Reassessing the Mask

As we near the centenary of the first issue of The Mask in 1908, in which Edward Gordon Craig apparently called for the elimination of the human performer, it seems a good time to reassess the modernist revival of the mask as a theatrical instrument.  This reassessment will necessarily draw attention to different uses of masks in modern and contemporary theatre, and underline a central dichotomy: masks viewed as elements of performance on the one hand, and masks used as instruments of actor-training on the other.  While that dichotomy is well-known, some of its inherent contradictions remain unquestioned and problematical.  Furthermore, the matter of the use of masks as rehearsal instruments contributing to the search for theatrical style remains largely unexamined. Having worked with masks for the last twenty years both as a performer and as a teacher of acting, I wish to reflect on my own work in relation to the above historical and theoretical context.  This critical reflection  will be informed by three research projects having to do with the relationship between mask and theatrical style which I will be undertaking in the coming months: a rehearsal of Richard III starring William Hurt at Manitoba Theatre Centre; a production of Goethe’s Faust at the University of Calgary; and a production of Genet’s The Maids at New Dance Theatre, Calgary.