Did you ever watch those scary movies growing up with the original monster characters? There was Dracula, Frankenstein, the Mummy and, of course, the brain-eating zombies.
Wouldn’t you get terrified not from the suspenseful music that would loudly play during a scary scene, but of the monster’s overall appearance being dramatically played out by the actor?
Makeup, alongside costume, is what makes a character come to life. It is essential to the aesthetic, and at UTRGV, students can practice their makeup skills in the Makeup course taught by Jennifer Saxton, head of theatre production and costume lab manager.
This year, makeup students will be able to put their knowledge and artistry to work by creating zombies for the Zombie Walk Food Drive that will take place on Tuesday.
Makeup student and theatre senior Victoria Diaz described her inspiration for enrolling in the course as a way to be well rounded in her field of work.
“As an actress, you kind of have to know how to do your makeup, because although there is a makeup artist present, they’re just there to make sure you’re on the right track, not so much to be there to do your makeup, Diaz said. “It’s more of being educated and learning all parts of theater.”
She expressed excitement for the event and the food drive, believing that the zombie makeup brings its own touch of fun to the cause.
Theatre performance junior Abigail Alvarez had her first experience with makeup when she was in middle school.
“Well, I first got into makeup in middle school when I was in my prime,” Alvarez said with laugh. “No, no, when I peaked, I saw a bunch of girls with makeup and I tried out my own makeup. I started with mascara.”
Her goal is to be a theater performance professor.
Alvarez enjoys the class because of the techniques it teaches for on-stage makeup.
“When I’m doing theater makeup, I have to think of how it will look on stage,” she said. “When I look in the mirror, I want it to look good, so I’ll try my best, but also efficient and quick, because in theater, you’re always going to be timed before you perform, and you have to do your own makeup.”
The course welcomes other students besides theatre majors.
Mass communication and broadcasting senior Francine Perez took the course in order to clear her elective requirement.
Despite that, she said learning makeup and having the different experience has been her favorite course, so far.
“I like everything about it,” Perez said. “I love the theatre people. The theatre people are so funny. They’re awesome people and the makeup itself is fun. This is, like, my favorite class I’ve ever taken.”
She said the difficulty in makeup for her is getting the colors just right, and she overcomes those obstacles with practice.
“Doing different colors, I can never mix the colors correctly, and the contour in my face is kind of chubby, so it’s hard to find my bone structure,” Perez said. “You just have to keep trying.”
Another makeup student without a concentration in theatre is junior Jade Perez, who is a video game design art major.
She described the zombie creative process as a design that students had to create, and then choose which of them they liked the most.
Makeup helps her major, as it sparks creativity in her character development.
“I’ve always had an interest in makeup, and the fact that you can be someone different with makeup, but I also like the fact that I can take this and incorporate it into my design for video games,” Jade Perez said. “I can have it come to life on my face and on the screen.”
She believes that art is freedom of expression, and aspires to learn from the best.
“Not generally to be the best, but to learn from the best, and be able to grow in that sense and match up to some of the people I look up to,” she said.
If you would like to get your monster on, stop by Tuesday from 12:15 to 1:15 p.m. in the ELABS Studio Theatre.
Donate five food cans to receive zombie face painting, and for two more extra cans, you may enter the Z-Nation raffle.
With Halloween around the corner, don’t be afraid to get spooky with a sinister zombie look!
