Applying the face make-up for Tuong (classical drama) performers is really an art itself, describing the personality of the characters in the drama. Watching the actors and actresses on the stage in their Tuong costumes, particularly their specific face make-up, the audience can guess what roles they will perform.

The colours for face make-up are mostly white, red, green and black, each used for one specific character. For example, a white face represents a calm and handsome man; a red face for the intelligent and courageous; a striped face for the ugly and hot-tempered; a black-striped face with a red line on his temples for the treacherous and hot-tempered, or with black stripes on a red or green base for the strong and brave; a mould-gray face for the smooth talkers and a ploughshare-shaped face for the unfaithful and poor-spirited.

However the two most remarkable types of face make-up are white and striped faces, which express the beauty of actions, not appearance, in Tuong performance. The white face represents both the loyal and disloyal characters, such as Dich Thanh and Hua Hon Van (loyal), and La Bo and Ly Thong (disloyal), and the same as the striped face for the loyal (Luu Khanh and Truong Phi) and disloyal (Ta On Dinh, Xich Bao) characters.

So, face make-up represents the beauty of the national aesthetics. The artist uses colours to draw his face, except the area around his eyes, because the soul and mood of the character is always reflected through the performer's eyes. Researchers in Tuong art said this practice originates from the wearing of masks in the old days.

Tuong artists do their own make-up, hence to some extent they are painters and their personal characteristics influence their face make-up. Tuong is considered as an art having a highly symbolic and conventional value that is fully expressed through face make-up.

Merited Artist Bich Tan from the Central Tuong Theatre who often acts the role of Ho Nguyet Co in the play "A Fox Incarnated into Ho Nguyet Co" said: "When doing face make-up, I pay much attention to my eyes. Ho Nguyet Co is a fox, and with a miracle from a gem it becomes a beautiful girl. Her eyes express her mood. Normally the eyes are so keen, but they become so passionate and full of love when she fells in love with Tiet Giao."

Actress Kieu Oanh who plays the roles of the wife and husband in the play "Old Husband Carries His Young Wife to the Festival", said: "Performing these roles is very difficult because of the way the actress must walk and perform the facial expressions. So the face make-up requires great attention to detail during application."

In such classic roles as Guangong or the generals, face make-up requires sophisticated work, particularly for the eyes and the eyebrows. Merited Artist Han Van Tinh who performs the role of the king in the play "Phung Nghi Dinh" said: “It takes me two hours to do the face make-up for the roles of the king and lords. The Tuong artist has to do the job of a painter when drawing his face with lines or changing his face’s colour complexion to darker or brighter one”.

It is quite difficult to train a Tuong performer and much more difficult to train those who can do the face make-up for themselves. Such ability of the artists is very important because it helps to enhance the performance and enthral the audience.

nbsp;Story: Bich Van

Photos: An Thanh Dat – Phuong Hoa