Jeu masqué

When Anana first taught masks, students were worried about what they were saying, so she commissioned an artist to make “full faced” masks to take the pressure off the performer so they wouldn’t have to speak at first. This way they could stay private in their imagination. It also works their muscles in terms of their physical engagement. This is what ultimately makes the character come alive. They learn about staying committed to physical choices. Only after they’ve worked their physical instrument through the “full faced masks” will they work on the “half-masks” : the speaking masks. Usually before we go into mask work, Anana does exercises in imagination. There are exercises in the character masks that demand some mime, the ability to see and touch things on an empty stage. Strengthening the inner eye. Being able to see and touch things in space is crucial. We will also do some improvisation exercises that require some voice modulation to get everyone ready to speak with the mask.

Pedagogical objectives:

• Learning about your unique physicality and energy through neutral masks

• Discovering character's body, rhythm and gesture through full faced character masks

• Discovering quality of voice through half masks

• Discovering physicality, play and improvisation skills through half masks

• Learning to let your imagination take hold and turn off self-consciousness