Costume and make-up in drama

Meaning of Costumes

Costumes are clothes and accessories e.g. cap, jewelry, beads necklaces, shoes and bags etc. worn by actors and actresses in a drama presentation.

Meaning of Make-up

It is the colorful substance e.g. powder/paints used especially by women to make their faces look more attractive.

Costume involves clothing and accessories while make-up involves all that is done to the body.

Types of Make-up

(i) Straight/foundation make up

(ii) Stage/character make up)

Straight/foundation Make-up

This is the make-up used to enhance beauty e.g. if a young girl is acting the role of a young girl, make-up will be used on her to enhance her beauty.

Stage/character Make-up

It is used to alter features. It is used for the alteration of features. For instance, if a boy of 18 is acting the role of a man of forty, make-ups will be used to make him look older.

Uses of Make-up and Costume in Drama

1. It is for identification.
2. It helps the audience for easy understanding of the play.
3. It helps in easy interpretation of the play and its location.
4. The rich and the poor i.e. social and economic status of the characters are easily identified.
5. It helps in identifying the occupation or profession of the character.
6. Costume gives weight and extra meaning to a drama.

Making Up in Drama

1. It is under the technical aspect of drama.
2. It requires the services of an experts.
3. Human autonomy must be studied by the make-up artists.

EVALUATION

1. Define costumes.
2. State three uses of costume.
3. Define make-up?