The Witches days 1&2

 The witches production day 1:

20/10/2021

For the first day of The Witches production, we had all agreed to get to the college by 11am to give us

time to discuss the schedule and get ourselves organised for the actors arrival at 11:30. 

Whilst going over the schedule, we talked about the order in which we will do things; from 11:30am -

12:30pm we will be fitting the bald caps in two different groups, group one and group two. We decided

to split the actors that will need bald caps into two different groups to avoid having too many actors in

the room at once as this would make it much more difficult for us to move around the room if needs be.

To fit the bald caps, we would prep the hair by (if the actor had long hair) pulling the hair back into a low

ponytail at the bottom of the neck (this will make it easier to hide the hair in the costume whilst on stage

to prevent the audience from seeing their hair) and hair praying it in place. Then, we apply the bald cap

to the actors head, making sure it’s thick enough for the actors hair type and the right size for the actors

head, and marked out the areas that needed trimming off (such as the ears and part of the front of the

bald cap). We do this to make sure it will fit the actor perfectly when they come back to get it applied.

To keep the bald caps organised, we put them back in the folder they came in and put the actors name

on it, that way when the actors come back to get them applied, we know which bald cap is for who.

Once we have gone through both groups of actors who needed a bald cap, we send them away until

2pm. 

From 2pm-3pm, we call back the actors in two groups once again to get their bald cap applied.

However, on the actor I was working on, I had an issue with cutting out the ears on the bald cap as I

had cut them too far back, therefore I had to use tissue and latex to cover up the holes and mark the

ears out again and cut them out. This helped to improve my problem solving skills as I was able to

come up with a simple, but effective, solution on the spot to avoid wasting time. Besides from that, I

was able to finish up sticking the bald cap down using spirit gum and latex to blend it out without any

further problems, as shown in the images below.

Once I had finished applying the bald cap, it was nearing 4pm (the time we would be starting the other

actors makeup, such as the grandma, mr Jenkins, mrs Jenkins, the doctor, the lawyer, the grand house

witch, the display witch, and all of the witches) therefore, I decided to start working on the grandmamakeup ahead of time to give me chance to check the makeup under the stage lights at the end.

The image above shows how I organised my makeup bay beforehand to make it easier for me to grab

brushes and have access to all of the makeup products I will be using. This also shows good time

management skills as I made sure I would have enough time to check the makeup and hair once I was

finished.

It is important to make time for makeup checks as when I practiced the makeup on Monday, it was too

light and couldn’t be seen from the back of the theatre room, therefore I had to make sure this makeup

was dark enough to be seen under the lights and at the back of the theatre. The night before, I decided

to gather some reference images of how dark the makeup should be as well as a small step by step

guide of how I was going to apply the makeup as I found the order in which I applied it on Monday

caused a few time-related issues (this resulted in me not having enough time to apply the white colour

to her hair). 

Once we had all finished the makeups at around 5pm, the actors were due to do a short rehearsal

before the show at 7pm. The pictures below show the grandma makeup I did from the audience seat. It

was visible under every light used during the rehearsal, however, there was a small piece of hair

sticking out of the side so once the rehearsal was over I smoothed it back into place. Kassie and I also

had to fix a bald cap that kept detaching from the back of the neck using a cut up piece of an unusable

bald cap and spirit gum to stick it down.

Then, about 10 minutes before the actors were due on stage, once we had no other touch ups to

complete, I began cleaning up my makeup bay ready for tomorrow. I made sure to put all of the hair

products I will be needing (such as hairspray, hair bobbles and brushes) to one side so that I could

save time searching for them tomorrow. I put all the makeup I will be using back into my kit, and

disposed of any trash (such as the used bedroll, cotton buds, cotton pads, pieces of latex and pieces of

tissue) and sanitised my makeup bay to keep my area clean and hygienic. I then gathered up all of my

dirty makeup brushes to clean them ready for tomorrow. It is important to clean any dirty brushes

before using them on another person to avoid transferring any back terra sitting on the brushes that

could cause infections.

The Witches production day 2:

21/10/2021

Once again, we had decided to arrive at the college by 11am. However, we had come to the conclusion

that we didn’t need to actors in until 2pm since most of the actors who needed bald caps still had the

ones from the previous day and we could just reuse them. However, there were a few new actors who

needed bald caps fitting and so Leah, Isobel, Kassie, Emily and Paige spent some time making new

bald caps just in case they were needed. Whilst they were doing that, I spent some time powdering the

inside of the bald caps that were worn last night to get rid of any built up residue for a smooth

application. This didn’t take to long and so I spent the remaining time helping Francesca brushing out

wigs that will be worn by the actors later on.

By the time 2pm came around, we got in the first group of actors to begin prepping the hair and

applying the bald caps, ready for makeup application at 4pm. Once I had finished applying the bald cap,

the actor Paige was working on needed a new bald cap and so whilst Paige was busy sticking it down

on the forehead and back of the neck, I used latex, tissue, cotton pads and a bruise wheel to create the

boils on top of the head. This shows good collaboration/teamwork skills and time management skills as

we worked together to get a bald cap finished as quickly as possible. Therefore, this, once again, gave

us an extra 30 minutes to apply the makeup on our characters,

I, once again, was given the task of working on the grandmas makeup. Since the grandma makeup was

done on a male actor, I had the choice of painting the hair white as I did yesterday, or have the actor

wear a grey wig. I decided to stick to painting the hair white as it looked more realistic and noticeable

under the lighting. The images below show the completed makeup under the stage lights from different

angles/in different lighting colours.

I began the makeup at around 3:30pm to give myself extra time, that was I could go a bit slower and

really focus on getting the makeup right as well as time to check it under the stage lights and how well it

appears at a distance. I also took the opportunity to give the actor some time to stretch his legs and get

a drink, that way I would have some time to reorganise my area. I also did this as if I finish the makeup

too soon, his natural facial oils may cause the makeup to begin rubbing away, so to prevent this from

happening, I waited to powder the makeup closer to showtime to make sure it stays on longer. 

Once I had finished the makeup, I helped Paige look for the Grand House Witches mask as it appeared

to be nowhere to be found. This shows good teamwork skills as everyone helped to give us an idea of

where it could be.

Once I had finished everything I needed to do, and checked to make sure there were no more touch ups

needed, I began cleaning up my makeup bay. Once again, I packed my makeup away back into my kit

and collected up all of the dirty brushes that needed cleaning and disposed of any trash (this included

bedroll, cotton buds me cotton pads). I washed out any bowls I had used and put them back where they

belonged. Then, I sanitised the areas I was working at to maintain good hygiene and cleanliness.