Every evening, Wilmington daily commercial., 1921-05-27
Revival of the Mask.
ny Frederic ]. HaslSir

New York May s1.--Onc of the most
notable features Of this years theatrical
season, now drawing TO a close. has been
The revival Of masks upon the stage.
The season has been an exceptional ono,
containing many surprises and thrills,
hut nothing more sensational than the
moment when the American dancer,
Margaret severn. paused in the MIDST
az the Greenwich Village Follies and
t.ok OF her face-a beautiful, panied
fac. that had seemed unqestionably
10 belong tn her. After that, the audi
ence was prepared for anything, and
Miss severn did not disappoint 1t. She
nut on and took off whole series OF
oonvincing faces.
The new masks are the work OF the
wen known artist, w. t. Benda. They
have nothing in common with the KIND
affected by highwaymen, nor yet those
worn by department store Santa Claus
"a. but draw their inspiration from the
early DAYS of the race when the mask
was an important factor in the religious
ritual. IL Is to be assumed that the race
has forgotten those weird. ancient GER
emonies Cerainly. the twentieth CEN
tury is a far cry from the days when
men danced around the temples of
heather gods disguised in the grotesque
masks OF secret religious societies. Yet
the new Renda masks arouse a curious
thrill as of something strange and yet
familiar
TO John Murray Anderson belongs
the distinction of bringing back to the
stage this oldest of dramatic features
Anderson Is a member of that group of
theater radicals. led by Rhinehardt and
Gordon craig. who have rebelled against
the Photographic realism of the present
day thoater and are going back to the
primitive for their inspiration. He first
saw the Benda masks when they were
worn by Margaret severn in a panto-
mime produced last spripg az the New
York Coffee House Club. He was inn
mediately impressed with their great
artistic value. and decided that the Fol-
iics should feature them.
Mr.. Benda's part in the revival of the
mask. while important, was purely ac-
cidentnl
Il was forced AZ the last moment to
make a paper mask TO wear TO a mas
aucradc ball" he explained when ques-
toned concerning his discovery. 1T
served well and for days lay around my
studio Then thought of preserving
Il in more permanent form. and began
itshioning il out 81 cardboard. The
work had i strange fascination. which
FraW until mask making became a sort
IL hobby with me. a thousand dollars
WOULD not cover the cost Of time. study.
sNil and hbor l put into each mask.
iut theirs is an hypnotic charm. as the
early Greeks discovered.
Matchmaking an Art.
a. may be imagined from this ex-
ilanation each of the Benda masks is
real work OF art. The artist spends
weeks IN fashioning one head of card
hoard and paper. often lining the inter-
iur with gold leaf and carefully paint
ing the exterior. First, he makes a
ssetch 81 the face on cardboard. Then
b. cuts out the features and adjusts
them. rounding the cheeks. filling out
deprcssions with bits Of paper. and
building up his effects like a sculptor
with clay. The result is a face which
when ready for painting. looks much
like a human face after emerging from
major plastic operation. There is
usually a small slit for the eyeI. which
are painted on II in the most realistic
fashion. Small strips OF paper, painted
dark brown form the eyelashes. The
nustrils are well slit, also, TO permit