Manuella Halligan: make-up is like painting, and wigs are like sculptures

It is no coincidence that Manuela Halligan’s original description of her professional artisanry comes from the fact that, since 2015, she has been designing the make-up and wigs for the characters in the dramatic plays and operas of the avant-garde director Robert Wilson. The work of this theatre magician is characterised by a sculptural quality, infinite precision, and mise-en-scène arranged like paintings. Halligan is the wig and make-up artist for Dorian and the opera Turandot in Lithuania and many otherWilson productions.

In September, the professional, who lives between Germany, France and Brazil, visited the National Kaunas Drama Theatre and gave masterclasses to Lithuanian theatre make-up artists. The visit was a great opportunity to discuss her interesting creative journey.

You have been working with Robert Wilson for almost 10 years. When did you meet? Did you know him before that? Were you interested in his work?

When I was studying make-up, I visited a friend who was a make-up artist and worked at the Berliner Ensemblein Berlin. At the time, Robert Wilson was often producing plays there. I saw a part of his performance on stage; it was The Flight across the Ocean (German: Der Ozeanflug) in 1998.  I remember going up to the balcony, looking down at the stage, and saying: “Wow”, and I felt that I wanted to work with him. Life went on. I started my career as a make-up artist in the theatre, and in 2014, I received a call from the costume designer Julia von Leliwa, who invited me to participate in the production of Pushkin’s Fairy Tales by R. Wilson. It premiered on 16 June 2015 at the Theatre of Nations in Moscow, Russia. In this production, there were many characters, and we had the space to use all kinds of theatrical costumes and unconventional wigs. The make-up of the characters was very meticulous and precise, and the result was excellent. After that, Robert asked me to work on Einstein on the Beach, which was performed in South Korea, and in 2016, on Garrincha in Brazil.  I designed hair and make-up for the latter. That is how our journey started.

Wilson’s precision and attention to detail are legendary. For example, sitting at the back of a 500-seat theatre, he will ask for the dust to be wiped off an actor’s eyelashes, and will not resume the rehearsal until it has been done properly. How do you manage to realise the director’s ideas?

Yes, Wilson is extremely precise, as he sees the smallest nuances of light, the folds of a curtain, everything down to the smallest of details. In my eyes, he is a unique, multi-talented person able to combine many different beautiful components. I remember his installation exhibition Here Elsewhere (Hermès Maison and Robert Wilson) in New York in 2016. He chose the light, he arranged the furniture in an interesting way: some things were standing, some things were hanging, and he made it all work together in a way that was very interesting and aesthetically pleasing.

And how do we work? Sometimes the director draws a sketch and says: “Manu, try this!”. Working with Robert Wilson is like sculpting, as you are always modelling something. My usual working process includes being asked to design hair and make-up for a planned performance. Then, together with the costume designer, we exchange design ideas. From the moment I know about the upcoming piece, I focus visually on things, paintings, silhouettes, and colours that might fit the subject, the look. Then I start drawing the make-up for each character. One drawing for a basic face design takes at least a day, then I start working on variations. The preparation is very intense and detailed, and that helps me a lot to realise and match Bob’s ideas during the rehearsal process.

I think it is very great that the director always thanks you for your work and co-creation, like Robert always does. He wants all the departments of the theatre to work together, to feel important, and to contribute to the result. The whole is extremely important – if the costumes or the make-up are not great, the overall picture will not be excellent.

Continuing on the topic of make-up, I am curious, how do you manage to create individual make-up and wigs for the dozens of characters in the play? How long does it take?

Since I am a painter, I design and sketch the wigs and the make-up (as described earlier), and then hand them over to the theatre’s make-up staff. It requires skill to put on the wigs, which are made by hand on a very fine, thin, and transparent tulle. During the first fitting, I demonstrate and explain how to make up the actor, how to put on the wig, how to integrate the actor’s own hair, and how to achieve the designed silhouette.

During the rehearsal process, I watch how the make-up is coming along, I help and demonstrate. Working with Wilson, make-up and wigs are created before rehearsals start and are used throughout the rehearsal period. When rehearsals begin, I watch them with the director and make adjustments. Sometimes he will ask for the eyes to be more open and expressive, or for the shape of the wig hair to be corrected. It is very important to emphasise that the director’s production always uses wigs: there is no natural hairlook. We use natural hair, as well as the actors’ own hair, but Bob is mostly against it looking natural. Usually, I have to model a silhouette that perfectly supports the character or reflects the scene or play.

The make-up is almost always in the style of mime theatre or silent film make-up: white faces and bright eyes. Throughout the rehearsal process, I have a toolbox with me, so I go on stage to clean up and adjust some things, so we can assess together whether it is better and whether I am going in the right direction. These moments remind me of working on a film set. I enjoy that.

Does your film experience help you in your theatre work?

I would say that combining theatre and film make-up is helpful. I can adapt film techniques – make-up products in mini containers and looking into the film camera during the close-up: whether the hair is falling properly, whether the face is shiny, and whether it is not too pale, etc. I would like to emphasise that the choice of wigs is particularly careful. We always either make a customised wig or hairpiece for a particular actor or organise a handmade wig from stock. In both cases, there is a fitting with the actor, and afterwards, we adjust the wig and possibly knot it in certain places before the actors and actresses are filmed or perform on stage. You know, when the video cameras are filming the scenes of a performance from very close up, you should not be able to see any tulle, lines or any hair sticking out. The same goes for photography. I really like Wilson’s insistence on doing the job exceptionally well. He sets a very high standard, which resonates with me, a person who always wants to do the job perfectly. The actor must look perfect from a few steps back, just as he or she must look perfect from the first, tenth or last row. The audience deserves it. This effect uses the special techniques mentioned above: white faces and bright eyes, transitions from white to black or from white to dark blue, shading, bronzers and blushes, eyeliner and a narrow lip effect.

It is a long process. For example, the make-up of Dorian takes about 2 hours. Actors must be patient. And so must you.

The actors who work with Wilson know that make-up is very important and come to the make-up room 1.5 to 2 hours before the rehearsal. If the make-up artist is working on two actors for the performance, the first one has to arrive 3 hours before and the second 1.5 hours before.

In the same way, you have to arrive early before the performance. You know, what Wilson does is so unique that the actors rarely resist. Even they love that after 1.5 hours they get to wear such special, beautiful looks. Some even experience melancholy when it comes to removing the make-up afterwards. When I see the result and the audience rising from their seats and applauding incessantly, it is immensely satisfying. As The New York Times wrote, Wilson is the greatest visionary in theatre. Of course, he is also a multi-talented artist. In the theatre, he creates different kinds of performances: a mono-play, an opera or a drama, a musical. His work is different, and he always maintains an extremely high standard and sets high standards for himself.

You are leaving after a premiere in Italy, Greece, or Spain. Before that, you must pass on, teach, introduce the technique of each make-up style to the local theatre staff. A very responsible task, is it not?

I enjoy working in a team and sharing knowledge, creating something new. It is only difficult when the person I am working with is not talented or gets bored instead of enjoying the process. But mostly, there is an exchange. In Düsseldorf, we had three Dorians: Dainius Svobonas, Mantas Zemleckas, and Christian Friedel, who, unlike in Kaunas, performs alone. I met Monika Bertulė, the make-up artist of the National Kaunas Drama Theatre, at the D’haus theatre in Düsseldorf, and I taught her the make-up technique for this play and how to work with wigs within a week, because I could not come to the premiere in Kaunas. The work is usually intense. I usually start at 8 or 9in the morning and finish at midnight. I must prepare the make-up and the wigs. I like this stage.

This autumn, R. Wilson’s Turandot returns to the Lithuanian National Opera and Ballet Theatre.  Puccini’s Turandot is a grand opera, with many soloists, chorus, and other characters. Please introduce the make-up and wig-making for this event. What was special about it?

Turandot is a fairy tale set in China and tells the story about the cold, indomitable princess Turandot and Calaf, who falls in love with her. I had the chance to work again with the wonderful costume designer Jacques Reynaud. In his concept, historical silhouettes and lines were preserved and beautifully mixed with extraordinary fabrics and various hats. A real challenge was fixing these hats to the male singers’ heads, so they could jump and dance without losing them. It was great creating all the different hairstyles for the chorus. I researched traditional and historical Chinese hairstyles, and we created many hairpieces and made wigs and half wigs of extraordinary shapes. I also loved Turandot’s transformation. During the break, I had the idea of changing Turandot’s make-up from a beautiful but unapproachable and cold expression to a lovelier one, by changing the shape of the eyebrows and tiny things in the eye make-up and colour intensities. And it worked!

The whole conversation has been about theatre, but I do not want to miss your other love – cinema. What works would you single out from your extensive collection of film make-up?

One recent film that has been on cinema screens is Nikolaj Arcel’s The Promised Land, starring Mads Mikkelsen. Excellent work. It was shot in the beautiful nature of Jutland, Denmark, in Prague (the Czech Republic) and its surroundings, and a small part in Germany.

The film is full of historical hairstyles, make-up, and costumes. It was a great team, a lot of work, and it required everyone’s theatrical make-up skills. You know, it is also a big job to bring out the beauty and the features of the face in the subtlest of ways. Sometimes, it is the small details that come into play: combed eyebrows, bold lips, and eyes brightened by a few glued-on eyelashes. Even small strokes can create an impressive effect when the right light accentuates it. Light is very important in cinema. A young woman can look like a centenarian in bad lighting. That is a separate art.

I worked on the Netflix series The Empress about Empress Sisi. This work itself is avery pleasant memory. I had to use all my skills while doing the make-up for the actress who played the Emperor’s mother. I worked with strands of hair, natural hair, not just wigs. In cinema, all the departments are incredibly involved: the sewing room, the costume designers, and the make-up artists. Audiences cannot even imagine how many people work hard to create a spectacular cinematic result.

In September 2024, you were invited to give make-up masterclasses for make-up artists from Lithuanian theatres at the National Kaunas Drama Theatre. Do you often receive such requests?

Yes, I receive requests for make-up or wig-making classes, but there is always a lack of time. With a great make-up artist and a friend from Oslo, we are planning a thematic training course on make-up, hairstyles, and wigs. The course in Kaunas was very pleasant; the make-up artists were highly engaged in the process and asked many questions.

Do you have time for yourself, for your hobbies, or do you spend all your time on theatre stages and cinema sets?

Now I lead a somewhat more peaceful life. I try to prioritise my life: I enjoy painting, playing the guitar and singing, gardening, sewing clothes, and reading. I am learning Portuguese and French. Sometimes I get frustrated that there are only24 hours in a day. There are many things in life I want to try and places I want to see.

Latest movies and TV series include The Promised Land (dir. Nikolaj Arcel, 2022), The Queen’s Gambit (dir. Scott Frank, 2019), The Empress (2021), Munich: The Edge of War (dir. Christian Schwochow, 2021).

By Jolanta Garnytė-Jadkauskienė