Baltimore, like most cities in the US, is a city that needs to continue to cultivate compassion to help our children grow.  Having worked in many Baltimore city schools over the last 3 years using EMOTION MASKS, I have come to respect the power of the mask to allow it's wearer to speak freely, to feel freely, to know immediately what to say and do.  

ABOUT EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE EDUCATION:  
Psychologists suggest that providing young people with greater information as children about emotional expression, how it manifests on the face and in the body, can help prepare young people to deal more effectively with their own emotions, with cultivating compassion for themselves and others.

The underlying logic behind Emotional Intelligence supports the theory that confusion vulnerability and shame surrounding the experience of emotions in young people can predict the person's ability to handle to emotional experiences in later in their lives. This means that the sooner children learn and accept that emotional experiences are universal in human lives and not something to fear or be ashamed of, the easier it will be for them to process the experience of emotions and move through them in a healthy way.

Children who do not have the ability to process emotional experiences in a positive way are more likely to have issues of distrust with their community, unhealthy experiences with prolonged anger, will sometimes resort to more dangerous behaviors including drugs and violence, and will increasingly rely on outside solutions to solve their suffering over their lifetimes.


ABOUT USING EMOTION MASKS:
I have a step by step process that I use to bring students into a greater understanding of the emotion the mask represents BEFORE they put on the mask.  

Then we share ourselves with the mask on.  We speak the character's emotional truth.  And often, the truth comes flying out of our mouths.  And everyone understands.  The taboo of speaking is broken.  Hurts are released.  The actors are not embarassed.  The class knows that everyone is just acting, but we all sigh with the ease that is gained.


ABOUT THESE IMAGES
Because I cannot take photos in the classrooms where I work, I've taken images of these masks alone and on my 5 year old daughter, Nadya, and paired them with quotations about the significance of Emotional Intelligence in our culture.

I hope you will find them moving as I do.

Tara and Waxing Moon Masks created 19 original masks for the 2012 Faction of Fools production of "A Commedia Christmas Carol" on a shoestring budget, spending 5 months of daily work to complete the set. Our largest set of custom originals to date at that time, both Tara and partner/husband Aaron Elson were excited to work with DC's only mask company and it's beloved director, Matt Wilson.

This set of masks was created to aid the company for years to come producing this classic in a new, inspired way. The production, running from November 29th till Dec 23rd of 2012, featured hearing and non-hearing actors, ASL, physical comedy and slapstick, original half masks (Commedia style) and some very surprising full head oversized masks.

The production has met great success, "A Commedia Christmas Carol" receiving critical acclaim from the Washington Post and the DCTheatrerescene reviewers alike. The production also received an official Helen Hayes recommendation. The talented cast and crew of this production should be exceedingly proud of their innovation, wit and love of making us laugh. Bravo!

I designed and fabricated 4 primary character masks for the production OEDIPUS at Catholic University in October of 2014, directed by Orion Jones. (Gail Beach, primary contact for creating the design, new friend and long time teacher at Catholic, designed the beautiful costumes for this production.)

I was also engaged as resident movement consultant/trainer for the cast of undergrad and graduate students in this production.

Having been a strong aesthetic contributor both visually and structurally in this production, I feel that it offers a good look at what I do as a mask designer, which is integrate ideas of movement, intention, plot, interpretation and lighting and help them to float along a stage without falling off.

This project was absolutely a joy to participate in. The cast was stellar: strong and determined and noble. The set, lighting and costumes were stunning, sampling heightened shapes with neutral colors, bathed in saturated colors and nodding to traditional greek garb with a Brechtian awareness of the players as storytellers.

The energy of the production was buoyant. I am grateful to have been a part of such a special realization of this very rich, beautiful text by WB Yeats. It was joyous too to see our masks come to life in the rich educational setting that is Catholic University.

I create custom Designs for Masks of all sizes for stage, film, training and performance. We have created over 100 new designs for masks in our 4 years, and have been called the Baltimore Washington region's "go to" source for all things Mask related.

I began making masks, not because I felt I was an adequate sculptor, but because I felt a need to share mask performance with actors. I wanted to make work that was interesting to me, and so I knew I had to build my own community in mask here in Baltimore. The masks themselves came as a means to an end- I simply wanted to have the masks as tools for my own work, and it was easier to make them myself than to buy them from another mask maker.

As a result of this chance decision to make my own tools, I have come to cherish and revel in the opportunity to devise my own lessons and meanings out of the mask sculpture. I feel it gives me a powerful way to interact with a community of players without having to use words or training. The masks can in so many ways speak for themselves.

Here are a few of my favorite examples of the pieces for which I have been commissioned and I am grateful to their owners for inviting me into their work.

Tara initiated "Waxing Moon Masks" in January 2011 in order to develop the appreciation of and practice of mask performance in the Baltimore. The company identity extends to Tara and artists she may hire from time to time, and it encompasses work that and Tara's husband, Aaron Elson does, including technical fabrication configuring when making masks, and his much appreciated business consultation.

Though they are a team, financially the company is a sole proprietorship, essentially another name for Tara Cariaso, the designer and educator. Having the separate name allows Tara to create projects in which other artists occasionally participate.

Waxing Moon aims to represent artists and practitioners of mask making, mask performance and theatre education. Production of original plays and performances invoke theatrical traditions as old as the moon to launch new ideas and engage audiences of all ages; traditions such as Commedia Dell’Arte, vaudeville, clown, and full-faced mask performance. Waxing Moon Masks' mission is to use mask play and physical theatre to bring theatrical size and direct audience interaction back to contemporary stages.

I have been lucky enough to work with students of all ages, from the youngest clowns at age 3, to the older Zanni's at age 85. There's value in laughter and physical expression for all players willing to play. Drama education that emphasizes ensemble and self awareness is what lies at the heart of this work.

The Larval Project developed over 2 years and many stages since inception: including original mask design and fabrication, community training, ensemble development, original work devising and performance.

MASK CREATION:
The Larval masks used by LARVAL PROJECT were designed throughout the year of 2011 and fabricated in November 2011 by Tara Cariaso, the Artist Director of Waxing Moon Masks. Four distinct masks were created, all four forms were fabricated in both neoprene and paper mache and prepared for actors to wear. The four shapes each offer unique geometric curves, planes and angles to challenge and aid to actor to physically inhabit the body of the mask.

In January of 2011, Tara hosted the first Larval Mask Workshop to introduce Baltimore performers to this style of mask and it's unique play on stage. This workshop was also important in developing the identity and play of the masks.

ENSEMBLE TRAINING AND DEVISING IN MASK:
Due to active interest to continue the larval mask work, WMM began a 4 month training program in April of 2012 and invited the Baltimore community to participate in the training. The training was free of charge, save the expenses to sublet a performance space, which was an expense the group shared. This group, known as the the Larval Project Ensemble, met every Friday April through July, training in ensemble theatre techniques, mask performance, devising, story writing, puppetry and gesture/mime. We had our own resident Foley artist/musician who created original improvised soundscapes with a number of instruments and objects.

The work was a collaboration between actors, directors and musicians. Registration and participation in this ensemble work remained open throughout it's existence to encourage more people to participate and get exposure to this work.

The project was an experiment in ensemble decision making and devising for the stage in these masks. As a result of the work of this workshop process, there exists a great depth of knowledge among the ensemble members about these masks, how they work, play, and read to an audience, what stories they tell and how they relate to an audience.

MASK PERFORMANCE:
The workshop period of the project ended in July of 2012, and two members, Tara Cariaso and Chris Yeiser, continued to devise in these masks, honing story and style to cultivate a unique "Larval Culture of Play" and storytelling for these masks.

In September of 2012, Yeiser and Cariaso performed two short works, about 10 minutes each, showcasing their work in Larval Masks at the 2012 Baltimore Book Festival on the Pearl Stage at Centerstage, as a part of "50FEST". The piece performed featured 2 full face larval masks, found object puppetry, and mime, and was received with great enthusiasm by the 50FEST audience.

Larval Project Performance at 50 Fest is the culmination of the work done in the Larval Project workshop process, and is a performance collaboration between Christopher Yeiser and Tara Cariaso.

Here are two works created, "Little Fat Guy", and "The Janitor" which were presented at Centerstage, "50 Fest", a celebration of 50 years of Centerstage theatre in Baltimore where more than a dozen companies presented short works free to audiences all day long.

It is rare for mask work to be done on professional US stages in modern day. I believe that this trend is changing as companies like WONDERHEADS and FACTION OF FOOLS offer audiences delightful, contemporary, devised works that celebrate full body expressiveness in the way that only mask does.

Both short pieces presented by Waxing Moon Masks, co-directed by myself and Chris Yeiser and devised by us, are full face speechless works made for all ages audiences. We work primarily with gesture, rhythm, music and a playful spirit. These scenes use ample amounts of charm, discovery and mundane-things-turned-magical to delight the audience.

In 2015, I designed masks for 3 productions at VENUS THEATRE of Laurel, Maryland. Venus Theatre is the longest running theatre for women's empowerment in the country. Founder, producer, director and oftentimes designer Deborah Randall was my partner in each production. She is a powerhouse. A fierce advocate for creativity, equality and justice, this woman has spent her life in service to putting women and their stories on stage. She is an activist as much as she is a theatre professional, and in many ways, it is my opinion that Ms Randall has found a way to make a sustainable melding of the two. In many ways, her spirit is one with whom I am aligned, passionate in bringing my love and respect for theatre into the service of real world issues.

Two of the productions for which I was a designer were part of the Women's Voices Playwrights Festival of 2015.

WITCHES VANISH! This world premiere of the play by Claudia Barnett was directed by Deb Randall. The production featured Tara Cariaso as both mask maker and consultant, and performer.

DRY BONES RISING, world premiere of a play by Cecilia Raker, directed by Deb Randall. Mask and mask movement consultation by Tara Cariaso

RAW, a world premiere of this play written by Ruby Grant award winner, Amy Bernstein, and was directed by Deb Randall. Mask by Tara Cariaso

ONE GLITZ WISH, this work respresents the full production world premiere of original COMMEDIA-INSPIRED play by Kristin Harrison, commissioned by Waxing Moon Masks, and directed by Tara Cariaso.

This is a play that came about because I complained to my best friend say 4 years ago that I didn't have a play that I really wanted to direct that was a modern Commedia in which to use both COMEDY and MASKS. Kristin is a little bit magical, okay a lot, and she surprised me several months later with a play. The criteria she integrated into the play that were important to us both:

1) The play needed to use masks
2) It needed to be a PRESENTATIONAL production, and not follow the rules of the fourth wall that keep out the audience. We wanted the full gammut of direct addresses, audience plants, improvisation, character schtick and yukking it up in this play. After all, it was a play that had to make us, me and Kristin, laugh.
3) It needed to be FUNNY.
4) It needed to feature women predominately, and speak plainly to concerns that address women's lives.

Kristin supplied these criteria in spades with the first draft of OGW, and we had a staged reading of the play at The Strand Theatre in 2012 where we packed the house to the gills with laughing patrons and jokes about ducks, lions and patriarchy bs.

Fast Forward 2 years, and I met Elissa Goetchius, the then Artistic Director at The Strand Theater, who agrees to do a full production in the Spring of 2014, much to mine and Kristin's elation. I am grateful to The Strand, specifically Elena Kostakis and Elissa for producing our multi-specied, absurdi feminist duck baby.

My work as director of this wacky Commedia/Toddler in Tiaras hybrid was to bring forward the talents and skills of an astounding group of women, (yes all women) to present dance, comedy, mask, singing, and audience interaction all from underneath 4 inches of hair spray and in honor of little girls everywhere. I hope you enjoy my collection of GLITZ moments and reflections.

This play is a culmination of many many people's hard work and talents, all directed fulfilling a simple need: to laugh at what gets us down.

B4 Youth Theatre (B4YT) is a non-profit that serves youth with free arts education programming in Liberia, West Africa.  Founded by Dr Jasmine Blanks-Jones, who was until just last year the executive director of the organization, B4YT's mission is, "Empowering young people to become educated citizens through the arts!" 

Through conversation and communication with company members, Tara's mask fabrication company, Waxing Moon Masks, conceived, designed, and created the masks and pedagogical materials for B4 Youth Theatre instructors and participants in their summer programs, and then sent all the supplies to youth instructors in Liberia.

The masks were made to incite conversation about student's life experiences so that these stories could be played out on a stage.

The plays that the young people made talked about many things that impact young people.  Importantly, among the issues explored was the issue of the Ebola virus, it's impact on student lives and communities, and the stigma left on Liberian communities in the wake of the devastating Ebola virus.

***

"I was very fortunate to be a contributor to this project by B4 Youth Theatre, led by Dr Jasmine Blanks-Jones.  This project collaboration, MASKS FOR GOOD, merges social justice and mask, and was performed by young Liberian artists in their homeland. This step, phase 2 in a 3-phase project, included:

• Generating a 10 video Mask Performance training series with professional performers and video editing
• Fundraising for materials to make 48 Emotion Masks to go to 4 training locations in Liberia
• Designing unique mask designs to serve the students telling their own stories through devising
• Fabricating 48 masks
• Getting donations for devices on which the Liberian student instructors might watch the training videos
• Creating a training workbook for student instructors"

 

A BRIEF SUMMARY TIMELINE OF THE WORK

-Phase 1, (2014,) I created one set of 9 original concept masks designed for B4 Youth Theatre, and gave their company in Baltimore a 2 hour training session with these masks.

-Phase 2, (2015,) Myself and collaborators created a 40 minute long video series of mask performance training videos, 50 page instructor manuals, and 39 masks (12 NEW designs) to suit the needs of the young players in Liberia.

-Phase 3, (2016,) I traveled to Liberia with B4 Youth Theatre Executive Director, Jasmine Blanks, to train Youth Instructors in mask play, in service of educating students in stage performance and character creation, and wrote about my journey as a teacher of a western art in a non-western setting, exploring the imperialism of the arts from the point of view of the well meaning but still invasive western artist.

(for a complete timeline, please look at the listed detail entitled, PROJECT TIMELINE)

 

WHY MASKS?

Mask performance frees the actor as a participant in the theatrical event. Social justice frees the actor to be a participant in the conversation about their community and the greater world. I've seen so many plays made by young actors that were heartfelt and discussed very serious issues, but they didn't provide the actor with an experience of the fun of performing, nor the audience the imaginative 'lift' of heightened, presentational theatricality. I think an audience responds quickly to performances that embody the spirit of joy and play we often lack in our daily lives.

 

LONGEVITY

The materials me and my collaborators created between 2014 and 2015 for B4 Youth Theatre to train students in mask performance will be used in years to come in Liberia for education and outreach causes, for training actors, and for devising/ play writing.