“These mask have not quite resolved into human features and so the level of play is big, simple and uncomplicated”
– Jacques Lecoq
Larval masks originate from Basel, Switzerland in the 1960s. They are large, simplified masks that have only one or two major features – a nose or cheeks – and rather small eyes, like faces in the state of becoming The mask enlarges, shapes and clarifies the actor’s play whilst clarifying the dramatic themes engaged, cutting out all unnecessary business. Building off neutrality the actor begins to navigate space and physicality in exercises and improvisations that help to simplify and amplify gestures in a step towards building characters without a mask.