Working as a Freelance MUA - Theatre.

Working in the theatre is the best training ground for any aspiring makeup artist. It is a fast paced, unforgiving environment. If a wig isn’t secured properly or a makeup applied in time then it can be a really big problem - the show won’t wait! You’ll be amongst the first crew members in the theatre in the afternoon and one of the last to leave at the end of the night. Rinse and repeat for 8 performances throughout the week with only one day off so the hours are long.

For a west end production you can expect to work in a designated area, setting and resetting wigs, applying them to the actors. Most actors in any given production will apply their own makeup but you may have to apply specialist makeup like prosthetics or bald caps. Moreover, you need to know the products in your kit and know the actors skin - especially with prosthetics as you don’t want to cause breakouts or irritation.

Working on a tour you will have to set up and take down the wig department in each venue, only staying in a place for a few weeks or less. This presents a whole other set of challenges; you may have to find your own accommodation in each location and manage a budget for it.

Theatres can be dangerous places and ensuring you know your way around the venue (or each venue) is essential. Some very old theatres are akin to rabbit warrens backstage, with tight corridors and steep steps. Equipping yourself with a small headlamp can make your life easier when it comes to stage side changes as the wings are mostly dark.

A big part of working in theatre is designing the characters. This involves breaking down the script and creating hair and makeup designs for each principle character and the ensemble. Professional casts are usually fairly small (27% of companies have casts smaller than 30 since the 2000’s) whilst amateur companies can have anywhere from 1 to over to 40. You will have to take into account the number of characters and how complicated the designs are, whether you have the budget for it and whether you have the time to apply it with or without help!

But working in the theatre provides a chance to really hone and further your skills, especially with wigs! Valuable skills to take forth into other areas of makeup artistry.

• Solari, L., Pilcher, M., & Phillips, A. (2021). Discussions with Delamar: Bridgerton. Lecture, Zoom.

• Make-up artist job profile | Prospects.ac.uk. (2020). Retrieved 10 April 2021, from https://www.prospects.ac.uk/job-profiles/make-up-artist

• Davenport, K. (2011). Cast Size [Blog]. Retrieved from https://www.theproducersperspective.com/my_weblog/tag/cast-size