Theatrical makeup is makeup that is used to assist in creating the appearance of the characters that actors portray during a theater production.
An actor having face makeup applied
Oresteia by Aeschylus, adapted by Stairwell Theater, 2019
Marcus Stewart wears face make-up in Oresteia by Aeschylus, adapted by Stairwell Theater, 2019
Applied makeup to the lips and cheeks assisting in the conveyance of emotion.
Blackface is the practice of non-black performers using burnt cork or theatrical makeup to portray a caricature of black people on stage or in entertainment.
This reproduction of a 1900 William H. West minstrel show poster, originally published by the Strobridge Lithographing Company, shows the transformation from a person of European descent to a caricature of a dark-skinned person of African descent.
FLIT advertisement by Dr. Seuss depicting blackface-styled caricatures of Black people
The white American actor John McCullough as Othello, 1878
Carrie Swain in blackface as Topsy in Uncle Tom's Cabin.