Allison Lowery - Wig making and styling : a complete guide for theatre & film

Wig Making and Styling

Wig Making and Styling: A Complete Guide for Theatre & Film, Second Edition is the one-stop shop for the knowledge and skills you need to create and style wigs. Covering the basics, from styling tools to creating beards, it ramps up to advanced techniques for making, measuring, coloring, and cutting wigs from any time period. Whether youre a student or a professional, youll find yourself prepared for a career as a skilled wig designer with tips on altering existing wigs, multiple approaches to solving wig-making problems, and industry best practices.

New to this edition:

An extensive reorganization of chapters and improved images throughout makes the process of creating and styling wigs clearer than ever

A chapter on working with hard front wigs and extensions

Additional diagrams for hand stitching and wig knotting, coverage of the latest synthetic fibers and dyes and wig-care practices, and new tutorials on directly-applied facial hair techniques

New historical galleries for both facial hair and historical hairstyles

More diagrams and forms to copy or download from the website: www.focalpress.com/cw/ruskai

Martha Ruskais thirty year career as a freelance wig and makeup artist and designer includes opera, film, print, TV, and dance. When not in the theatre, she can be found at dog shows, agility, and water trials with her Portuguese Water Dogs.

Allison Lowery is the Wig and Makeup Specialist for Texas Performing Arts at the University of Texas Austin and the author of the Historical Wig Styling books. She has previously worked at the Alabama Shakespeare Festival, Utah Shakespeare Festival, the Lyric Opera of Chicago, and Glimmerglass Opera, among many others. She is also an active freelance wig stylist, makeup artist, and wardrobe stylist. Please visit her website at www.thewigmistress.com to keep up with her many projects.

Wig Making and Styling

A Complete Guide for Theatre & Film

Second edition

Martha Ruskai

Allison Lowery

Second edition published 2016 by Focal Press

711 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017

and by Focal Press

2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN

Focal Press is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business

2016 Martha Ruskai and Allison Lowery

The right of Martha Ruskai and Allison Lowery to be identified as the authors of this work has been asserted by them in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers.

Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation without intent to infringe.

First edition published by Focal Press 2010

Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data

Ruskai, Martha.

Wig making and styling : a complete guide for theatre & film / Martha Ruskai, Allison Lowery. -- Second edition.

pages cm

Includes bibliographical references and index.

1. Theatrical wigs. I. Lowery, Allison. II. Title.

PN2069.R87 2015

792.027--dc23

2015004098

ISBN: 978-1-138-81918-4 (hbk)

ISBN: 978-1-315-74476-6 (ebk)

Typeset in Adobe Garamond Pro by

Servis Filmsetting Ltd, Stockport, Cheshire

{ dedication }

This book is dedicated with gratitude to Lenna Kaleva

{ table of contents}

Acknowledgments go out to:

Stephanie Williams Caillabet; the University of Texas Department of Theatre and Dance; Texas Performing Arts, especially the costume shop; Fletcher Opera Institute; the University of North Carolina School of the Arts, especially the Dance Costume Department; the Blanton Museum of Art; the Alabama Shakespeare Festival; Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival and DeSales University; Parkway United Church of Christ; Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center; Linda Pisano, Lara Southerland Berich, Robbie Stanton, Mark Rampmeyer, Jennifer Mooney Bullock, Caitlyn Thomson, Kevin McCullom, and the producing office for West Side Story; Opera Carolina; Bradley M. Look; Amanda French; photographers Tim Babiak, Mark Rutkowski, Will Willner, Lee A. Butz, Steve Davis, Dan Brunson, and Ken Grant; Susan Mickey; James Glavan; Kelly Yurko; Christina Tollefson; Frederic Burleigh; Bill Brewer; Cheryl Thomas; Rita Freimanis; James Allbritten; Sam Flemming; Patricia Mueller; Casey Gallagher; Lisa Higgins; Nancy Dickson; Laura Horowitz; Patricia Wesp; Darren Jinks; all of the performers and models who generously allowed us to use their images and wore their wigs with such panache; Martha and Scott Lowery; Terry Whisenant; Lois Melina; Beth Ruskai; the Wednesday Whistling Women; the TXRD Lonestar Rollergirls; Dragons Lair; and most importantly, the students and alumni who continue to inspire us and teach us, especially Tammy Potts-Merritt, Tera Willis, Kara Meche, Christina Grant, Anna Fugate, Kaylan Paisley, Scott Darby, Sarah Baloche Redding, Sarah Lankenau, Jessica Gambardella, Elisa Solomon, Jessica Mills, Chelsea Bunn, Jenny Valentine, Beauty Thibodeau, Nichole Annis, Sarah Shade, Adam Ulrich, Heather Koslov, Tiffany Knight, Carrie Lynn Rohm, Amanda Ramirez, Ming-yen Ho, Joshua Conyers, Natalie Maynard, Michael Ferguson, Emily Robertson, Kristen Weller, Maur Sophie Sela, Katie Baskerville, and Renee Horner.

Before you can begin your quest to become a wig expert, you must learn some of the basic lingo and assemble the proper tools. In this chapter, we have provided an extensive glossary of hair wig terms. Familiarize yourself with these definitions before beginning to work on your wig-making and wig-styling skills. We will also discuss what tools are essential for wig making and styling and the different types of tools used. We will also go over different types of hairpins and brushes and when to use each, as well as a few basic techniques for handling a wig.

There are many different terms used in wig making and styling. It is really helpful to know these terms before beginning work on your wig. Reading through these terms will help you understand many of the explanations in the rest of this book.

3/4 Wig A type of wig that is meant to sit a few inches back from the wearers hairline. The front of the wearers own hair is then brushed back over the front of the wig in order to conceal the edge and make the wig look natural. 3/4 wigs are usually best if they are a very good color match to the wearers own hair color.

Afro A hairstyle popularized in the 1960s and 1970s. Many African-Americans let their hair grow out in its natural, tightly curled texture. The hair was then picked out with a comb to form a round shape or silhouette.

Alopecia A medical condition that causes the subject to lose their hair; the hair loss can be partial or total.

Figure 1.1 Kristen Weller models an 1880s wig styled by Emily Robertson.