The make-up performance at Damians Dressing Table aims to provide the audience with a (stylized) insight into the intimacy of the performers dressing room. For the performer the make-up performance is meant to stay connected to their own body and the (objects on) the table whilst transitioning into the drag persona Damian and preparing for the drag performance. It should also aid in establishing intimacy with the audience.
The make-up preparations consist of five distinct steps: putting on the tablecloth, combing and styling the hair, “shaving”, applying and fixing face paint (Fig. 1.) and putting on fake jewellery.
The design challenge was to strengthen somaesthetic design elements in these steps to create the connections described above. How one executes the steps (e.g. pace, movements, interaction) may either support or disrupt the somaesthetic qualities embedded in the design.
Method
The performance was designed over nine iterative rounds. Every round was recorded on video and analysed (Fig. 2.). Some observations concerned practicalities such as workflow, sound quality and preparation. Others pertained to movements of head and hands and their tempo or emphasis. Interactions with the objects evolved to make them more essential or fluent. Modifications were made in the transitions between steps. Here conscious breathing and non-functional movements provided closure.
Outcomes
The handling of the objects evolved into gentle, slow and step-wise interactions. These types of interactions create attention, care, calm, intimacy and meaning (Lenz, Diefenbach, and Hassenzahl 2013). The final performance was a natural looking routine. It was engaging and relaxing for the performer. It provided some surprising interactions for the audience to watch. This was highlighted by the set-up: a camera was placed above the table and provided a live stream of the interactions from the perspective of the performer (Fig. 3.).
Looking back the performance would have gained naturalness and ease if it was practised more often. This would have made it more embodied for the performer thus contributing to its expressiveness.
References
Lenz, Eva, Sarah Diefenbach, and Marc Hassenzahl. 2013. “Exploring Relationships between Interaction Attributes and Experience.” Proceedings of the 6th International Conference on Designing Pleasurable Products and Interfaces, DPPI 2013, 126–35. https://doi.org/10.1145/2513506.2513520.