Hair & Wigs for the Stage: Step by Step (Hardcover)

by Rosemarie Swinfield (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
How do actors remove their wigs without messing them up? How do they set their hair for a 50s production? What if they only have two seconds between acts to apply a mustache? Author Rosemarie Swinfield has the answers to all these costuming dilemmas and more. In this complete guide, she provides foolproof techniques for creating distinctive period hair styles for stage and screen.

Whether working with real hair or a variety of wigs and false pieces, you will learn how to work with colorants, create beards and mustaches, change hairlines, and apply ringlets, eyelashes and toupees. Most importantly, Swinfield's step-by-step guidance ensures that every style will remain secure and complete throughout the production.

Period styles include Elizabethan, 17th and 18th Centuries, Victorian and Edwardian, 1920s through 1970s and more.

About the Author
Rosemarie Swinfield is a makeup designer of international standing. Her credits include Les Miserables, Shadowlands and The Clandestine Marriage. Currently, she runs makeup training at the London Academy of Music and Drama. She lives in London, England.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 128 pages
• Publisher: Betterway Books (September 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1558705139
• ISBN-13: 978-1558705135
• Product Dimensions: 10.2 x 7.8 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,277,501 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Hair and wigs for the stage, January 24, 2001

By A Customer

The photos are remedial and the contents are not appropriate for anyone past high school or community theatre. I teach on the University level and this book was of NO use to me in a teaching environment. I think that it is a book that is good for enjoying different styles and looking at techniques, but it is not up to the standard of other books on the same subject.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Just right for High School productions, February 21, 2006

By	Maureen L. Maher-gray "Amatuer CostumeDesigner" (Spokane, WA, USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I got this book at the library for a recent HS production of a 1900's melodrama. The school had student volunteers to do the hairstyles of the girls in the show. The students (who had no experience with historical hairdos prior) loved the book with the steps to make the Gibson girl updo.It even inpsired me to create a modern day adaptation of the hair rat used back then (think nylon knee hi and plastic sacks!). The students (even the boys) enjoyed looking through the book at the various styles. I am going to buy a copy for the Drama Teacher to have on hand for future productions.

4.0 out of 5 stars has some good info, March 25, 2009

By	C. URen (Berkeley, CA USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I've found it very difficult to find books on this subject. While this book isn't perfect in terms of really re-creating authentic period styles (note cheap looking, super-white wig on the cover; real 18th-century powdered hair tended to be grayish) it does have some great tips, and there are lots of photos to show you what to do, and what tools to buy. With the help of this book I made a perfect Gibson-Girl era updo, and turned a cheap mid-length wig into a pretty authentic looking 18th-century gentleman's wig (p. 65). It looked much better than the pre-styled costume wigs you can buy. (Tip: fat ribbon really helps.) I would definitely combine this book with your own research using contemporary images, but it's not a bad place to start, and for those of us who don't know many hairdressing/makeup techniques, it's valuable.