Word Etymology - Mask

As a young man I remember seeing Jeff McBride perform on different magic specials that were on TV and thinking he was the most amazing magician I had ever seen. His magic was very well performed but what stuck out most was the originality of his show. He not only did tricks, he performed rituals. He involved not only sleight of hand and clever contraptions to make his magic but also unique things like miming, music, dance, the one thing that intrigues me even still to this day... his masks. He had an act where he changed and multiplied masks, but the masks also had a character of their own that was both beautiful and haunting.

The word mask is a hard word to trace because scholars disagree on its exact origins, but we do know that it comes from the Middle French 'masque,' the Italian 'maschera,' and the Middle Latin 'masca' (some scholars suggest the word mask has its origins in the Arabic word 'maskhara' meaning "buffoon" but this is not certain). The Latin word 'masca' is my favorite because of the dark connotation that it suggests in its meaning "mask, specter, nightmare." It has a scary quality that reminds me of Halloween (my second favorite Holiday) masks.

What it means to Storytelling: We as storytellers have an unlimited array of tools and items that we may incorporate into our tellings and I think that the mask is one that we may discount too quickly. A mask not only hides an identity or persona, it can also create a new one for the performer. Masks can also add a mysterious and macabre element to a story if used properly and create an entirely different feeling for the audience. In fact the most eerie an unsettling performance I ever saw was a Christian Illusionist performing one of his acts and portraying Satan in a plain white emotionless mask. The thing that was so eerie was that the mask displayed no emotion which was very powerful in that moment. If I can find a clip of it I will put a link on here to it cause no matter what your religious views are I think you will appreciate the performance. Until then take a break and enjoy some of Jeff McBride's famous Masks and Magic show that is linked below (also see if you can note a change in his character when he goes from one mask color to another):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KWDSiiEQCNc