The art of theatrical makeup has been an integral component of performances for centuries. In some instances, the makeup primarily compensates for the effects of harsh stage lighting and ensures that actors’ features will be visible throughout the theater. But in other productions, such as the Vero Beach Theatre Guild production of “Cats” this past summer, dramatic makeup is a critical element of the performance itself.
Rob Volsky was the man behind the designs for that musical’s spectacular Jellicle cats, as well as many other VBTG productions. To demonstrate the process as we spoke, he created a half-beauty, half-zombie effect on the lovely Katheryne Nix, while explaining the complex process of special effects makeup.
The zombie look was the sort of Halloween-themed makeup application he will be teaching during a four-hour Fantasy Character Makeup workshop on Oct. 26 at the Theatre Guild, the first of several workshops offered throughout the year.
Volsky, who earned a master’s in arts/theater arts at California State University Long Beach, began drawing faces at an early age, recalling being awarded extra credit in a seventh-grade history class by sketching the faces of all the U. S. presidents.
After college, he became creative director at the Westmore Academy of Cosmetic Arts, preparing others to become makeup artists for film, television and theater. After moving to Florida in 1992 he continued to consult and teach those skills, while also working for the U.S. Postal Service, from which he retired.
“My chosen nonprofit volunteer activity in the community is to help here in the Vero Beach Theatre Guild,” says Volsky. He has won several Genie Awards, the VBTG equivalent of a Tony Award, as both a performer and a makeup designer. He also assists with productions at the Vero Beach Opera, local high schools and other area community theaters.
Volsky begins the extensive process with a portrait-style photograph of the actor and, after concept discussions with the director and other designers, researches specific references for the characters in productions elsewhere.
“‘Cats,’ for example, has been done in so many different ways over the years and yet it has several characters that have a signature look,” Volsky explains.
“Victoria, the white cat, is always white. And so her makeup has to be very white, but I wanted her also to be very beautiful. Hers is regarded as an avant-garde makeup; it’s high fashion, with a cutting-edge use of line, color and shape. Hopefully, when she sees herself in the mirror, she sees the fulfillment of the classic Victoria and is inspired to perform to the utmost of her ability. This is what makeup can do – change a person’s spiritual energy.”
With photograph in hand, his creative control comes into play, as he utilizes image editing software to render and make changes to his design.
“That saves a lot of time in experimenting with the colors. I can design the makeup and make it my own before I get there. It’s important to understand that the finished product has to be executable,” Volsky explains.
It may take several iterations on the actor before the director gives final approval and even then, tweaks can be made even after the first performance.
“The artistic process is, by nature, flexible and evolutionary,” says Volsky, who next trains the actors to apply their own makeup.
“Many of the actors really love the process of putting on their own makeup and evolving their designs as part of the performance. Many actually came up with better designs than I did for their characters, because they had studied them out specifically and were personally invested in those characters,” says Volsky, noting that performers often come in several hours early to work on their makeup, socialize and get their creative juices flowing.
Other signature makeup projects he has worked on at VBTG include the musicals “Beauty and the Beast” and “Shrek,” where, thanks to his connections, he was fortunate to obtain a professionally made Shrek head from a touring company.
With “Beauty and the Beast,” because of the transition from beast to prince, he explains, “I had to create two duplicate masks so that the actors could switch places during a smoke cover effect to make the transition.”
Referencing the half-beauty and half-zombie effect he was creating on Nix, he shares that while both utilize color theory, blending and sculpture, the beauty side is actually more difficult as it requires subtleties to meet expectations. On the creative side, he can let his imagination run wild, because there is no expectation of what it’s supposed to look like.
“I think that’s why young people love it so much, because it’s a very engaging art process,” says Volsky. “She has a beautiful face for the beauty makeup and it makes a really nice contrast. A lot of young people like to do the half and half.”
“The eyeball is pretty fantastic,” says Nix of the prosthetic eye Volsky had created out of Knox gelatin which he formed over a ball. “It’s hard to believe it’s not my real eye. I can see his paintbrush going over it.”
Volsky says he tends to use generic cream-based and water-based makeups that are easily available and affordable.
“Some of the modern pigments are very refined to create a very sheer but opaque coverage, but none of the $20 foundations are any better than the $8 ones that we use in the theater. For theater, you’re at least 20 or 50 feet away from the actors. The basic colors and blending don’t have to be as refined as they have to be for close-up photographs.”
He has lately been practicing techniques with materials used by Cosplay, costume creators, including Worbla, a moldable, plasticized material that can be heated and form-fitted to different shapes such as the Japanese headpiece he created for Prince Yamadori in a Vero Beach Opera production of Madama Butterfly.
“People ask actors and designers, ‘What’s your favorite show?’ And I think my go-to answer for that is, ‘The last one I did.’ Because I don’t create a preconception of how it’s going to be. As it evolves it becomes more and more engaging.”
The Fantasy Character Makeup Workshop runs from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 26, at the Vero Beach Theatre Guild. For more information, call 772-562-8300 or visit verobeachtheatreguild.com.
