Mask Design and Making

The start of the process of mask-making has usually been taking a lifecast of the actor’s face. This is a useful template on which to build the mask, to ensure that eyeholes are correctly placed, that the nose will fit inside etc. Under no circumstances should this cast be itself used as the template for a mask. The mask is required to be larger – or smaller as in Noh theatre – than the actor’s face. An exact representation of the actor’s own face would render the mask dead. There is no breathing space, no transforming space.