GREEK
When one speaks of masks what exactly does that mean? In terms of everyday life, it could be said that at all times everyone around us, including ourselves, use masking devices. Be it artificially produced or merely psychologically projected, we all wear masks. At work you wear the mask of employee or employer, at school you wear the mask of student or teacher, at home you could the mask of mother, father, son or daughter and so on and so on.
In terms of wearing an actual mask, one could see this activity as confining, but most anthropologists and psychologists agree that this actually helps to free man. Behind a mask we are free to express our true emotions. As with social masks, what one sees on the outside is not always what is going on inside. We all put masks on as a way of liberating ourselves, whether we actually put on a device to cover our face is irrelevant.
If a mask can liberate a person in real life, what does it do in an artificial environment? In theatre, possibly one of the most artificial environments, the mask tends to suggest restriction. When a character dons a mask, the part of the mask defines the character, not the actors face, or facial expressions. This clearly defines a character to the audience and allows the playwright to "simplify his characters and underscore his text with concrete images." (Smith, pg. 2) The mask allows for the playwright's abstract ideas to manifest visually.
The use of mask in theatre appears to be a supreme irony, for the masker is doubly existent. The masker is at once himself and someone else, because he is the character he plays and, while masked, he is removed again because his only true reminder of himself, his face, has been concealed. In another sense of irony, the role he plays, is directly in view to the audience, while at the same time, because of the use of the mask the audience is reminded of the artificiality of the theatre itself. This duality, of man being himself and someone else, as seen in theatre, is elevated with the use of masks.
The mask in theatre has its origins in ancient Greece. From the rich tradition of the Greeks, the use of mask in theatre has evolved. In the late 19th century into the 20th century a great reemergence of the use of masks on the modern western stage was witnessed. The intent of this site is to compare and contrast the use of the mask in ancient Greek theatre with the use of the mask on the modern stage. The subject has been divided into managable sections represented in the links as follows:
A. The Use Of Masks In Greek Theatre
B. The Use Of Masks In Modern Theatre
Other points of interest pertaining to this site are contained in the following::