Enhance Your Classroom Experience with Customized Mask Making Workshops

Dear Department Heads and Teachers,

Imagine an engaging and transformative experience for your students, guided by an artist with over 30 years of teaching expertise. My name is Douglas, and I offer customized mask-making workshops that promise to invigorate your classroom and unleash your students’ creativity.

Why Choose My Workshops?

1. Expert Guidance: With three decades of teaching experience, I understand the dynamics of a classroom and how to foster a supportive, exciting learning environment. My workshops are designed to captivate students, encouraging them to explore their imaginations and develop their artistic skills.
2. Customized Lesson Plans: I tailor each workshop to fit your curriculum and the unique needs of your students. Whether you’re exploring cultural history, literature, or theatrical performance, I create lesson plans that align with your educational goals and enhance your teaching objectives.
3. Creative Benefits for Students: Mask making is a powerful artistic process that engages students on multiple levels. It taps into their subconscious mind, fosters creativity, and helps them express complex ideas and emotions. Students gain a deeper understanding of the human condition and learn to tell stories through their creations.
4. Reduced Stress for Educators: Having me in the classroom means you have a dedicated professional handling the artistic and instructional aspects of mask making. This allows you to focus on other responsibilities, reducing your workload and stress while ensuring your students receive high-quality instruction.

Workshop Highlights:

• Historical and Cultural Insights: Students will learn about the rich history of mask making across various cultures, understanding its significance and the materials traditionally used, from wood and clay to modern materials like latex and papier-mâché.
• Hands-On Creativity: Our workshops focus on making masks from papier-mâché, providing a fun and practical activity that students will enjoy. They will have the opportunity to design, create, and decorate their own masks, bringing their ideas to life.
• Engaging and Fun: My workshops are designed to be enjoyable and stimulating, sparking students’ interest and enthusiasm. The hands-on nature of mask making ensures that students remain engaged and invested in the learning process.

What You Gain:

• Enhanced Student Engagement: Students become more involved and enthusiastic about learning through interactive and creative activities.
• Professional Expertise: Benefit from my extensive experience and knowledge, ensuring a high-quality educational experience.
• Stress Reduction: Free up your time and reduce your stress by allowing me to manage the workshop activities, giving you more bandwidth for other tasks.
• Creative Growth: Foster a creative and open-minded classroom environment where students feel empowered to express themselves artistically.

Hiring me to lead your mask-making workshops brings a wealth of benefits to both you and your students. My commitment to providing a fun, exciting, and educational experience ensures that your classroom becomes a vibrant space for creativity and learning. Let’s work together to create memorable and impactful educational experiences that will inspire and transform your students.

Why Papier Maché?

Papier maché is a very accessible material for most of us.  It is a beautiful medium for all levels of artistic expression and skill.  While following our Lesson Plans for papier maché masks, you will learn how to build your mask methodically while exploring your imaginative power within.

What Are the Components of Our Mask-Making Workshops?

Day One:

• The workshop begins with an introduction to our instructors. There follows a discussion about the different kinds of masks. Why do people make masks?  How are masks used?

• Next, we show a few masks we have made to inspire the participants and get them thinking about what kind of a mask they would like to make.

• After that discussion, the group gathers for a mask design envisioning session. This is done with creative drawing or word association exercises.  

• After the group has finished roughing out their mask designs on paper, it’s time to build the mask form.  First, an armature has to be made.  This is the support structure on which the mask is constructed.  

• After the armature is built, it’s time to sculpt the clay mask form. When the clay mask form is completed, the group moves on to the middle phase of the workshop and begins to make the papier maché mask form.  After six layers of papier maché have been laid down onto the mask, the masks are set in front of a fan to 
• allow the papier maché to harden and set more quickly.


Day Two:

• This day starts with removing the dried papier maché mask from the clay form.

• Then comes the
  trimming, and a little more papier maché is applied — finally, the painting of the mask, followed by the hardware installation of the head strapping.
• At the end of the workshop, we set up all the masks and do a “show and tell.”  Then there is a discussion about the experience and the finished masks.


This is an example of a standard workshop.  This one is a two-day mask-making intensive workshop.  It usually consists of two 5 hour sessions over a two-day weekend.

Why Two Days?

It is necessary to have the first night to let the masks dry.  The next day, the dry masks can be worked on and completed by the end of the 10 hours of the workshop. But please note that we can create mask workshops within any time frame, working with schools and any classroom schedules.

How Do I Book Theater Lunaire Mask-Making Workshops?

Mask-Making Workshops are priced according to each client and require a one-on-one consultation to compile information about the workshop requirements before an accurate quote can be given.

Contact Douglas at TheaterLunaire@gmail.com; He will walk you through the booking process.


Types of Workshops Theater Lunaire Offer

We offer custom-made thematic workshops for Schools, tailored to meet the specific needs and curriculum of each educational institution. Here are some key details about our offerings:

1. Grade Levels: Our workshops cater to all grade levels, from Kindergarten through University. Each workshop is customized to align with the school’s curriculum and the teachers’ requirements.
2. Subjects: We integrate mask-making with various subjects, including history, literature, and drama. Our primary goal is to foster creativity, lifelong learning, and curiosity through the art of mask making. We are inclusive and adaptable, working with any skill level and accommodating students with special needs. Our workshops help students build confidence, art skills, interpersonal skills, and a sense of community.
3. Workshop Length: Ideally, we prefer a week-long engagement, working with as many classrooms and students as possible within the school. However, we understand that this isn’t always feasible. We can adapt to any time schedule through collaboration and brainstorming, ensuring a creative solution for every situation.
4. Materials: You provide the venue, basic tools, and students, while we supply all necessary materials for mask making, including a detailed lesson plan.
5. Class Size: We require a minimum of 10 students per class. For classes larger than 30, we will need to hire an additional teacher to assist.
6. Special Themes: We can align our workshops with any theme you require, or we can suggest themes. All our workshops focus on building students’ art skills, confidence, emotional awareness, team building, and interpersonal skills. We aim to provide fun, engaging, and exciting workshops that foster growth. It’s more than just mask making—it’s about building a student’s persona through art.
7. Workshop Goals: The primary goal of our workshops is to foster creativity and provide an interactive, fun, and creative experience for students. We aim to teach life skills, build confidence, and encourage teamwork and personal growth.
8. Evaluation and Feedback: We request feedback and testimonials from teachers to continually improve our workshops and ensure they offer a dynamic and enriching experience.

By choosing Theater Lunaire for your in-school workshops, you are investing in a unique and valuable educational experience that enhances your students’ learning and personal development. Our commitment to creativity and inclusivity ensures that every student can benefit from our engaging and transformative workshops.

TESTIMONIALS:

“I have been fortunate to work with Douglas when we brought him to Saskatchewan to work as an artist in residence with several schools. He worked in collaboration with two artists to explore the topic of identity and the Treaty process. Douglas provided workshops on innovative mask methods and mentored students as they discovered their ideas and explored how to achieve the best effect. Douglas Witt is a master mask maker and a wonderful teacher: patient, kind and thoughtful, inventive, always well prepared and meticulous in his practice.”