Make up 101: From frightning to funny faces

By Jillian Goltzman
South Bureau Chief

Ghastly ghosts, gruesome ghouls and candid clowns can be seen lurking around the shadows of Central Campus. Think this is just a Halloween scare? Think again. Every Monday at 6 p.m. at Bailey Hall on Central Campus students gather to learn frightening-to-funny stage makeup techniques from the Associate Dean of the Visual and Performing Arts Department, Deborah Kondelik.
Casually walking into Building 4, Room 164 you can find students like Natalia Chmielewska painted up as a cross between Darth Maul and Princess Amidala from Star Wars, Britni Serrano sitting quaintly while painting her face into the looks of the Joker and his sweetheart Harley Punn from Batman, and student Justin Hazan merging the worlds of the popular Homer Simpson with “a dark emperor.” On the student’s Oct. 12 class, Kondelik approached the students with the project of creating the image of “contrasting characters” on their faces.
In addition to Kondelik’s contrasting characters assignment, she said her students will learn “corrective makeup, which is correcting any perceived flaws a person may have, straight-up makeup, which is learning how to accentuate the actual look that the actors have so they can appear more three-dimensional to the audience, and character makeup, which ranges from fantasy, old age, facial hair, wig styles, facial structure alterations, prosthetic makeup and airbrush makeup.”
The creativity of Kondelik’s Makeup for Stage and Television class is not only open to theater students, but to everyone. Kondelik’s students range in majors and passions.
Chmielewska, a psychology major in Kondelik‘s class, describes the course as an opportunity to be “creative and productive at the same time.” Chmielewski, who is considering a minor in theater, said, “It is more fun for me to create something and be backstage.”
Hazan, art and graphic design student is taking the makeup course to improve his makeup skills while working on his acting.
With the plummet of the economy taking place and the amount of unemployed actors battling for the same roles all over the country, what can be made of what Chmielewska considers “not a safe market?” Is technical theater a safer route than performance theater?
Hazan said, “It is best to know all aspects of theater so that you have a handle on everything.” Serrano, musical theater major and stage makeup student, later chimed in, “It’s really interesting to know the different ways of doing things because you’re never going to have professional people doing your makeup; You’re always going to end up doing your own.”
Kondelik strongly believes that every person should ask themselves “What do I want to be doing for the rest of my life?” She encourages theater students to learn all aspects of theater. “It doesn’t hurt to know a lot of things, you may find your forte,” she said. “We are all just pieces of the puzzle and the director sits back and puts those pieces together,” added Kondelik.
Kondelik, who transposed from the billboards to the chalk boards, revealed “I’m so happy [with] what I do. I was a professional actress before I got into education and I love it and it is fabulous! You have got to do something you love and the rewards will come if you put in the effort.”
For students interested in the Makeup for Stage and Television course, but were too late to sign up for the class, there is good news: students can get involved in workshops offered by Kondelik herself. Prosthetic makeup workshops, just in time for Halloween, can be taken. The upcoming date is Oct. 22 in room 165, Building 4 and students like Allen Grujesku, a former makeup student of Kondelik’s, will be learning about the prosthetic side of makeup and the eerie touches that will make a Halloween costume go from ordinary to outstanding.
Grujesku, who aspires to own a hair and makeup salon in the future, said, “You can go to the store and buy a mask appliance, but it’s not going to look great, it’s not going to stay on your face and by the end of the night you are going to look [like] a mess! If you make it yourself, you get the satisfaction of being able to say you made it and it’s more aesthetically pleasing.”
With Halloween around the corner, several of the students plan to use their newfound makeup techniques to dress up their costumes. Serrano giggled, “My brother wants to be a vampire so I’ll see what I can do with it!” Grujesku revealed he “spent hours” doing his friends’ makeup during the spooky season last year.
The makeup techniques will be displayed in the upcoming play “Artificial Jungle” debuting on Oct. 28 and playing until Nov. 8 on Central Campus. Both Chmielewska and Serrano will be doing the stage makeup for the production. Director and theater professor Mariah Johnson said, “It’s a very funny, spooky, thrilling play! It’s perfect for Halloween!”
Further into the future, from Dec. 11-13, students can take a trip into Oz while watching the musical “All About Oz,” which has been created by director and professor Jett Canary. The musical features songs from major musicals like “The Wizard of Oz,” “The Wiz” and “Wicked.”
Canary revealed, “This performance art version is set in a modern day ‘PhilOZophy’ class where a substitute professor casts spells on students, making our favorite Oz characters come to life.”
To take part in the fun of Kondelik’s Makeup for Stage and Television course, all a student needs is “the desire to practice” according to Kondelik.
“It’s a lot of fun and even if you’ve never played with makeup before, it’s a way to be really creative. It is different than doing art where you are sitting in the classroom, painting. You get to actually do it by yourself and you can totally transform yourself,” said Grujesku.