What does a theatrical mask look like? What types of theatrical masks are there? See what “Theatrical masks” are in other dictionaries

E. Speransky

For those who are interested in dramatic art and participate in drama clubs, it is useful to understand this issue. And maybe, having understood it, some of you will want to “adopt” these very interesting techniques acting: games in a mask and without pre-learned text. But this is not an easy matter. And to make it clearer what we're talking about, we'll start with the simplest thing: a simple black mask...

SIMPLE BLACK MASK

You, of course, are familiar with this piece of black material with slits for the eyes, covering the upper half of the face. It has one magical property: by putting it on your face, a specific person with a first and last name temporarily... disappears. Yes, he turns into something invisible, into a man without a face, becomes an “unknown person.”
A simple black mask... A participant in carnivals, festivals, it is associated with the holiday, with music, dancing, serpentine. People have long guessed about its magical properties. By putting on a mask, you can meet your enemy and find out an important secret from him. With a mask on, you can say things to your friend that you sometimes couldn’t say with your face open. There is always something mysterious and enigmatic about her. “If she’s silent, she’s mysterious; if she speaks, she’s so sweet...”, says Lermontov’s “Masquerade” about her.
In the old, pre-revolutionary circus, the BLACK MASK used to enter the arena and lay all the wrestlers on their shoulder blades one after another.

ONLY TODAY!!!

BLACK MASK FIGHTS! IN THE EVENT OF ITS DEFEAT, THE BLACK MASK WILL REVEAL HIS FACE AND ANNOUNCE HIS NAME!
The circus owner knew who was hiding under the black mask. Sometimes he was the worst wrestler, suffering from an obese heart and shortness of breath. And the whole fight was a complete scam. But the public flocked to the mysterious Black Mask.
But the simple black mask was not always associated with balls, masquerades and classical wrestling in the circus arena. She also participated in more dangerous undertakings: all sorts of adventurers, bandits, and hired killers were hiding under her. The black mask participated in palace intrigues, political conspiracies, carried out palace coups, stopped trains and robbed banks.
And its magical properties turned tragic: blood flowed, daggers sparkled, shots thundered...
You see what this piece of material covering the upper half of the face meant in its time. But the most interesting thing is that we are not talking about him. After all, we started talking about the “Theater of Masks”. So, unlike a simple black mask, there is another type of mask. Let's call it THEATER. And it has even stronger magical properties than a simple black mask...

THEATER MASK

How is it different? theatrical mask from a simple black mask?
Here's what: a black mask does not represent anything, it only turns a person into invisible. And a theatrical mask always depicts something; it turns a person into another creature.
The man put on a mask, put on a Fox mask - and turned into a cunning beast from the fable of grandfather Krylov. He put on the Pinocchio mask and turned into the fabulous image of a wooden man from A. Tolstoy’s fairy tale... And this, of course, is a much stronger and more interesting magical property than the ability of a simple black mask to make a person invisible. And people have long guessed about this property of a theatrical mask and have used it since ancient times.

THEATER MASKS IN ANCIENTITY

Of course, you have been to the circus. So, imagine a circus building, but many times larger and, moreover, without a roof. And the benches are not wooden, but carved from stone. This will be the amphitheater, that is, the place where the theatrical performances ancient Greeks and Romans. Such amphitheaters sometimes accommodated up to 40 thousand spectators. And the famous Roman amphitheater Colosseum, the ruins of which you can still see in Rome, was designed for 50 thousand spectators. So try acting in a theater where the audience in the back rows won’t see your face or even hear your voice...
In order to be better visible, the actors of those times stood on buskins - a special kind of stand - and put on masks. These were large, heavy masks made of wood, something like diving suits. And they depicted different human feelings: anger, grief, joy, despair. Such a mask, brightly colored, was visible from a very long distance. And so that the actor could be heard, the mouth of the mask was made in the form of a small resonator horn. Famous tragedies Aeschylus, Sophocles, Euripides were played in TRAGIC masks. The comedies of Aristophanes and Plautus, no less famous, were played in COMIC masks.

Sometimes during the performance the actors changed their masks. In one scene the actor played in a mask of DESPAIR, and then left and in another scene came in a mask of ANGER or in a mask of DEEP THINKING.
But you and I can no longer need this kind of masks depicting frozen human feelings. We don’t need resonators or buskins, although puppet theater actors still use buskins to adjust their height to the puppet screen. We don’t need all this because we are not going to revive the theater Ancient Greece and Rome and play for forty or fifty thousand spectators. We are not interested in masks of horror or thunderous laughter, but in masks-characters, masks-images. And therefore we will avoid masks that depict any feeling too sharply and vividly, for example, smiling and crying masks; on the contrary, we will try to give our masks a neutral expression so that they can play different states human soul. And then it will seem to the audience that our masks are now smiling, now crying, now frowning, now surprised - as long as the actor’s truthful eyes sparkle from under the mask...

THEATER MASKS OF CLOWNS AND ACTORS

Finding your own mask is considered great luck among circus clowns and actors. A successfully found mask sometimes turns the entire life of an actor upside down, makes him a world celebrity, and brings him fame.
But finding your mask is not as easy as it seems. First of all, it is necessary that all the internal and external qualities of the actor coincide with the image portrayed by the mask. And the most difficult thing is to guess about the image itself, to play such a person, such a character that would resemble many people at once, would embody not just one character, but would collect separate character traits many, that is, in other words, so that the image of the mask is a collective or typical image and, moreover, necessarily modern. Only then will this mask resonate with large quantity viewers, will become a close, beloved mask, over which people will laugh or cry. But such luck happens rarely, maybe once every hundred or two hundred years.
This happened with famous actor Charlie Chaplin. He found his mask, and it began to move from film to film: black mustache, slightly raised eyebrows as if in surprise, a bowler hat on his head, a cane in his hands... And huge boots that were too big for his height. Sometimes individual details of the costume changed: say, a straw hat appeared on the head instead of a bowler hat, but the mask itself always remained the same. True, to be precise, it was not a mask, but Chaplin’s own face with a mustache glued on. But a living human face can also sometimes become a mask if it becomes frozen or inactive, if the same smile or grimace always plays on it.
Another such example of a mask face. The once famous film actor Buster Keaton never smiled... No matter what he was going through, no matter what funny situations he found himself in, he always maintained a serious appearance, and the audience “roared” with delight and died with laughter. His “terribly” serious face became his mask. But here's what's interesting: Buster Keaton's mask is forgotten, but Chaplin's mask still lives. And this is because Chaplin found for his mask a typical image that is close to every viewer, the image of a funny little man who never loses heart, despite the fact that life beats him at every step. And Buster Keaton played just a separate character who never smiled. Chaplin's image was broader, more typical.
But I’m not telling you all this so that you will immediately rush to look for your mask. No, it’s better to let them deal with this difficult matter professional actors! Of course, what happens once every hundred or two hundred years can happen to one of you. But while you are in school, you are doing theater because you love theater, and not at all because you want to become world celebrities. Even dreaming about it is a rather foolish thing to do, because fame usually comes to those people who do not think about it at all. And vice versa, the one who thinks about it most often becomes a loser. No, you and I have more modest intentions. And therefore, we are not talking about a mask for which you still need to invent a character, an image, we are talking about a mask that depicts an already existing character, known to the audience, taken from life or from literature. But, besides masks, we also wanted to understand what improvisation is... Therefore, we definitely need to get acquainted with the Italian “Theater of Masks”, which had both: masks and improvisation.

ITALIAN "COMEDIA DEL'ARTE", OR "COMEDY OF MASKS"

The Italian "Comedy of Masks", or, as it is also called, "Commedia dell'Arte", originated in the distant past. But its real heyday occurred in the 17th century. Then famous actors, favorites of the people, began to appear in commedia dell'arte troupes, and mask performances supplanted all other theatrical performances.
What kind of masks were these? After all, you and I already know that a theatrical mask always represents someone. Here are some commedia dell'arte masks:
1. PANTALONE - Venetian merchant. Greedy, stupid old man, always finds himself in a funny situation. He is robbed, fooled, and out of his stupidity he goes for any prank. His mask is an owl nose, a protruding mustache, a small beard, and a wallet with money on his belt.
2. DOCTOR - a satire on a learned lawyer, judge. Chatterbox and chit-chat. In a black half mask, black robe, wide-brimmed hat.
3. CAPTAIN - a caricature of a military adventurer, a braggart and a coward. Spanish costume: short cloak, trousers, hat with a feather. Speaks with a Spanish accent.
Already from these three masks you can understand what the Italian commedia dell'arte was like. It was a collection of masks representing various representatives of Italian society at that time. Moreover, they were all exhibited in a funny way, that is, they were satirical masks.
The common people wanted to laugh in the theater at those who had caused them a lot of grief in life: the merchant became rich at his expense, the learned lawyer brought him to prison, and the “captain” robbed and raped him. (At that time, Italy was occupied by the Spaniards, so the “captain” wore a Spanish suit and spoke with a Spanish accent.) Among the masks of the commedia dell’arte were two masks of servants, or, as they were then called, ZANNI: these were comic masks depicting a clever a jack of all trades, a lackey and a simple-minded country guy. These were already real clowns, amusing the audience in sideshows. Zanni were called differently: Brighella, Harlequin, Pinocchio, Pulcinella. The maids played along with them: Smeraldina, Colombina.
These mask images became known throughout the world. Their names were heard from the stage of theaters, poets wrote poems about them, artists painted them. Why, you know some of them too. Remember Pinocchio? And remember what he sees on the puppet theater stage? The same Pierrot, Columbine, Harlequin.

In addition to masks, commedia dell'arte was distinguished by another very interesting property: its actors did not learn roles, but spoke their own words at performances, those that came to their minds at the moment of action. They improvised.

Moments of improvisation occur in life at every step: a speech delivered impromptu; without preparation, a joke told to the point... Even when a student at the blackboard explains in his own words a lesson learned or solves a theorem, this is also a kind of improvisation...
So, the Italian commedia dell'arte actors improvised. They did not have roles, or rather, the text of the role. The authors wrote for them not plays, divided into dialogues and monologues, but scripts, where they only outlined what the actor should do and say during the performance. And the actor himself had to pronounce the words that his fantasy and imagination suggested to him.
Some of you may rejoice. That's good! So, you don’t need to learn the text, rehearse, but just go out and sing your role in your own words?!
That's not true!..

ABOUT THE DIFFICULT ART OF IMPROVISATION

Yes, this is a tempting, fascinating, but difficult art. It requires the actor to exert all his abilities, memory, fantasy, and imagination. It requires exact knowledge script, that is, what you should say and do on stage. “Ex nihil – nihil est” - there was a proverb among the ancient Romans: “Nothing comes from nothing.”
So, if you want to start improvising “without anything,” you won’t succeed. You can check this easily. Take any story by A.P. Chekhov, say, "Chameleon" or "Surgery", or the story of some modern author and try to act it out in the form of a scene, in person, in your own words, that is, improvising. And you will see how difficult it is. You will stand with your mouth open and wait for someone to tell you...
What should I suggest? After all, your role has no words, the author did not write separate lines for each character, as is done in plays... This means that you need to ensure that the words themselves are born in your head and easily roll off your tongue.
This means you need to know very well the character you are playing: his character, gait, manner of speaking, what he is doing in this scene, what he wants and what state he is in. And then, you need to know your partner well, be able to communicate with him, listen to him and respond to him. And when you know all this, you need to try on your sketch many times, try to play it this way and that, that is, in short, you need to work, rehearse...
And I must tell you that the improvisational actors of the Italian “Comedy of Masks” worked like animals, preparing to go on stage: they rehearsed, invented various tricks, and came up with funny lines. Of course, it made it easier for them that they played in masks, and the masks represented well-known theatrical images that passed from performance to performance. And yet they worked no less than the actors playing the author’s text. But every work is rewarded in the end and brings joy. And you, of course, will also feel joy when one day at one of the rehearsals you suddenly realize that you can easily and boldly speak in your own words on behalf of your role.
This will mean that you have mastered the art of improvisation.

WHAT AND HOW TO PLAY WITH MASKS, IMPROVISING!

Well, we met two interesting techniques acting: with mask theater and the art of improvisation. And we already know that these two acting techniques were once combined in the brilliant art of commedia dell'arte. Now we just have to think about how to “adopt” this art and use it, say, in a drama club.
Some may doubt: a living human face is better than a motionless mask, and a good author is better than “his own words,” the gag of improvisers. So is it worth reviving these outdated commedia dell'arte techniques?
But first of all, they never became outdated. As long as people have not forgotten how to joke, laugh, and fantasize, improvisation will continue to exist. And secondly, speaking about masks and improvisation, we do not at all want to abolish the living face of the actor and good play good author. On the contrary, we want them, these different acting techniques: masks, improvisation and a living human face pronouncing the author’s text - all of this exists next to each other, enriching each other.
Because each of these theatrical techniques has its own thing. In the play written by the author, there is interesting story, carefully designed psychological characteristics characters. Of course, it makes no sense to play such a play using masks and improvisation. But to revive a political caricature, to dramatize a fable, to introduce dramatic performance funny interludes, respond lively and witty to any event today- this is the job of mask improvisers, and no one can do it better than them. But how to do this?.. After all, we don’t yet have authors who write special scripts for improvising actors.
This means that you yourself will have to come up with topics and write scripts for your performances.


The heroes of fables are, in essence, also masks. Each animal has its own character. Here, for example, is the Bear and the Donkey (from Quartet).

This can be undertaken by one of the members of your drama club who has the ability and desire to do this. Or you can do it together, collectively, which, of course, is much more fun.
Let us remember what we said about the theatrical mask. She always portrays an already established character, an image known to both the audience and the actors themselves. It is easier to improvise in such a mask, because the actor already knows her biography, or, if you like, her appearance, her habits. And when writing scripts, we must remember this. And first of all, we must select a number of stage images known to us and the audience, our old acquaintances. They will help us come up with this or that scenario. We can find such old acquaintances quite easily both in life and in literature. From today's news, the image of an amateur may appear to us." cold war", becoming the hero of a political sketch, a caricature come to life. Images can come to you from Krylov’s fables. After all, every fable image - a fox, a bear, a wolf, a hare - hides some kind of vice or flaw in human character. That’s how images ask to be used in masks a lazy student, a bully or a “sycophant.” Think about a scenario where well-known literary or historical characters would act, but they would play on topical topics that are close to you.

Drawings by O. Zotov.

As we mentioned earlier, the key to understanding the Noh theater lies in the theatrical mask, since the actors of this theater do not resort to makeup and facial expressions. It is in the mask that many functions are embedded, reflecting not only the philosophy of the “No” theater, but also the principles of Eastern philosophical doctrine.

“Mask, maskus” from Latin means mask, but there is an even more ancient word that most accurately reveals the essence of the mask “Sonaze” - to restrain. It was this function of the mask that was actively used in ritual action. From the definition of E.A. Torchinov, who means by ritual a set of certain acts that have sacred meaning and aimed at reproducing one or another deep experience, or its symbolistic representation, we can conclude that the mask is a shield that protects from the image, but at the same time a certain path to it (18, p. 67.).

There are 200 masks in the No Theater, which are strictly classified. Most bright groups are: gods (characters of Buddhist and Shinto cults), men (court aristocrats, warriors, people from the people), women (court ladies, concubines of noble feudal lords, maids), madmen (people shocked by grief), demons (characters fantasy world). Masks also vary in age, character and appearance. Some masks are designed for specific plays, others can be used to create existing characters in any play. On this basis, the creators of the No theater believed that the whole world was represented on their stage (9, p. 21).

The masks are cut out in various sizes from carefully selected wood and painted. special paint. The mask manufacturing technology is so complex that most of those used this moment masks, created by famous mask carvers back in the 14th-17th centuries. Masks made modern masters- imitation of old works. In this regard, we can judge that each of the theater masks is independent a work of art.

It is worth noting that, despite all the variety of masks, in the No theater the mask often does not express a specific character, but is only his “ghost”, history, generalization human form.

Because the literary material theater "No" is folklore ancient japan, the mask in the theater serves as a conductor of spiritual experience. The mask contains everything distinctive features not only individuals, distinctive features of that time and created at this time, it can be assumed that it immerses the viewer in the proposed circumstances.

At the same time, the mask distracts attention from the “here”, the “seeing”, since, according to Eastern philosophers, “the truth is not open to the eye, the further you move, the more you will see,” which is directly related to the philosophy of Zen Buddhism and the philosophy of the Noh theater. . This also confirms the fundamental principles of leading aesthetic concepts theater "No" - monomane and yugen.

An actor in the No theater does not always play a role wearing a mask. He just puts on a mask main actor(siete) and performers of female roles. The companions of the main character put on the mask only in the second act after the moment of “transformation”. If the siete is portraying a romantic character, the actor usually does not wear a mask. The actor's face, without it, is absolutely static, since playing with a face in the No theater is considered vulgar.

Considering the No theater, a modern researcher of oriental culture, E. Grigorieva, argues that the mask as a “calmed emotion” resembles the vanity of passions. (8, p. 345) The mask is like “thundering silence.” We can conclude that the mask is the key to revealing the essence of the role, is its history and result.

Before touching the mask, the actor tunes into the “magical emptiness” - completely cleanses himself. Theater expert Grigory Kozintsev recalls in his book “The Space of Tragedy” a conversation with Akira Kurasawa, an expert on the Noh theater. “I’m beginning to understand that “putting on a mask” is a process as difficult as “getting into character.” (8, p. 346) Long before the start of the performance, the artist stands near the mirror. The boy hands him a mask and he carefully takes it and silently peers at its features. The expression of the eyes changes imperceptibly, the appearance becomes different. The mask “turns into a person.” After this, he slowly and solemnly puts on the mask and turns to the mirror. There is no longer a person and a mask separately, now they are a whole” (8, pp. 345-346.) From this it follows that the mask separates the actor from outside world, contributes to his entry into the “not-I” state.

The Noh theater actor never touches the front surface of the mask, touching it only in the place where the strings are located that attach the mask to the actor’s face. After the performance In a similar way the mask is expelled from the actor, and then placed in a special case until the next use. In fact, at any theater school the role is “burned” after its implementation. Otherwise, the role will enslave the performer himself.

By putting on a mask, the actor literally becomes it, being the hero’s guide, conveying not only his emotions, moral and physical image, but also his spirit. There should be only one feeling in his soul, which is expressed by the mask.

Only talented actor is able to revive a mask, transforming its static character into a character. Perhaps this occurs due to the play of light, changes in perspective, movement, but there are other examples where these factors did not occur. The German playwright K. Zuckmayer in his memoirs describes an incident that happened to the actor Verne Krause, when the ritual mask began to cry before his eyes, and the actor in it felt inexpressible pain. (4, pp. 109 -111)

In a mask, the actor of the No theater almost does not see the audience, but the audience does not see his face. These invisible connections form a single whole of the performance.

1.2 Functions of a mask in the No theater

As we mentioned earlier, the key to understanding the Noh theater lies in the theatrical mask, since the actors of this theater do not resort to makeup and facial expressions. It is in the mask that many functions are embedded, reflecting not only the philosophy of the “No” theater, but also the principles of Eastern philosophical doctrine.

“Mask, maskus” from Latin means mask, but there is an even more ancient word that most accurately reveals the essence of the mask “Sonaze” - to restrain. It was this function of the mask that was actively used in ritual action. From the definition of E.A. Torchinov, who means by ritual a set of certain acts that have a sacred meaning and are aimed at reproducing one or another deep experience, or its symbolistic representation, we can conclude that the mask is a shield that protects from the image, but at the same time some path to it (18, p. 67.).

There are 200 masks in the No Theater, which are strictly classified. The most striking groups are: gods (characters of Buddhist and Shinto cults), men (court aristocrats, warriors, people from the people), women (court ladies, concubines of noble feudal lords, maids), madmen (people shocked by grief), demons (characters of a fantasy world ). Masks also vary in age, character and appearance. Some masks are designed for specific plays, others can be used to create existing characters in any play. On this basis, the creators of the No theater believed that the whole world was represented on their stage (9, p. 21).

The masks are cut out in various sizes from carefully selected wood and painted with special paint. The technology for making masks is so complex that most of the masks currently in use were created by famous mask carvers back in the 14th to 17th centuries. Masks made by modern craftsmen are imitation of old works. In this regard, we can judge that each of the theater masks is an independent work of art.

It is worth noting that, despite all the variety of masks, in the No theater the mask often does not express a specific character, but is only his “ghost,” a story, a generalization of the human form.

Since the literary material of Noh theater is the folklore of ancient Japan, the mask in the theater serves as a conductor of spiritual experience. The mask carries all the distinctive features of not only the individual, the distinctive features of that time and was created at that time, it can be assumed that it immerses the viewer in the proposed circumstances.

At the same time, the mask distracts attention from the “here”, the “seeing”, since, according to Eastern philosophers, “the truth is not open to the eye, the further you move, the more you will see,” which is directly related to the philosophy of Zen Buddhism and the philosophy of the Noh theater. . This also confirms the fundamental principles of the leading aesthetic concepts of the Noh theater - monomane and yugen.

An actor in the No theater does not always play a role wearing a mask. The mask is only worn by the main actor (siete) and female performers. The companions of the main character put on the mask only in the second act after the moment of “transformation”. If the siete is portraying a romantic character, the actor usually does not wear a mask. The actor's face, without it, is absolutely static, since playing with a face in the No theater is considered vulgar.

Considering the No theater, a modern researcher of oriental culture, E. Grigorieva, argues that the mask as a “calmed emotion” resembles the vanity of passions. (8, p. 345) The mask is like “thundering silence.” We can conclude that the mask is the key to revealing the essence of the role, is its history and result.

Before touching the mask, the actor tunes into the “magical emptiness” - completely cleanses himself. Theater expert Grigory Kozintsev recalls in his book “The Space of Tragedy” a conversation with Akira Kurasawa, an expert on the Noh theater. “I’m beginning to understand that “putting on a mask” is a process as difficult as “getting into character.” (8, p. 346) Long before the start of the performance, the artist stands near the mirror. The boy hands him a mask and he carefully takes it and silently peers at its features. The expression of the eyes changes imperceptibly, the appearance becomes different. The mask “turns into a person.” After this, he slowly and solemnly puts on the mask and turns to the mirror. There is no longer a separate person and a mask, now they are a whole” (8, pp. 345-346.) From this it follows that the mask isolates the actor from the outside world, contributes to his entry into the state of “not-me”.

The Noh theater actor never touches the front surface of the mask, touching it only in the place where the strings are located that attach the mask to the actor’s face. After the performance, the mask is expelled from the actor in a similar way, and then placed in a special case until the next use. In fact, in any theater school, the role is “burned” after its implementation. Otherwise, the role will enslave the performer himself.

By putting on a mask, the actor literally becomes it, being the hero’s guide, conveying not only his emotions, moral and physical image, but also his spirit. There should be only one feeling in his soul, which is expressed by the mask.

Only a talented actor is able to bring a mask to life, transforming its static character into a character. Perhaps this occurs due to the play of light, changes in perspective, movement, but there are other examples where these factors did not occur. The German playwright K. Zuckmayer in his memoirs describes an incident that happened to the actor Verne Krause, when the ritual mask began to cry before his eyes, and the actor in it felt inexpressible pain. (4, pp. 109 -111)

In a mask, the actor of the No theater almost does not see the audience, but the audience does not see his face. These invisible connections form a single whole of the performance.

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Three tragic poets were allowed to participate in the competition. Each of them presented to the discerning Athenian public three tragedies that made up a trilogy, and one satyr drama. The competition lasted for three days, each of which featured works by one of the authors. In the late afternoon there was a comedy performance, also presented by .

The first poet and playwright known by name, Thespis himself was the only performer in his works. Thespis's tragedies consisted of an actor's part alternating with choir songs. The great creator of classical tragedy, Aeschylus, introduced a second actor, and his younger Sophocles - a third. Thus, the maximum number of actors on the ancient Greek stage did not exceed three. But since in any dramatic work There were many more characters, each actor had to play several roles. Only men could be actors, and they also played roles. Any actor had to not only masterfully recite poetry, but also have vocal and choreographic abilities.

Masks and costumes of ancient Greek actors

The tragic actor's shoes were called buskins. Stage buskins were a type of sandal with thick soles consisting of several layers, which increased the height of the actor. To make the character look more majestic, tragic actors wore special “thickness” under their clothes, which made the figure appear larger, while maintaining natural proportions. In comedy, such “thickness” was also used, but here they violated the proportions, creating a comic effect.

The cut and color of the costumes were of great importance. If a figure appeared on stage in a purple or saffron-yellow cloak with a scepter in his hands, the audience immediately recognized him as the king. The queen dressed in white raincoat with a purple border. Soothsayers appeared before the public in checkered clothes, with their brows crowned with laurels, while exiles and other losers wore blue or black cloaks. A long staff in the hands indicated an elderly person or elder. The easiest way was to recognize the gods: Apollo always held a bow and arrows in his hands; Dionysus - a thyrsus entwined with ivy and grape leaves, Hercules came out onto the stage in a lion skin thrown over his shoulders and with a club in his hands.

The colors of the masks were no less important. If an actor went on stage wearing a white mask, it became clear that he would perform female role: male characters performed in dark-colored masks. Mood and state of mind The characters could also be read by the color of their masks. Crimson was the color of irritability, red - cunning, yellow - illness.

Actors enjoyed great respect in Greece and occupied a high social position. They could be elected to high government positions in Athens, and often sent as ambassadors to other states.

Topic: THEATER MASKS

Purpose of the lesson: Acquaintance with the history of the emergence and use of theatrical masks

Tasks:

learn the history of masks,

what materials are masks made from?

learn about the role of the artist in creating masks.

learn to make masks

Progress of the lesson:

Warm-up1) Articulatory gymnastics (traditionally we start the lesson with articulatory gymnastics).Target: prepare speech, breathing apparatus and other expressive tools of the pupils’ body for further work

Statistical exercises

Exercise "Spatula".Stick out your wide tongue, relax it and place it on it lower lip. Make sure your tongue doesn't tremble. Hold your tongue in this position for 10 seconds, perform 6-8 times

Exercise "Tube".Stick out your wide tongue. Fold the lateral edges of the tongue upward. Blow into the resulting tube. Perform the exercise 6-8 times.

Dynamic exercises

Exercise “Delicious jam”.

Stick out your wide tongue and lick upper lip and remove your tongue into the back of your mouth. Perform the exercise 6-8 times.

Exercise "Swing".

Stick out your narrow tongue. Stretch your tongue alternately towards your nose and then towards your chin. Do not close your mouth. Perform the exercise 6-8 times.

Exercise for the speech apparatus “Sound scale”

Description of the exercise:

Pronounce vowel sounds one after another, trying to lengthen each sound as much as possible in one exhalation: i-e-a-o-u –y –i. Try to pronounce the sounds in one breath, gradually complicating the exercise with the number of sounds pronounced in one breath.

Diction exercise, an exercise for vocal strength based on the tongue twister: “Bull is thick-lipped.”

Description of the exercise:

The tongue twister should first be pronounced slowly, articulating each sound, and then gradually move on to the tongue twister.

The bull is thick-lipped

Dull-lipped bull,

The bull's white lip was blunt.

"Theatrical masks,

Carnival masks,

You put on a mask

You find yourself in a fairy tale."

The teacher tells the story, accompanied by a slide show depicting various masks.

“Since ancient times, people have noticed that it is easier to be someone, to play someone, wearing a mask. Therefore, the mask came to us from ancient times. Each people had their own masks. They were made of gold and silver. Decorated precious stones, hollowed out of wood, and carved ornaments and patterns on them.

In the homeland of theater - in Ancient Greece - during noisy festive processions in honor of the god Dionysus, the god of viticulture, scenes from life were played out.

Only men took part in the performances. They performed in male or female masks. Changing masks, the actors played several roles in each performance.

Some peoples simply held the mask in their hands. Masks made of gold were known. Take a close look at all the masks presented. What means did the artists use so that the masks could convey the state of the hero, show his character and age? (Children's answers.) Today, masks are made from paper (using the papier-mâché technique), rubber, and fabric. What does a mask that expresses a cheerful mood look like? (Children's answers.) What happens to the face? Lips stretch, eyes narrow.
This is a comic mask. Show surprise on your face. What's happening to the face? (Children's answers.) The eyes are rounded, the mouth is in the form of an “o”, the eyebrows are raised.
Lower the corners of your lips and feign sadness. This is a tragic mask. Antique masks still serve as symbols of comedy (laughter) and tragedy (sadness). How do you guys think you can determine age by looking at a mask? (Children's answers.) On some masks, age can be determined by wrinkles. IN Ancient Rus' masks were the property of buffoons, later clowns.
What is a mask? Let's give a definition.
A mask is a special covering for the face (sometimes with an image human face, animal muzzle, etc.), with cutouts for the eyes, as well as a person with such an overlay.
Italy is the birthplace amazing genre. Genre comedy of masks.
Who will answer what the full name of this genre sounds like? (Children's answers.) Our team is named after one of the heroes of this comedy. But in this comedy he was called Harlequin. The soul of the performance was the “servants” - the arrogant merry fellow and inventor of all intrigues Brigella, the awkward, childish and good-natured Harlequin, the sharp-tongued Servette, not without anger and guile, the rude Pulcinella and others. The object of constant satire was the stupid, greedy and amorous merchant Pantalone, the fanfaron and coward Spanish nobleman Captain, the chatterbox and stupid Doctor and many other heroes.

A well-known symbol of theatrical art is the laughing and crying mask.

Currently, masks are widely used in circus performances and puppet theaters.

In the majority European countries actors do not wear masks on stage, but the stage appearance of an actor in the image of a specific hero, as in ancient times, is determined by the artist. Thus, the purpose of the artist's work in the theater is to help the actor.

What have they replaced masks with now? (make-up).

What is the name of the artist who applies makeup to actors? (make-up artist).

Analysis of mask samples (hero masks)

Let's take a close look at the various masks, find out what materials they are made from, what shape, size they are, what heroes they can show, as we understand, which hero's mask is in front of us.

Each group received a photo of one mask and must describe it according to the helper diagram.”

Let's check how you coped with the task and combine the knowledge you have gained. Each group will talk about what they saw according to plan.

Let's draw conclusions: Masks are made from various materials, their shape follows the face or muzzle of the hero they depict; masks can be different colors and are decorated with various details that give them a resemblance to the heroes they depict.

Children in groups look at the masks, analyze them, and write down their findings in a diagram.

1) Material

2) Shape

3) Color

4) Hero

5) What helps you understand what kind of hero he is?

Representatives of each group describe the mask according to plan (helper diagram)

Physical education minute

“The wind is blowing in our faces.....

"The children stand up and repeat everything that is said in the poem.

Planning the work

We examined various masks in detail, analyzed them, and now we can plan our work.

There are envelopes on your desks.

Take out pieces of paper with the names of fairy tale characters. Your task is to guess for which fairy tale you will make masks.

TALES: “The Wolf and the Seven Little Goats”, “Ryaba Hen”, “Kolobok”

two group members go to the board and choose the necessary masks, the rest collect the plot of the fairy tale from the proposals.

Agree on who will make which mask.

Making a mask according to plan.

Position the mask correctly on a piece of white cardboard.

Trace the mask with a simple pencil.

We depict the main details: eyes, mouth.

Decorate the mask. Wait until it dries.

Cut out the mask and a hole for the eyes. Make holes for the ribbon. Tie the braid

Review of safety precautions

Scissors will be useful in our work, let's remember the rules for working safely with them.

Groups work with issued cards.

REFLECTION

Children choose a mask with the mood “happy mask” - they liked the activity, “sad mask” - they did not like the activity.