ONNE Weber is shivering in
the woods above Maple Ridge.

By Martin Millerchip
Contributing Writer

It’s the middle of December, it’s freezing
cold, the actors are huddled by propane heaters
and Weber has to worry about keeping her
make]up warm enough to use. The life of a film

’ makeup artist has little to do with glamor.

Weber loves every minute.

- “I had three years’ experience at the time.
Your nerves are going, the adrenaline is going.
Myself, I like that.

“If somebody puts me on the spot, if the
director or unit head is waiting for me, you get.
all nervous but that’s part of the rush. It’s really
rewarding for me.”

Weber is describing her experiences on the set
of the action flick Crying Freeman and what she
recalls as one of her bigger makeup challenges.

“They had filmed the end ofa fight scene and
this guy had cuts.in a certain way, dribbles of
blood down his chest already established.

“I was on the second unit and four weeks

b

later we start filming the beginning of the fight
scene and had to get to the same point, match-
ing cach cut and dribble perfectly.”

Playing with blood spatters is a long way from
working as a secretary in Abbotsford after grow-
ing up in the tiny farming community of
Deroche, 15 km cast of Mission. Weber says the
career shift was one of pure chance.

She knew she wanted a career change but had
no spxcific ideas when she responded to a John
Casablancas (modeling agency) advertisement.

She ended up taking five months of makeup
classes at Blanche MacDonald Institute and
Agency “because I liked what they offered and
the way they presented it.”

Weber says she knew she had made the right
choice almost the minute she arrived, acknowl-
edging “I was onc of those people growing up
who was always playing with makeup and hair
and experimenting.”

By pure chance Weber did her first student
film after only four makeup classes.

“T had no idea what to expect,” she laughs.

Tt turned out to be Mark Sawers’ film Stroke,
which ultimately went to the Cannes Film
Festival.

“That’s typical of this whole business. You
never know what is going to be asked of you.”

cit

Wednesday, November 6, 1996 — North Shore News ~ 18

1

NEWS photo Cindy Goodman

MAKEUP artist Yvonne Weber examines one of her creations for the new Canadian play Spook. Weber never wears her finished product,
preferring the actors to inhabit the spirit of the mask. “I treat them like my kids. My place is to create you and take care of you.”

After graduating, Weber moved into town
and “took every job I was offered” for the expe-
rience. Commercials, music videos and film call-

outs, including Final Cut with Sam Elliot, cul-.

minated in a nine-month stint with Showboat as
Cloris Leachman’s makeup artist.

Weber has obvious affection for Leachman,
whom she describes as having “huge heart,” but
says the star was also one of her more difficult
subjects.

“She had all this wonderful energy and it
became a job and a halfto get the makeup on her
some days. She'd arrive 15 minutes before cur-
tain, and the wig girl, the wardrobe girl and
myself would have five minutes to do what, in a
perfect world, should take 20.”

Weber left Showbout one month before it
closed to work on the mini-series Titanic, which
hits the local airwaves this week.

“T jumped one ship for another boat,” giggles
Weber. “Working nine months in the theatre was
great, but I really started missing film and TV.”

Nevertheless, Weber enjoys her work in the-
atre and the option of seeing her creative designs
at work the same night.

She has just designed the cerily discomforting
masks and makeup for the Magic Owl produc-
tion of Barry Levy’s new play Spook.

und

GALLERIES *

The script examines Canada’s complicity in
the Vietnam War. through the nightmarish flash- "
backs of one of the thousands of Canadian vol-
unteers. [t’s not the first time she has designed .
masks and she hopes to do: more sculpting,
describing the process as “almost meditative.”

Weber would one day like to study wooden
mask carving on Bali,

Presently though, she is beginning to teach
others what she has learned along the way. Weber
is currently running an cight-week course. at
Capilano College in basic makeup and will be’ -
giving three workshops in aging and latex pros- -
thetics at the upcoming Theatre B.C.’s Backstage
G6 weekend of workshops. .
~ Asked if she has any makeup tips for the aver-
age reader, Weber laughs again.

“Te's rare that you put your own makeup on
before you go to work at four in the morning for
a5 a.m. call! 5

“Generally, less is better. The fashion maga-
zines steer you so far off. No matter what kind of
face shape you have there is always something
beautiful there. There is so much beauty in
everybody’s face.”

For ticket information about Spook call 205-
3000, For workshop registration at Backstage ’96 -
call 602-9595.

Creative Gifts, juried sale of
original art and craft work
from B.C. artists, Nov. 27 to
Dec. |, opening preview for

town
listings

SEYMOUR Art Galiery
holds a reception this
evening from 7 to 9 p.m.
tor Deep Cove artist,
poet and playwright
David Maclean, highlight-
ing the launch of
Maclean’s play The
Sound cf Whaies in book
form. Maclean’s artwork
is on display to Nov. 24.

NEWS photo Terry Peters

Ferry Building Gallery:
Artist’s: Evening Lecture and
Discussion, second Tuesday
of every exhibition, meet

artists, discuss © art-related
issues, 7 p.m., $2 includes
tefreshments. Info: 925-7266.
Silk Purse Arts Centre:
Graphite drawings by artist
Keith Broad, Nov. 5-17.
Warercolors by Bowen Island
artist Mary Farris, Nov. 19-

Dec. 2. Craft Show, V1 a.m.-5,

p.m., Dec. 3-8, Dec. 10-15.
Info: 925-7292.

Seymour Art Gallery: Abour
Face, paintings and drawings
by Deep Cove artist and play-
wright David Maclean, open-
ing reception is Nov. ‘6, 7-9
p.m., exhibition continues to
Nov. 24. Cornucopia of

members and their guests is
Nov. 27, 7-9 p.m. 924-1378,
West Vancouver Museum
and Archives: West
Vancouver Collects! Exhib-
ition includes Coast Salish
baskets, West Vancouver Girl:
Guides’ mementos, and a sec-
tion on “modern” office tech-
nology (turn of the century to
the Second World War). Info:
925-7295.
Dundarave Cafe: Elementals,
West Coast wind and weather
landscapes in watercolors by
artist Ingrid Taylor, exhibition
Tuns to Nov. 23, artist's recep-
tion is Nov. 6, 5-6 p.m., every-
one welcome. Info: 922-8696.
The End Cafe: Mixed media

7 See more page 16 |