The Art of Stage Dancing Part 17

There are two steps to a correct knowledge of your personal needs in the makeup art: First, what to use; and second, how to use it.

I am going to start you right on both of these steps.

Any actress of experience will tell you that her most valuable stage possession is her Makeup Box. It contains the necessary tools of her trade, without which she would be helpless to carry on. It is to her what the brush and colors and palette are to the painter; the needle and thread to the seamstress; the hammer and saw and plane to the carpenter. Before you enter upon a stage career supply yourself with a complete makeup box equipped with all the needed tools and ingredients for making up for the part you are to a.s.sume. This is a necessary purchase, and will prove one of the best paying investments you ever made.

Ordinarily a makeup box stocked with the best materials will cost about $12.00 and is not extravagantly expensive at that price. So many of our students sought our advice as to their purchases in this line, as they left our studios for the professional stage, that we fitted out a line of makeup boxes, completely stocked, for each complexion type, which we are selling to them over the counter at $9.50. The actual cost to us of each set is about eight cents more than we sell it for; plainly indicating an absence of grasping commercialism in our nature, for which we hope and expect due commendation.

[Ill.u.s.tration: THE NED WAYBURN PROFESSIONAL STAGE MAKEUP BOX AND OUTFIT

A--BLACK COSMETIQUE. B--BLACK MASCARO. C--BABY BRUSH. D--BLACK CRAYON PENCIL. E--DARK BLUE PENCIL. F--CARMINE GREASE PAINT. G--BLUE LINING GREASE PAINT. H--FOUNDATION GREASE PAINT. I--ORANGEWOOD STICK.

J--PAPER FELT LINERS. K--COSMETIC STOVE. L--PINK VELOUR POWDER PAD.

M--FACE POWDER. N--COLD CREAM. O--DRY ROUGE. P--RABBIT'S FOOT.

Q--MOIST LIP ROUGE. R--ART STEEL BOX. S--SPECIAL MIRROR.]

Buying expertly and in quant.i.ties has enabled us to get together this _Ned Wayburn Professional Makeup Box_ of the best stuff in the world for its purpose, some of the ingredients being made in America, others in Paris, and still others in Berlin,--all standard goods and used every day in the year in every theatre of the civilized world,--and at the same time keep the cost to our students down below a ten dollar bill. (Applause.) We thank you.

Now we are getting orders for our professional makeup box to be sent by mail and express to professionals and amateurs throughout this continent, and while we are glad to accommodate all who honor our own profession by their presence in it, please do not expect us to do so at cost. It is one thing to hand a box over the counter, and quite another to pack that box for shipment so as to conform to established requirements by the government post office or the express companies, prepay postage, insure it, and deliver it to the New York postal authorities. So we have put a price of $10.95 on this makeup outfit for parties who do not call for it in person at our studio, with postage extra, according to the zone in which you reside, if it goes by mail. We would rather send it by express and let you pay the charges for carriage at your end, if it is all the same to you. The weight of this outfit packed for shipment is about seven pounds. We insure it in transit at $10, which adds a few cents to its cost to you.

It will save correspondence and the disappointment of delay if when you order you tell us your age, s.e.x, color of hair, color of eyes, color of complexion, for what character you wish the makeup (youth, maturity, old age, advanced old age, or any of the possible character parts known to the stage); the nature of the play; whether for a large theatre or the more intimate small theatre or hall; if for moving pictures (which calls for a decidedly different makeup from all other stage work), and everything else bearing on this matter that you can think of. Always bear in mind when you order, that each box is fitted for one type of person only, and cannot be used indiscriminately by a brunette and a blonde and someone else who ranks between the two in coloring and type, and that in consequence each must have a personal makeup box of her own.

The Ned Wayburn Professional Makeup Box for a "straight" stage makeup for a blonde youth, suited to the use of a young woman with light hair, blue eyes and light complexion, in musical comedy, light opera or any dancing or speaking part in the usual stage performance, for presentation in a hall or theatre, with modern stage lighting facilities, is as follows:

_The Box._ Art steel, about 6-3/8 in. wide by 9-1/2 in. long, 5 in.

high, with handle and lock and key. Strongly made on purpose to stand the wear and tear of travel and dressing room handling, and should last a lifetime. Have your name painted on it as soon as you get it, to make it your very own. It may be your frequent companion for many years.

_One-half Pound Tin of Cold Cream._ Usually Stein's, to which we give the preference, since it is slightly less hard and contains a little more oil than most of the others. This cold cream is the same for all types, blonde, brunette and the others.

_One-half Pound Tin of Face Powder._ Stein's No. 2. (Brunettes would use Stein's No. 2-1/2 face powder.)

_One Gla.s.s Jar Moist Rouge._ Stein's medium. This medium lip rouge is suitable for blonde and brunette types. It is standard, can be bought anywhere, is always uniform and the colors run true. If you are ever in Chicago, visit Warnesson's. He specializes in lip rouge and makes a very good kind.

_One Stick Foundation Grease Paint, Flesh._ Stein's No. 2. (For brunettes, Stein's No. 3.) This is the large stick.

_One Stick Grease Paint, Special Blue Lining Color._ Stein's No. 11.

For lining the eyes.

_One Stick Grease Paint, Carmine._ Stein's No. 18. Red foundation, for both blondes and brunettes.

_One Box Mascaro, Black._ Leichner's No. 60. For darkening the eyebrows.

_One Package Cosmetique, Black._ Roger and Gallet. For beading the eyelashes.

_One Box Dry Rouge._ Dorin, No. 18.

_One Pink Velour Powder Pad._ Gainsborough No. 350. This is about the finest procurable; is of large size, so it will not fall in the powder box and scatter the contents.

_One Black Crayon Pencil._ 6B Venus, American Pencil Co. For putting shadows under the eyes.

_One Dark Blue Pencil._ Faber No. 6625. For shading around the eyes.

_One Orange Wood Stick._ For applying beading to the eyelashes.

_One Rabbit's Foot._ Also called rouge paw.

_One Baby Brush_, with handle. For blending. Very necessary tool.

_Paper Felt Liners_, one package. To outline lips and to place red dots in corners of the eyes.

_Cosmetic Stove, Lockwood's._ For heating cosmetique to bead the eyelashes. This stove is approved by Fire Insurance Underwriters. It encloses a candle in a safe way and avoids the use of dangerous fuels in the dressing rooms.

_One Mirror._ 6x8 inches, in wood frame, with metal support. Will stand alone or serve as hand mirror. Strong, clear gla.s.s. The best to be had for its purpose.

[Ill.u.s.tration: MARY EATON]

This completes the list of contents in the Ned Wayburn Professional Makeup Box, for a "straight" stage makeup, for young ladies. For other types and different characterizations the ingredients are changed to suit each case, while the price remains uniform.

There is but one necessity for completing the makeup that is not included in the outfit as given, and that is Liquid White, which comes in white or flesh. This is to be applied as a wash to exposed flesh not otherwise made up. It comes in liquid form only, and can be purchased locally in any first-cla.s.s drug store. We know Suratt's make of liquid white to be good, and there may be others.

A towel, a cake of soap, a basin of water and a few yards of cheese cloth should be a.s.sembled before commencing makeup operations.

A makeup is easiest applied while seated at a table with your materials spread out conveniently before you. If possible, elevate your mirror so that you can see the reflection of your features without the necessity of bending over. Always make up in incandescent light, never in daylight.

When making-up is a matter of daily routine the clothing will become badly soiled in a short time if worn during the process. To save your costume, either wear a washable kimono over it, or better, don the kimono over undergarments and put on the costume after the makeup is applied.

In private lessons at our studios we teach all the required forms of stage makeup, taking every type of person that comes to us and developing each individually along such lines as the character or part demands. Men, women, and youth come to us here for development of their correct makeup in private lessons.

In our cla.s.s instruction in this line of work only the "straight"

makeup for youth is presented, that being the one our young lady pupils find especially adapted to their stage needs. These special cla.s.ses are held as occasion requires to meet the students' demands, and are given in our own Demi-Ta.s.se Theatre, connected with the studios. Usually a demonstration is made with a blonde, a brunette and a red-head, to show the cla.s.s the different requirements of the different types. Following this demonstration, each member of the cla.s.s puts on a makeup under the advice and constructive criticism of the teachers, until thoroughly versed in the art, as it applies to his or her own individual type.

Since the reader of this may not be coming to us for either private or cla.s.s lessons, we will describe the correct manner of applying makeup in simple language that will enable the distant aspirant to learn all that may be learned by reading without the presence of a personal teacher.

You are now seated at your dressing table, your mirror at a convenient elevation in front of you and between two good lights, your lay-out of tools and materials spread on a towel on the table top, a kimono or other garment spread over your person. Now take a strip of cheesecloth three or four inches wide and tie around the forehead, back of the ears, and behind the neck; or one may use a close-fitting skull cap.

Tuck in all straying locks. The idea is, of course, to keep powder, grease paint and cold cream from getting into and soiling the hair.

Now you are going to apply makeup.

_First stage._ Cold cream. Apply this liberally all over the face from the hair line to the upper part of the throat, but not on the neck.

Rub it in thoroughly to fill all the pores of the skin. Be careful to cover all the s.p.a.ce around the eyes, also rub in on the eyelashes, using care to keep it out of the eyes, for it will cause stinging.

Greasing the eyelashes this way makes the removal of the makeup much easier. Now rub your face with a piece of cheesecloth until all the superfluous cold cream has disappeared. If the face shines too much, you have not removed enough of the cream. The surface should give the appearance of being well oiled, but not have a sticky, pasty or greasy surface.

_Second stage._ Foundation Grease Paint. The quality of your makeup depends upon this. It will be smooth or rough according to the way you develop it. Rub the end of the grease paint stick several times on each cheek, once across the chin, once or twice on the forehead and once down the nose. Use the ends of the fingers and pat this into place rather than rub it, till it is thoroughly worked into all the surface you have just covered with the cold cream. Every pore must be filled with the grease paint. Do not apply it too thick, which would give the face a pasty, unnatural look. Do not forget underneath the chin. Do not apply it to the ears or behind them. Leave no streaks or neglected spots. Have it uniform all over. Blend the paint till the face has an even tone. Watch your mirror carefully. It is better to have the grease paint a little too thin on the face than too thick, but you will soon learn to get it just right, which is what you are aiming at.

_Third stage._ Under rouge; foundation red; Stein's No. 18 carmine.

Make a few dots with the carmine grease paint stick on each cheek and on the end of the chin. Use but little, and blend it by patting with the first and second fingers of both hands, rather than by rubbing.

Begin well up against the nose, go under and around the eyes, and toward the temples, working it down below the ear and off the jaw in case there is a hollow in the lower part of the cheek. The color should extend down on the cheek, over on the temple and well up to the eye, patted and blended till no one can see where the red fades into the foundation. The chin is then blended in the same way, to leave no line between foundation color and under rouge. If your chin is pointed, blend in front, not below, or it draws the chin way down.

Put on a lighter makeup for a small, intimate theatre, and a heavier one for the large auditorium.

_Fourth stage._ Enlarging and beautifying the eyes. This is a very important detail of correct makeup, and is indispensable on every well-lighted stage, where even the most soulful orbs with long, thick lashes will dwindle to half their size and have a faded, dull appearance if not properly made up. It is essential that the two eyes match in every detail, and to secure this result will require the taking of considerable pains and close study of your mirror. Stein's No. 11 blue lining stick is for use by the blue-eyed, regardless of the color of the hair or complexion. Stein's No. 17, for the dark-eyed. t.i.tian-haired folks use Stein's No. 21 purple for the same purpose. With this grease paint stick of the color suited to you, draw a line across the upper eyelid between the eyebrow and the eyelashes, as close as possible to the lashes. With the fingers blend this line into a shadow, making it dark close to the upper lashes. Either pencil can be used for this purpose also. Do not get the shadow up to the eyebrows, but cover all the upper eyelid, and a little beyond the eye at the outer corner. Use the Faber No. 6625 blue pencil or Venus 6B black for shading under the eye. Draw a line with it directly under the eyelashes, and with the fingers blend this into a shadow. Carried too far down this blue suggests illness, so be careful. The shadows thus placed above and below the eyes serve to outline them to the spectators in the theatre, where otherwise the eyes would practically disappear and not be seen at all owing to the strong footlights.

_Fifth stage._ "Fixing" the makeup. Powder No. 2 for blondes; No.