LibGuides: PCA 250: Masks of Transformation (Meaden): Welcome!

Performing and Visual Arts Librarian

Sarah Ward

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Subjects: Arts & Design, Arts Administration, Dance, Music, Theatre

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Welcome!

Welcome to the LibGuide for the Perspectives in The Creative Arts section:

"Masks of Transformation"

This guide is meant to help you develop the skills and tools to accomplish your course objective and goals:

To develop cognitive and affective appreciation for the process and products of artistic creation.
To participate actively in the creation of an artistic product.
To reflect on the nature and sources of aesthetic value.
To develop habits of participation in artistic and cultural events that will lead to lifelong engagement within the creative arts.

This course will introduce the students to masking traditions, exercise their research and design skills, explore different mask building methods, and experience mask performance techniques. Consideration will be given to understanding the creation of masks that are both appropriate to the needs of actor and character, and visually supportive of the performance genre. Students will develop creative capacities through construction of, and performance in masks. Students will gain a broader understanding and appreciation of cultural and theatrical masking through research, observation, and participation of mask activities.

The library (and your librarian) are here to help you! Use us early and often!

Resources to Think About

Many of the books below are on course reserve for your class and can be checked out from the InfoCommons Desk in the library directly. In addition, your professor has supplied a bibliography of readings and references to complement your syllabus and help get you started in your research! These items can be searched in the online library catalog and are either held by Butler or can be requested through InterLibrary Loan!

Course Reserves Search

(by Course Name "PCA 250 TH" or by Instructor "Meaden")

PCA250 Masks Bibliography (Thank you, Dr. Meaden!)

Mask Characterization by Libby Appel
Call Number: PN2071.M37 A6 1982 (eBook and print!)
ISBN: 0585128782
Publication Date: 1982-01-01
This book describes, defines, and discusses the mask characterization process, providing the theory behind the exercises and the step-by-step procedure in the organic development of the character from the masks. The manual is divided into two parts: "The Instructor's Guide" and "The Actor's Guide." .
Masks by John W. Nunley; Cara McCarty; John Emigh; Lesley K. Ferris
Call Number: OVERSIZE GN419.5 .N85 1999
ISBN: 0810943794
Publication Date: 1999-10-01
From Palaeothic times to the present, people have used masks to add power and mystery to religious rituals, warfare and entertainment. This companion volume to the 1999-2000 exhibtion at The Saint Louis Museum of Art provides a cultural history of these artefacts.
Playing Commedia by Barry Grantham
Call Number: PQ4155 .G73 2000 (eBook and Print!)
ISBN: 1854594664
Publication Date: 2000-01-01
A practical guide to the skills, characters and history of Commedia Dell'Arte through graded games and illustrated exercises - a useful tool in any actor's training and a discipline for all forms of physical theatre. Chapters include: * Warm-Up Games * Mime and Movement Games * Word Games * Using Face Masks * The Legacy of Commedia dell'Arte, a chapter looking at the individual Masks or characters in the traditional Commedia dell'Arte.
The Cambridge Guide to Asian Theatre by James R. Brandon (Editor); Martin Banham (Editor)
Call Number: PN2860 .C35 1993
ISBN: 9780521416238
Publication Date: 1993-10-14
A comprehensive and authoritative single-volume reference work on the theatre arts of Asia-Oceania. Nine expert scholars provide entries on performance in twenty countries from Pakistan in the west, through India and Southeast Asia to China, Japan and Korea in the east. An introductory pan-Asian essay explores basic themes - they include ritual, dance, puppetry, training, performance and masks. The national entries concentrate on the historical development of theatre in each country, followed by entries on the major theatre forms, and articles on playwrights, actors and directors. The entries are accompanied by rare photographs and helpful reading lists.
Beijing Opera Costumes by Alexandra B. Bonds
Call Number: GT1555 .B66 2008
ISBN: 9780824829568
Publication Date: 2008-04-01
Focusing on the costumes of Beijing opera, this comprehensive volume provides both theory and analysis of the costumes and the method of selection for the roles as well as technical information on embroidery, patterns and construction.
Mask Makers and Their Craft by Deborah Bell
Call Number: PN2071.M37 B45 2010
ISBN: 9780786443994
Publication Date: 2010-09-10
Profiling 30 mask makers from around the world, this book explores the motivations and challenges of contemporary artists working to bring the traditional methods and conventions of mask making to an evolving global theatre. There are 181 photographs--including two sections of color plates--of mask makers and their works illustrate how the mythic iconography of masks is used in the modern fields of dance, mime, theatre, and storytelling.Topics include the ways in which mask artists and performers maintain a sense of universality despite varying local customs; the legacies of Italian mask makers Amleto and Donato Sartori and of the California-based Dell'Arte International School of Physical Theatre; and the ways in which traditional approaches in mask artistry continue to influence commercial mask performance ventures in film, on Broadway, and in touring companies.
The Prop Builder's Mask-Making Handbook by Thurston James
Call Number: TT898 .J36 1990
ISBN: 1558701672
Publication Date: 2003-01-01
Offers a brief history of masks, and provides step-by-step instructions in nontechnical language on how to make masks in the tradition of the commedia dell'arte.
In scæna : il teatro di Roma antica = the theater in ancient Rome by Nicola Savarese 1945-
Call Number: PA6073 .I583 2007
ISBN: 8837053355
Publication Date: 2007
Exhibition held October 3, 2007-February 17, 2008, Roma, Colosseo.
Thai Puppets and Khon Masks by Natthapatra Chandavij; N. Chandavij; P. Pramualratana
Call Number: PN1978.T5 N36 1998
ISBN: 9748225232
Publication Date: 2006-07-19
The elaborately fashioned and gilded masks worn by dancers performing in the popular Ramayana dance drama are one of the enduring symbols of Thai culture. Since their introduction at the beginning of the Rattanakosin period in the late 18th century, many hundreds of thousands of masks have been produced by skilled craftsmen. Less well-known as an art form, the history of Thai puppetry dates back to as early as the 11th century, with mention being made in inscriptions from north and central Thailand regarding their role as an offering to the gods. This book unites for the first time puppets and masks from some of the finest collections, and will help to make a unique facet of Thai culture more widely known.
History of the Theatre by Oscar Brockett; Franklin Hildy
Call Number: PN2101 .B68 2008
ISBN: 9780205511860
Publication Date: 2007-10-01
Known as the "bible" of theatre history, Brockett and Hildy's History of the Theatre is the most comprehensive and widely used survey of theatre history in the market. This tenth edition continues to provide the most thorough and accurate assessment of theatre history available.

Useful Databases

The Butler Libraries has access to millions of documents through subscriptions to databases, this includes thousands of videos through our streaming databases. Some of the most helpful for your class are listed below with tips on how to search in the description.

General Databases

JSTOR This link opens in a new window
JSTOR provides access to full-text academic electronic journals in various disciplines. It supports Boolean Searching (using AND, OR, and NOT to combine search terms) and has a number of filters to help you refine your search. Check out their help page for more information on searching this database:https://support.jstor.org/hc/en-us/articles/115004701828-Searching-A-Practical-Overview
International Bibliography of Theater and Dance Full Text This link opens in a new window
This Bibliography provides full-text results and is a great place to start theatre-specific research. It is hosted through EBSCO databases which means you can use Boolean operators (AND, OR, and NOT) as well as more advanced searching techniques to search through the hundreds of journals and books they have indexed. EBSCO has a very helpful search guide to keep you from getting too frustrated: https://support.ebsco.com/help/index.php?help_topic_id=50
MLA International Bibliography This link opens in a new window
Produced by the Modern Language Association (MLA), this database provides a subject index for books and articles published on modern languages, literatures, folklore, and linguistics. Not everything is full-text, but it covers a lot of different topics because of how broadly MLA covers the humanities and social sciences. Like the International Bibliography, it is hosted by EBSCO, which has a great searching help page if you get stuck: https://support.ebsco.com/help/index.php?help_topic_id=50

Streaming Databases

AVON - Academic Video Online (Alexander Street Press) This link opens in a new window
You can search AVON with strategic keywords to find both channels and specific videos for different topics. AVON works best if you use a targeted keyword like "mask" or "Noh" or "Commedia Dell'Arte" and then use the filter options to browse by subject, content type, language, and more!
Digital Theatre + This link opens in a new window
This database has full productions, e-learning supplemental videos, workshops, essays, and study guides to get you started. You search it by keyword, but can also browse by genre, form, person and more.
Films on Demand This link opens in a new window
This database allows you to keyword search within both whole video, but also "video segment" -- each video is broken up in smaller chapters, which makes viewing or sharing clips quite easy. Once you search by keyword, you can limit by subject, format, type, and more to find relevant videos.

PCA 250: Masks of Transformation (Meaden)