Body Shame & Transfiguration
by: peterson toscano
Fri Feb 06, 2009 at 16:15:59 PM EST
http://pamshouseblend.com/showDiary.do?diaryId=9380I will prepare all day for this evening's performance of Transfigurations--Transgressing Gender in the Bible. In addition to the internal prep (running lines, envisioning each character, etc) I have external work to do. I need to iron all the costumes and scarves. I then need to work on a physical transformation--plucking eyebrows, shaving off all my hair from my face to my waist (a substantial job for this Italian-American), stretching out so that I am limber enough to do some of dance-like moves I need to do for a few of the characters, warming up my voice, and finally applying my make-up. pre-show Transfigurations (Cape Town)
Playing multiple genders requires that I need to reshape my face as well as my body. Through make-up, I soften my eyes, make my eyebrows longer, and hollow out my cheeks. The goal is to create a gender mix in my look. As my main character states several times, Not male, not female, something in the middle or all together different.
