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CIRCUS COSTUMES and MAKE-UP  Submitted by Heidi Herriott Koch on   4/22/2009 Last Modified CIRCUS   COSTUMES &  MAKE-UP By Heidi Herriott - Koch Introduction by Jessica Hentoff: Heidi Herriott - Koch comes from one of the premiere families in the American Circus. Heidi is best known as an aerialist, circus dressage rider and ringmistress but has also  performed a number of other circus acts. She has worked venues from the biggest buildings to the smallest tents and everywhere in between.   Heidi --- as well as all members of the esteemed Herriott family--- always looked impeccable in the ring. Heidi offers tips and observations gleaned from years of working in the circus. This is a woman who knows what she is talking about in regards to effective make-up and costuming for circus. As a youth circus director, I can not stress enough that how you look really matters. Your physical appearance is the first thing people see when you step into the circus ring  It really is true that you never get a second chance to make a first impression. At the Circus Harmony Center, we have rules in place that reflect what you would find on a real circus. Heidi touches on some of these rules in her article. Although not all ---or even most--- amateur youth circus performers go pro, it is still a good  idea to know the proper rules of circus etiquette and to look professional at all times. Follow Heidi's advice and you will look and act like the circus star you aspire to be! Jessica Hentoff Circus Harmony St. Louis, MO We start with the premise that when people come to the circus, not only do they want to be entertained, they also want to be transported into a fairy tale of sorts.  Circus people in the spangled costumes, theatrical makeup, presentation, talent and beauty.  It should all have somewhat of a magical quality.  Here we will address makeup and costumes. ...     The beautiful costumes created by Cheryl Lindley from the Sophia Isadora Academy of Circus Arts in San Diego, CA .     Circus make up styles have evolved through the years with improvements in the lighting. Left: Trapeze Star Jennie Rooney in 1934 Right: Aerialist Dolly Jacobs on Ringling in 1983 . This 1982 photo of the "Spec" on Ringling Bros. Barnum & Bailey Circus shows the lavish wardrobe, worth thousands of dollars that went into the show. . Circus makeup A person performing in a circus (at least professional) should make every effort to create the fairy tale.  Makeup for ladies should be of stage quality.  The goal with our makeup is to enhance our looks, and correct areas that we might like to improve upon (i.e. small lips, squinty eyes, large or pointed nose).  If performing in an arena, a heavier makeup is necessary as the distance and lighting will wash out a face with light makeup.  That being said, it is also important for makeup to be age appropriate.  A girl or teenager should not wear as much makeup as an adult.  You can achieve a great stage makeup without looking like an overdone young woman trying to look older.  That is not the goal.  The goal is to look your age while enhancing your attributes.  Good judgment is essential here! . . . Great care should go into applying make-up to acheive the look you want. .     Face painting is a fairly new make-up trend in circus.  However it was used at least 40 years ago as shown in this (left) photo of Dagmar Pedrola. Right, a young lady from Sailor Circus shows the 2009 version! . Almost all circus women wear eye liner, various shades of eye makeup, eye liner, heavy base makeup, somewhat exaggerated blusher (use caution here!  must be applied well!  a second opinion from fellow performers is generally in order), and red color lipstick.  Many ladies like to wear heavy makeup and then apply a light color lip.  It may look fine up close or in the mirror, but when in the ring, the face looks distorted because there is an outline (from a distance) or everything but the lips.  At the very least, a deep color is in order.  Many circus ladies also opt to wear false eyelashes (not recommended for girls), and add glitter or rhinestones, particularly to their eyes and lips.  This can be a very nice addition to a well applied makeup, but do use caution.  Again, heavy eye makeup needs to open up the eyes, not create small slits from a distance.  . Make-up should perhaps be kept at a minimum if your circus act includes being kissed by a lion!     This is Ada Smieya on Ringling Bros. Barnum & Bailey Circus in 1965. . . . The make-up and costume styles of many of todays youth circuses are clearly influenced by Cirque Du Soleil.  This is Maria from Circus Juventas helping a younger performer with her make-up. . This elaborate mask & costumes was created by Cheryl Lindley, Director of the Sophia Isadora Academy of Circus Arts.  Photo by Darin Basile. . Even at Sailor Circus, the new style of face painting has become popular. This is Norma Fox, retired trapeze great, and Erika at the recent Sailor Circus 60th Anniversary Gala.   This make-up was not used in the show itself, only for the special event. . One thing that many young ladies like to do for their regular makeup is to line the inside of their eyelids.  This is a nice makeup technique for 'street' makeup but does NOT work for circus/theatrical makeup.  From a distance it actually closes up the eye which is the opposite of what we are trying to achieve.  A better technique with eye line, particularly below the eye is to line a little lower than right against the lashes.  In the ring, this helps to open up the eye and create a very nice look.  The same is true with a lip liner.  Try applying the lip liner (a lighter color eyebrow pencil works well for this also!) just outside of the lips, especially if you have smaller lips.  Then apply your color inside.  This is a very effective technique for creating a lovely mouth to accompany the rest of the face.  When applying base makeup, there are many choices.  For the circus makeup, you may want to use a color just a little darker than your skin color.  A very good way to test a color is to use the inside of your wrist.  While younger performers tend to want to skip a base makeup, it should definitely be used.  Try experimenting with and without it and you will no doubt see a big difference.  Overall it is fun and good practice to experiment with your makeup.  Find someone whose makeup you like, not just up close, but also when they are in the ring under the lights.  Then ask them to assist you.  Circus ladies have fun with their makeup and you should to! . Circus costumes are also called "wardrobe". Here is the Wardrobe room at Sailor Circus .    Creating and maintaing circus wardrobe can be like a full time job. Dedicated volunteers like these two ladies from Sailor Circus deserve a lot of credit for their work. .     Featured Circus aerialists often enter the ring wearing lavish capes, feathered head-peices, and skirts.   These are gracefully removed before their act begins. Left: Norma Fox, "La Norma" in the early 1960's  Her "skirt" was dropped as she made her way up to the trapeze bar. Right:   Angela Martin on the Hanneford Circus in 2009. . Circus Costumes This is an area circus people take VERY seriously.  Most circus people make their own costumes and a great deal of time and money are invested in costumes.  Here are some general etiquette rules about costumes.  Do NOT sit in costume, eat in costume, do any chores or rigging in costume, put on makeup in costume, or where there any more than necessary.  There are some cases where you may have to do some of these things while in costume, and every circus performer has a robe or some type of cover-up.  .    Professional circus performers (left) Crystal and (right) Cathalina. cover and protect their wardobe before they enter the ring, and while doing other jobs around the circus just before showtime. . Professional circus people consider their costume a VERY important part of their act so they protect them always, and also do not want to 'spoil' the fairy tale by being seen in their costume before their act.  The biggest don't for professional circus people is to be out in front of the public/audience in costume without a cover up.  I have seen many wonderful amateur and youth circuses with fantastic energetic performers and what separates their shows out from the pro's more than anything I can think of is how they run around, hang out in, and even sit in the audience in their costumes.  Some youth circus performers tend to have a VERY casual attitude about their costumes.   .     Left:  Marion Cristiani atop the elephant, was one of the most creative and resourceful circus wardrobe makers of all time. Photo was taken in 1969. Right: This 1959 photo shows her daughter Vickie in one of Marion's costume creations. . There are many fine youth circuses that do not have the funding or resources to have circus style costumes.   They still give very well done performances with circus t-shirts and gym shorts. This is the Berkshire Children's Circus in Pittsfield, MA. . Circus Hairdo's I want to touch also on circus hairdo's or head coverings.  This ties it all together.  You may have a very nice makeup, lovely costume but your stringy hair hanging down ruins the whole effect.  Most youth and amateur circuses do not wear wigs or hair pieces which is fine.  You can however, create some hairclips, bows, pieces to match your costumes that tie everything together.  At the very least a well created pony tail, bun, or long hair clipped back in some fashion would be perfectly fine.  Most accessory stores (Claires) have wonderful little rhinestone clips and even some fun hairpieces that work well.    To sum it all up, it is important to create an entire look and allow the audience to enjoy this fantasyland we call the CIRCUS.  All of these elements above must be done together to create a professional circus appearance worthy of your wonderful performance.  You will feel and look great and will no doubt perform better!    May all your days be circus days! Heidi Herriott Looking the very best that you can not only makes you look good, but it reflects on your entire show!   A very special THANKS to Rachel from Circus Juventas for creating the idea for this article.       Email This Resource   Copyright © 1999-2010 Circus Fans Association of America and Authors. For more information view our  Copyright Policy & Privacy Policy .

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