Ellie Dawson-Moore talks stage makeup

A live production takes more than just the actors and actresses. Senior Ellie Dawson-Moore, worked for the theater production last year as a makeup artist for the 2019 production Every(man), thoroughly enjoying it. Makeup is a crucial part of theater production. The lighting, among other factors such as the audience’s distance from the stage, affects how actors and actresses look. Dawson-Moore’s job helps the actors become more defined, creating a sharper and more defined character. “It makes the actors easier to see, like from the audience I think especially the further you are away. If you have blush to accentuate the cheeks and eyeliner to make the eyes pop out more, you can really like, see how defined the features are which makes the actors more visible from offstage,” Dawson-Moore said.

Makeup is also a way to deepen a character’s identity and deepen the artist’s own identity through the expression of a character’s personality. “I think, like, not just makeup, but costumes and things like that, like, all the things that tie together the extension of the character I think, really, really adds to the story, because it’s what you see before they even say anything, and then it tells you who the character is,” Dawson-Moore said.

Dawson-Moore’s choice to work backstage was a personal decision made out of her deep appreciation for fashion and makeup and a deep understanding of oneself. “…And I’ve always found makeup to be like a really fun form of self-expression and an extension of myself, but actually pursuing it in school theater was moreso out of convenience at the time, like when I first made the transition,” Dawson-Moore said.

Theater productions are a way for Dawson Moore to express herself and help within a theater community.