Making Greek Theatre Masks ~ A History Project
Submitted by Kim Brinson, Providence History Teacher and Chair
Comedy and Tragedy ... ah, yes, Greek Theatre! The origins of theatre in our culture can be traced back to Ancient Greece. The Greek drama began as a religious observance in honor of the god Dionysus. In Athens this was one of the city's most important religious celebrations, lasting five days. Over time the plays developed into two distinct types: tragedies and comedies.
Actors each wore a painted mask that featured exaggerated facial features, thus indicating the feelings of that character. Easily visible, these masks could be seen even from the back of the theatre. In order to amplify and project the actors' voices, the mask usually had large, open mouths.
The 8th-10th grade history class is studying Ancient Egypt, Ancient Greece, and Ancient Rome this year. The Greek Theatre Mask is an excellent hands-on project for older students, due to the detailed nature of the project. Students' masks are actually molds of their own faces, which added to the fun. After the mold dried, students used paper-mache pulp to build up areas of the face (cheeks, eye brows, chins) to form exaggerated expressions. The masks were finished by painting and using a variety of embellishments such as hair, leaves, glitter, fake eye lashes, and jewelry.
Actors each wore a painted mask that featured exaggerated facial features, thus indicating the feelings of that character. Easily visible, these masks could be seen even from the back of the theatre. In order to amplify and project the actors' voices, the mask usually had large, open mouths.
The 8th-10th grade history class is studying Ancient Egypt, Ancient Greece, and Ancient Rome this year. The Greek Theatre Mask is an excellent hands-on project for older students, due to the detailed nature of the project. Students' masks are actually molds of their own faces, which added to the fun. After the mold dried, students used paper-mache pulp to build up areas of the face (cheeks, eye brows, chins) to form exaggerated expressions. The masks were finished by painting and using a variety of embellishments such as hair, leaves, glitter, fake eye lashes, and jewelry.
