowerPoint is included in the Microsoft Office software that you as a DVC student  can download freely to your own computer. Here is an example of one:

PDF Portfolios sometimes are simply scans of a Traditional Portfolio like the first one above, or may include more extensive text for explanation, as these are usually sent to a remote interview where it will be judged before one is chosen for an interview.  These can usually be made in PowerPoint as a PPt slideshow (or Google Slides in Google) first, or instead made in Word like a paper before saving as a PDF.  These also can be inserted into online book/magazine sharing sites like Issuu to be viewed by the public without having to build a a full web portfolio.

Video Portfolios are where you can show your work like a TV commercial or virtual interview by showing your work in the order you want with voice over description or music.  You can again begin with a basic a PowerPoint/Google Slides show, then narrate or add music, only this time instead of saving as a PDF, save it as a mp4 file.   If having your portfolio have live action or animation is especially appropriate for your art,  this format is best one to allow you to do so. For example, musicians & other performers usually do this. So do designers and makers who have work that moves, like kinetic sculpture, robotics, character design, animation/motion graphics.  Animators especially can go nuts and do this sort of thing:

Motion Graphic Design Portfolio

Web Based Portfolios cover a large swath of types, from basic web pages, blogs, galleries and a plethora of other formats ).  If you have a professor at DVC who tells you you need to have a portfolio,  you can probably check out theirs online. Here are just a few:

A web based portfolio can also showcase some of the other types (PDF, Video) listed above within it, and allows for multiple portfolios and areas of your work to be gathered together and be routinely added to.

Consider your options and then reflect on which format do you think you will start with and why?

Information on Costume (& other Theatre Tech) Portfolios/Job Seeking

Putting Personality in Your Portfolio & Resume the respectable sounding title TD&T put on my how-to on the topic: Stroking Your Own Ego to Get Jobs is my broad general advice on this topic. Both versions of this cheery screed have their strong points, as well as different bits of my old portfolios. However, there are a lot of specifics I can send your way as well:

My own current web portfolio of course is this website, taramaginnis.com

It costs me a low amount of money to operate annually, but hundreds of hours total to make, update and repair, done in little fits and starts of just a few hours or days every six months or so. You need to start your portfolio soon, and work on it whenever you create work on a new show or project (or have time to mess with it) to insert it in as an update.

If you poke around this site you will find it also links to some PDF portfolios I post at Issuu. Some employers want PDFs, so having them already posted online is useful.

You will also find l link to some of my mini individual show portfolios at Shutterfly,

and to video content at my YouTube Channel.

These last three (Issuu, Shutterfly and YouTube) cost me nothing at all to operate, though they also take time. So you have many available formats for displaying your portfolio materials online, may of them free to use. Having good material on multiple platforms that can interconnect gives you more exposure and more options of ways to show off your work.

I also built a Makeup Portfolio site on Google Sites to be able to train students how to make a site in that free format:

If you are/were a student at DVC and are looking for images from shows you have worked on, or past classes with me that you have done since 2009 I also encourage you to both go to DVC Drama Photo Archive and Portfolio/Resume Advice a multi year project where I have been uploading photos of past shows at DVC (for use in student portfolios) and advice on how to make different types of them.

You can also join Shutterfly for free so you can download pictures from my TaraMaginnisClasses Shutterfly Share Site for use in your portfolio. (This is actually the main point of this photo share site, so you do not need to ask for my individual permission).

Free Techie/Designer Resume Template (MS Word.doc). This is a great sample resume template for beginning designers and other Theatre Tech emphasis people, created by Kade Mendelowitz , the TD/LD of UAF who is a former colleague of mine. You can download the file and open it in your word processing program to use it. 

Here are some very clear simple basic portfolio how-tos to start you off if you really have no idea what a portfolio is or what to do:

Screen Skills: Build Your Costume Portfolio

How to make a costume design portfolio

In 1975 a Commission of USITT (United States Institute of Theatre Technology) generated a basic text document of Standards of Student Portfolios for all areas of Design/Tech, which tells you what most schools expected of students at different levels as far as physical portfolios around that time. As these guidelines still do apply for print versions to a great extent, this old document was digitized many years later to a PDF and posted because these basics are still in use. USITT currently also does Portfolio Reviews at their annual convention to help students get feedback and improve their hard copy portfolios before they do job interviews.

This shows an annual portfolio review done by a university theatre department for their students:

USITT also has extensive resume advice for technical theatre resumes:

If you do know what one is, and have seen several and are now looking for more guidance, there is much more detailed advice on the Paper Hard Copy Portfolio of a Costumer, as well as the truly excellent Costume Portfolio Website & Blog of freelance costumer Christianne Bakewell, who authored this really excellent portfolio tutorial.

These YouTube Playlists I have made can also help you depending on which type of Costume/Tech/Design portfolio you want to make:

The single thing that helps most with your portfolio is taking lots of pictures and then sorting and organizing them by topic so you can find the ones you need. After that it is just labeling. So if you have access to any stuff you have made, photograph it NOW, and start organizing. Two tutorials I’ve done on how to do this are here:

Photographing Your Costumes For Your Portfolio & Publication Photographing Your Makeup at Home

Free portfolio hosting sites have a variety of styles of presentation that you may prefer, so poking around these places may have you find a free option that suits your aesthetic needs:

If you like WordPress (the free software platform that is used to build this “blog” format site) you might try one of the 11 Free WordPress Hosting Services That Don’t Suck (2020) and start building a portfolio in this format.