$MASKS

Mask is the essence of drama. The act of putting on a false face and becoming 
someone (or something) else for a moment has not been changed by time. The history of 
masks predates the history of drama and dance. Face decoration is at least as old as music 
and has been a part of storytelling since language development began on earth. 
Masks are used by people to communicate with others. Primal humans don animal 
masks or ghost masks and express their world. The 16th-century nobleman revels in the 
commedia dell’arte with its masked characters mocking his lifestyle. A clown strolls down 
the street in a parade able to delight young and old, who accept him as a jovial friend 
because of his clown face. Mask triggers what Coleridge called “willing suspension of 
disbelief” in theatre better than any other device. Chinese audiences recognize immediately 
the characters of lords and warriors whose elaborate, painted-on masks convey a long 
history of cultural tradition.