At Imprology, we often use masks in improvisational theatre training. Full masks help to practice grounding, neutrality, and minimalism. Half masks help with vitality, abandonment, voice, physical expression, and characters.
Our fascination with masks in improv goes back to the dawn of time. In recent history, Jacques Lecoq and Keith Johnstone, among others, revived the tradition in both training and performance (see genesis for details). Playing with masks is a lot of fun and creates a sense of increased safety and danger all at once. Since introducing masks in our improv training, we've seen our students progressing faster towards creative freedom and shared pleasure. We use a set of Larval and a (modified) set of character masks from Strangeface in our teaching. We also us a set of half masks built by Imprology's founder, Remy Bertrand.
