Education
O
nce you get past the oddly placed disembodied
heads and the more than occasional, highly
realistic monster parts, the classrooms of
University of North Carolina’s School of the
Arts are downright cozy. This month we made the trip
down South to chat with the professors and students of
UNCSA’s Wig and Makeup program to learn more.
The school was founded over 50 years ago with
three conservatories for music, dance, and theater.
Lauren Whitaker, News Services Manager for the
school explained, “In 1968, the School of Design and
Production (commonly called D&P) was established as
the fourth conservatory. Today, D&P is comprised of
costume design and technology; lighting; scenic design
and technology and scene painting; sound design; stage
management, stage properties; and wig and makeup
design.” UNCSA’s Wig and Makeup program is one
of the few comprehensive collegiate level programs in
the US, and many of the country’s top wig and makeup
artists for film and television come from the UNCSA
program.
The program currently has about 48 students between
tTThe program currently has about 48 students between
the graduate and undergraduate programs with classes
running for four hours every weekday. The students
face a rigorous schedule and workload—they work in
conjunction with every other department to make sure
that every show, whether it be dance, opera, theatrical
program, student film, or even local commercial, is fully
kitted out in the departments of hair and makeup. In
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COSMOBIZ SALON NOVEMBER 2015
some cases, such as a recent opera production, students
make or style upwards of 125 wigs.
We spoke with the head of the department, Michael
Meyer, as well as two other faculty members, Christal
Schanes and Holland Berson, to get a feel for what
the program was like. “Normally the wig and makeup
industry is lumped under the umbrella of the costuming
department, if you’re looking at the theatrical aspect,”
Meyers explained. “There are a few programs in the
United States that have stand alone wig and makeup
programs, or wig and makeup departments. One would
be the San Francisco Opera, the MET, the Miami
Opera probably, but normally it is under the costume
department. But if you look in the film industry it is
always a stand alone department. I think it is budgetarily
Wig and Makeup Professors (from L to R) Holland
Berson, Michael Meyer, and Christal Schanes