Roman Masks

Roman Masks

Roman Colosseum

'The Roman Colosseum'

Roman Masks
Roman Masks played an important part in Ancient Roman Plays and the Roman Theatre. An actor's entire head was covered by his mask, which included his hair, so the Roman mask was quite large. The design of the mask was quite simple and they were made from were made cheap materials such as linen or cork. They had big holes for the mouth and the eyes.

The Roman masks, like the Greek masks that they emulated, were used for many reasons:

The masks were large and portrayed exaggerated expressions which could be seen from the back of the theatre so the audience could tell how the character was feeling
The Mask amplified the actor’s voice, making it possible to hear him everywhere in the theatre
The mask easily conveyed emotions to the audience so they knew if a character was happy, sad, upset, tired, or scared
The Tragic mask carried mournful or pained expressions
Comic masks were smiling or leering
- Over time the comedic masks became grotesquely exaggerated
Masks allowed the actors to play multiple parts and roles
- The masks could be personalized for each character
Status and character were easily conveyed
The masks were color coded, brown for men and white for women