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Prior to the show, the hair and makeup designer should attend prod meetings to determine what special hair and makeup looks the director wants, and do an inventory of the supplies the ensemble owns. They may order sponges, makeup wipes, or other basic supplies if needed. During put-in, they should set up the makeup rooms. If in Sala, set up tables and lights in West Lounge, and put newspaper on the windows. If in Kresge Little Theater, split up the actors alphabetically, and assign each group to a dressing room or put all makeup stuff in the women's dressing room. For both performance spaces, they should tape out and label grids on a table to keep everything organized (see photo below). They should also tape out locations for each actor to store their backpacks/other items. The hair and makeup designer should be present at the beginning of every dress rehearsal and show if possible, to teach and correct actors on their hair and makeup application. If there is a very complicated look, they may also be required to apply that look themselves every night.
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Scars can be formed with scar wax, then painted to match the skin. If the wound is fresh, discoloration can be added with a bruise wheel. (Purples for newer bruises, and yellows for older bruises.) Ben Nye Scab Blood is a good product that will stick to an actor's skin, and won't drip down onto costumes. Creamy brown or red lipstick can also be added into a wound as blood.
Products
Where to Buy
Two good places for makeup and hair products are Dorothy's Costume (on Mass Ave in Boston by the Christian Science Center) and Boston Costume (near Kendall T stop and in the Garment District store). Drugstores are also a good bet for cheaper items.
Mehron foundation sticks can be found at Boston Costume, though some foundation shades in the ensemble makeup box are no longer available, such as Ivory and many of the more yellow/orange shades. Similar foundation shades can be found at drugstores like CVS for around the same price.
Setting spray can be found at Boston Costume, but CVS has setting spray for about half the price.
These are the cheapest makeup wipes on Amazon (as of 08/2019). It's also cheapest and most convenient to get mascara brushes, lipstick applicators, and makeup sponges from amazon. Other stores may not sell these items either at all or at reasonable prices...
Makeup
Mehron makeup sticks are the best base, highlight, and lowlight for lighter-skinned actors. (Med-light olive tends to be a common base color.) Note that there is no foundation shade between Ivory Bisque and Alabaster :C Darker foundation shades are unfortunately harder to find, but the Covergirl Queen collection and L'Oreal True Match liquid foundations are a good bet. Match actors' foundation colors on their jawline, and be sure it blends nicely into their neck/chest color. Their highlight and lowlight should be the same hue in a lighter and darker shade, respectively. Note that actors may tan, so you may end up having to use darker colors for the actual show than expected, especially in the summer. (It helps to have makeup "office hours" to make actors come to you to get their colors matched. You can give them prod hours for this.)
As mentioned earlier, it would be best if all actors had their own eyeliner, but usually that isn't the case. Pencil eyeliners that don't need to be sharpened (i.e. have a twist up mechanism) are good to have, in both black and brown. Make sure that the actors spray shared eyeliner with alcohol both before and after use! Some actors may need to use ensemble mascara as well. If this is the case, then have actors apply it with disposable mascara wands.
Most, if not all Some actors will need blush and bronzer. Teach them how to sweep it on subtly, with a big fluffy brush. Although it's nice if all actors wear lipstick, finding neutral lipstick for everyone can be a pain, and more effort than it's worth. If a character needs non-neutral lipstick, then bluer tones tend to be more flattering - they make the actor's teeth look whiter! Lipliner in a similar shade can be used to prevent the color bleeding into the surrounding skin.
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- Sponges - replace actor sponges after every show. Buy in bulk if the budget allows, since we always need these.
- Hand sanitizer - buy a big bottle and encourage actors to use it before eating or touching their face. No one enjoys a tech week plague.
- Makeup removal wipes - sensitive baby wipes work, although actual makeup wipes are gentler on the skin. These are the cheapest makeup wipes on Amazon (as of 11/2018) Keep in mind that you will need a minimum of 1 wipe per actor per show.
- Moisturizer - not necessary, but it'll help keep actors' skin happy.
- Bobby pins
- Hair spray/gel
- Brushes/combs
- Makeup brushes - large fluffy brushes for blush/bronzer/setting powder, and smaller blending brushes for eyeshadow.
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Organize all of the makeup and tools in the dressing room(s) with masking tape:
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