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mask
masks are fundamentally double in function, signification, and experience, serving simultaneously as tools for disguise and as markers of identity.
(see masks in noh theatre and facial makeup peiking opera)
w. anthony sheppard states that “in modern psychological theater, the masked face may serve to indicate profound duality in a character’s personality—a tension between internal and external existence, between a private and a social self. In ritual performance, the masked performer is often regarded as a literal incarnation of the spirit or deity represented by the mask and is allowed to behave as such, free to act without fear of recrimination.”
the mask liberates performers, allows people to discard their own identity and to use all other parts of the body to be expressive.
the mask also creates an uncanny experience, where the head represents "the puppet" and the rest of the body is still human. the mask creates the duality of seeing the people and the puppet at the same time, enlarging the experience of imagining the realness of the performance while conscious of it being a performance.
sleep no more
sleep no more is an immersive theatre show created by british theatre company punchdrunk, based on william shakespeare's macbeth. during the performance, the audiences are required to put on the same white masks. in this case, the mask does the same thing by creating the dichotomy of having an immersive experience and being complete conscious of being an audience member.
who is wearing the mask?
"ultimately, a mask is a powerful disembodied signifier that is radically transferrable. separate from any specific human realization, it functions as a concrete sign of a transcendent identity, regardless of wearer."
anthony graham-white
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