Cheap Shots

All the world’s a stage… and so is the Oregon State University Memorial Union Quad this summer. Personally, I love shooting theater productions and I spend a lot of my personal time shooting them for friends who are actors and directors. Over the last few years I have been around the theatrical world a lot and I enjoy it because the productions, when well done, have so many beautiful photographic opportunities. The really good directors layer the action on the stage, making dynamic photographs easy to accomplish. Of course, having an eye for these things as a photographer really helps too.

For this year’s Bard in the Quad series, I shot the Sunday rehearsal for the Entertainer section and went back out on Tuesday as a favor to my friends involved in the show. Sunday was the first dress rehearsal with costumes but no makeup. Tuesday was the whole kit ‘n kaboodle with costumes, makeup and so forth. What I saw was strikingly different because the makeup made a world of difference. This production of Shakespeare’s “Twelfth Night” is done in the style of Commedia dell’Arte, an Italian Renaissance form with heavy makeup. You can see Nancy Raskauskas’ story on the show on the Gazette-Times web site here.

What a difference some makeup makes. Here are some similar images from the two nights to really show how dramatic the makeup can be. Hope you enjoy.

Viola and Orsino before

Viola and Orsino after

Malvolio and Olivia before

Malvolio and Olivia after

Conspirers before

Conspirers after

Sir Andrew before

Sir Andrew after

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