Timed Assessment- In the Role of Make Up Artist

Before the timed assessment Hayley and I met up and exchanged face charts. We discussed these and went over them so I was sure of what Hayley wanted me to do, before practising the face chart. This practice went well, and was useful to assess if there were going to be any challenges in creating the look. Hayley provided me with a full product list so I could see what I had in my kit and what I needed, and she provided me with anything I did not have at the time that I needed to create the look. On the day of the assessment we went in early to prep the hair and set the curls, but unfortunately I had to go for a tutorial so we could not use that time so the beginning of the timed assessment was a bit rushed as I had to fit in preparing the hair. Hayley had brought in detailed step by step instructions for both the hair and the make up which I found extremely helpful as often under the pressure of a timed assessment I forget little steps along the way, but the list helped me to stay on track.

The two images above are Hayley's chosen final images. She chose to put them in black and white to make them look more historical.

Contemporary Collage

To help us get into the swing of creating contemporary looks, we took images from Friday's timed assessment and used different mediums to turn the images into contemporary designs. As I did my partner Hayley's design, I used one of the images from this shoot.

For this first image I turned the hair into a choppy blonde bob, with black streaks, and gold and green glitter highlights. I gave Hayley a short, choppy fringe to really change the design up and create a different look. I also changed the eyebrow shape into an interesting flicked-out design and made the lips a more orange-red. I like the green glitter in the ends and highlighting the hair, as I feel this is a really contemporary, eye catching feature to change up a look.

 

 

 For this image I used a golden colour on the lashes, as well as a metallic teal on the lips to change the makeup around. I then added a magazine cut out around the eye to draw the focus there, before adding ribbons to the hair to change the texture and colour that was originally there.

 

For this image I went with a red colour theme but kept the modifications simple. I used a cut out from a magazine of the fuffles of the bottom of a dress to create a hair piece, then used a sheer red ribbon to tie the colour and look into the face around the eyes.

Fraulein Kost presentation and Feedback

 In the play Fraulein Kost is indroduced as "Thirty-ish, possibly a whore", in the screenplay she is introduced as "Young, not bad looking, a little heavy and badly dressed" and in Goodbye to Berlin she is described as "A young, florid girl with large silly blue eyes". This gives me a rough idea of the character I would like to portray: a Lady in her mid to late twenties who is a prostitute. To narrow down her character a little I looked at the different types of prostitutes in Weimar Berlin and decided that I believe she is a Foshe- A prostitute who advertises her services in magazines disguised as a masseuse or a manicurist. She works out of Fraulein Schneider's home, meeting her clients at a nearby location or at the door and bringing them in to her room. This explains why she is regularly caught by Fraulein Schneider, and also the fact that she picks up sailors goes along with the idea that they could have seen her advertisement while at see and can subtly arrange to meet with her.

On the left is an image of Marlene Dietrich who was a famous actress in Weimar Berlin. I chose to look at her as many trends and styles among the public originate from famous people of the times. On the right is Jean Harlow who was an American film star at this time. Like Marlene Dietrich, Jean Harlow would have influenced fashion and trends at this time as she was in the public eye, even though she was not a German film star.

The first image on this slide is of a travel brochure advertising Germany which was printed in 1931. The brochure features a woman posing provocatively on the front, which I thought was interesting as it was known among tourists that Berlin in particular was a place of growing sexuality and debauchery. This brought the tourists in because as the country was in a troubling financial state, prostitution was cheap so it was a great place to go for a weekend of indulgence.
The second image is a poster advertising Marlene Dietrich's "Die Blonde Venus" I thought it was interesting to look at this poster and how Marlene Dietrich has been painted- with large curly blonde hair which seems quite different to the bobbed, tight finger waved styles I am more used to seeing. I also thought the makeup and clothing in this poster were interesting to note as it gives an idea of the kind of clothing people found appealing and the kind of beauty ideal in that time.
The third image is a painting by Earl Christy who was an American painter at this time. I really like the texture of the hair in this painting, as well as the flushed cheeks and lipstick.
The final image is a painting by Jean Gabriel Domergue tutled "The Black Widow". I initially thought this painting was from the late 20's/early 30's as a few of his paintings are, and this was interesting to me as it seemed to be quite a different style to both German and American paintings of this era, but put this down to it being a Parisian woman. I now understand it was painted in the 50's which explains why there is such a difference.

The image on the right is of a regular lady in Weimar Berlin. I included this image as I wanted to see images of women who weren't showgirls, but just regular people going about their day to day life. I also chose this image as you can see a side on view of a hairstyle that would've been used in that day.
On the left is an image of Helen Vita who is the woman who plays Fraulein Kost in the 1972 film Cabaret. Helen Vita was a German actress who played in theatres and cabaret through the late 1940s to the 60s. I chose to look at Helen Vita as I thought her background as an actress, as well as her casting in the film, could help me start to think of a look for Fraulein Kost.

This slide features a few images from my Pinterest boards which can be found here and here.

This is my first face chart idea for my Fraulein Kost character. I will build on this with the feedback from my presentation.

Feedback

Face chart:

Use more shades of red in the face

Are the eyebrows round enough?

Experiment with different eye shapes

Play around with lips more- look at Pat McGrath "crushed berry" fade out lips

Red wine stained lips- helps with ageing

Reddening cheeks

Research:

Lots of pictures

What have you picked up from your research?

Interesting that you picked up on the type of prostitute

Think about styling- Kost always wearing a coat to cover her fetishes or services?

To do:

Do more face charts & look back at images and pinpoint what you like from each one

Work on hair ideas

Rehearse makeup & work on ageing the face- what age you want her to look

Talk about products you use

Practicing My Partner's Design

My partner is Hayley Bennett and for the Timed Assessment she is doing Sally Bowles.

Before the timed assessment we met up and I practised the make up look on Hayley so I knew what needed to be done and had a rough estimate of how long it would take. Hayley had provided me with face and hair charts, and as I had practised the hair design before as t was similar to my own design, we didn't feel it was necessary to practice that.

 

 Product List:

• Illamasqua satin primer
• MAC studio fix fluid
• Kryolan Dermacolour concealer
• Illamasqua Disobey blush
• Illamasqua Tremble blush
• Screenface Palette
• Kryolan newurals palette
• MAC eye kohl- Black
• Seventeen Doll'd Up Mascara
• L'oreal Colour Riche #461
• Tear stick

This was the information that I was given before practicing the look. This was really helpful as I could see what products to use where, and could get an idea in my head of how to carry it out.

Overall I think the practice went quite well. I struggle with reshaping brows and lips but I think in the assessment as long as I don't rush them I should be fine.

Stanislavski Character Development- Fraulein Kost

1. Who is the character? (consider age, social background etc)
Fraulein Kost has been described in a few ways across the screenplay, the script and Goodbye to Berlin, but they are all rather similar. In the script for the musical production the script merely describes her as "thirty-ish, possibly a whore" and then later we get a little bit of personality description on page 37 when she sees Herr Schulz in the hallway and "her natural, flirtatious instincts take over". In Goodbye to Berlin, Frl. Kost is described as "a blonde florid girl with large silly blue eyes... She is plump but has a good figure" 
I like to imagine Fraulein Kost as an upbeat, positive thinking woman who knows what she wants and how to get it. I don't think she has come from a particularly bad or disadvantaged background, but I also don't think her family are wealthy as if they were she would be either living with them or they would be providing her some accommodation.

My Fraulein Kost character is going to be in her late twenties, with a rounder face. As I am using myself as a model I am going to use makeup to enhance a few lines in my face to make mydself look slightly older, without going too far and making it look theatrical. After looking at information on-line about different types of prostitutes in Weimar Berlin I believe she is a "Foshe"- an independent prostitute who advertised her services in magazines as a manicurist or masseuse. 

2. Choose the scene you are casting your character in.

·         I am casting my character in Act one: Scene seven from the production script. In this scene we see Fraulein Kost is caught by Fraulein Schneider with a sailor in the living room, coming in from the hallway so is therefore a new 'customer'. Frl. Schneider kicks the soldier out and tells Frl. Kost that she is not allowed any more sailors in her house, but Frl. Kost knows that Frl.Schneider needs her rent money, so manages to convince Frl. Schneider to let her keep having the sailors over, as long as Frl. Schneider doesn't catch her with them.

3. Where is the character? 

·         During this scene Fraulein Kost is in the living room- "The room is furnished with dull and heavy furniture. There is a sofa with an end table. There is also an old gramophone." I imagine this living room to be quite dark with not too much natural light coming in, as there are many doors leading to private rooms, then one to the hallway, so there would not e much room for windows. I think there would be lots of trinkets and souvenirs dotted around which Fraulein Schneider would have received as gifts from her previous lodgers who, she says, were wealthy and generous when she could pick and choose them. Although Fraulein Schneider keeps a clean house, I imagine dust floating around the room, being visible when the sun shines in, and heavy embroidered curtains that have seen better days.

4. When is it?  What is the season? Time of day?

I believe it is late afternoon, as slightly later in the scene Herr Schultz comes in with a gift from the shop to Fraulein Schneider, and I imagine him to have brought this after the close of the work day. This does not really effect Fraulein Kost's clothing as she stays in all day, only occasionally leaving to collect a customer or get some essentials. I believe it is coming into winter so the other characters will probably be quite comfortably dressed, maybe in coats if they are just entering.

5. Where have they just come from?

 Fraulein Kost has just entered from the hallway and is accompanied by a sailor, so I think that she has just met him after he has enquired about one of her 'services' and is bringing him inside, attempting to sneak him past Fraulein Schneider.

6. What does the character want?

         The character wants to make her money and draw as little attention to herself as possible while doing so, she doesn't want to make a scene but she will stand her ground and ensure she gets her way if a dispute occurs.

7. Why does the character want it?

      Fraulein Kost needs money, as does everyone in Fraulein Schneiders house and in fact most of the characters in the play/film/story. She needs to get by somehow and her only way of doing so is by selling her services, and her service is sex. 

8. Why does the character want it now?
Because if she doesn't have money then she can't pay her rent. In this scene she also has to win the argument between her and Fraulein Schneider as she not only needs to be able to work and make money, but she needs to have somewhere to live and make her money.

9. What will happen if the character doesn't get it now?

      If Fraulein Kost does not win the argument between her and Fraulein Schneider then she will lose her customer, her job and eventually her house, so she is very motivated to win this argument and convince Frl. Schneider to work around the sailor situation.·         

10.  Actioning.

      In this scene I would chose the verb manipulate as this is what she does, in a way, to Fraulein Schneider when she brings up the issue of rent to win the argument and get her way. In terms of make up and hair, I will make her look sly and cunning by giving her strong, defined brows. I would like to pose her with a slight smirk and raised eyebrow as she knows exactly what she is doing but still wants to be seen as a friendly, innocent woman. She doesn't want to make any enemies.·  

11.  Score the text

         Throughout the text I would say that Fraulein Kost goes from innocent to quite cunning. When she is first caught by Fraulein Schneider she tries to act innocent by saying that the sailor is her brother. When Fraulein Schneider does not believe her she turns to try and get away with having her way, before figuring out how to manipulate Fraulein Schneider into turning a blind eye.

Scene, Makeup and Hair Break Down

In this scene Fraulein Kost is coming into the living room from the hallway with a Japanese sailor who she has just met with, and is a client of hers. As I picture her to be a "Foshe" (A prostitute who advertises for clients in magazines as a masseuse or manicurist) I think that instead of walking out and picking him up off the street, she has simply met him either at the door or nearby, so is not in a large coat, but instead in a kimono covering a skirt and delicate lace top. Earlier in the script when we first meet Fraulein Kost she is described as "thirty-ish, possibly a whore". She doesn't have many lines and therefore doesn't say much about herself, but I don't believe she is particularly shy about her occupation as she does not deny it, but she doesn't flaunt herself around as a prostitute. She is however rather flirty as is shown later in the script (Act one scene 7, Page 37) where she bumps into Herr Schultz in the hallway and says "You're looking for a Groschen? (meaningfully) I'm looking for two Marks."

Her make up will be minimal- Her brows will be drawn on and she will be wearing lipstick and layered mascara, but I don't think she will be wearing heavy showgirl make up. Her hair will be a bob, with Marcel waves and curls. For my assessment I will create a faux bob as I am using myself as the model.

Hoffmann, H, (1930), JO JO - das Spiel der zwanziger Jahre auf den Strassen Berlins [ONLINE]. Available at: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Bundesarchiv_Bild_146-1985-101-36A,_Berlin,_Jo_Jo-Spiel.jpg [Accessed 05 November 14].

Above is an image of a woman in 1920s-30s Berlin. I chose to look at this photo for a historical reference of the hair. The waved bob with a side parting is hair I would like to recreate for my character design.

Le Segretain, P, (2010), John Galliano- Runway Paris Fashion Week Spring/Summer 2011 [ONLINE]. Available at: http://www.zimbio.com/pictures/nNpPWIMkPaU/John+Galliano+Runway+Paris+Fashion+Week+Spring/EQoB7Eoqx_P [Accessed 05 November 14].

The above image is a contemporary make up look by Pat Mcgrath, inspired by the 1920s. I like the shape and thickness of the eyebrows in this look, and the lip shape. I also like that the lips are not lined and kept in that precise shape, but are blurred slightly. I may use this shape but with a darker colour to make it look almost like a red wine stain.

Dix, O, (Unknown date), Modernes Tanzpaar [ONLINE]. Available at: http://www.merkur-online.de/lokales/weilheim/landkreis/otto-goldenen-zwanziger-544447.html [Accessed 05 November 14].

I have looked at this painting by Otto Dix as I like the shape of the hair of the woman, and find that the way her body is positioned along with her facial expression gives me lots of information about the kind of person she is. I get the feeling this woman is flirty and all for glamour and glitz. The waves can be seen in the hair again, and the pinched lip look also.

Fraulein Kost Hair Ideas

Design 1

This is my first hair design for Fraulein Kost. I want her to have dark blonde hair in all of my designs. This design features a faux bob, with marcel waves in the front, and curls in the back. I want this to be tight to the head to avoid a triangular shape, and also because in a lot of the images I have seen, the hair is often quite flat to the head with waves, finger waves and pin curls.

Practicing Design

 First, using a small curling tong, set the hair. The curls in the front section should be curled in the direction that the hair will go horizontally. Then set the top section of the back of the head with pin curls in different directions to get volume.

 Backcomb the remaining hair and secure in a low ponytail before rolling up underneath and securing with pins.

 Take the pincurls our and brush through lightly before securing underneath the hair 'roll'. If some layers are shorter, these can be left loose.

To create the marcel waves remove the clips from the front sections and brush all the curls together to form one section. Apply some product and push and guide into the wave the hair wants to form. You can then secure the ends underneath the hair at the back.

Design 2

 This was my second design for Fraulein Kost. It features finger waves and pin curls which were techniques often used in the 1920s/30s. This style may look too un-finished though, as in the scene I am looking at she has just met a customer so it is unlikely that her hair would be set. This being said, if the grips aren't visible it could look like a short hair style.

Practicing Design

 First I created the finger curls and left them to set with hair sectioning clips while I curled and pinned the back. I sprayed this with hair spray so that the shape will hopefully stay when the clips are removed.

 I curled the hair with a curling iron before rolling it into the pin curls and securing with hair pins.

 Then I took the clips out of the front to reveal the finger waves. This is the finished look.

I think if I had left the finger waves to set for a bit longer they would have been more flat and effective, and I struggled with concealing the hair pins in the pin curls. I like this look, but don't feel that it is appropriate for the scene I have chosen or for my character.