What is a MOOC? It’s a an acronym that stands for “Massive Open Online Course” with the goal of reaching a global audience who would not otherwise be able to access the resources of the hosting institution. At last finishing an almost two year process led by my colleague, Prof. Sarah M. Oliver and in partnership with U-Ms Center for Academic Innovation, we launched a MOOC in March entitled, Equitable Stage Makeup & Hair.
For far too long traditional modes of teaching theatrical makeup within university training programs have privileged the global minority. Historically, mass media and the cosmetics industry have defined beauty norms by featuring lighter skin tones and smoother hair textures. Our goal was to disrupt these norms and model the best, most inclusive practices we want to see in the industry. This project ensures all School of Music, Theatre & Dance (SMTD) musical theatre, opera, dance, and theatre students are learning the makeup and hair skills necessary to thrive in the profession while uplifting the widest possible range of identities. We created a series of online theatrical makeup modules that train our students and performers not only how to apply makeup in the dressing room, but guide them through the process of how to adjust and refine makeup for all skin and hair types regardless of the scale or venue. The result is a more equitable and unified way to teach stage makeup and hair preparation for all design and performance majors at SMTD, and because the course is completely free to access in the United States, it reaches an audience that serves the wider public and performing arts industry as a whole.
At U-M, outside of the traditional classroom setting, each year we teach hundreds of students in our production shops, fitting rooms, and collaborations on stage as part of our nine-show curricular season produced by University Productions. As part of our curriculum we offered a course in stage makeup that only had the capacity to reach eight to ten students each time it was taught and in no way began to address the hundreds of performance students that require training during a production season.
In 2022, colleague Professor Sarah M. Oliver secured a Faculty Development Fund through U-M’s Center for Research on Learning and Teaching (CRLT) to begin the research and development of these modules. Guest wig and makeup designer, Jerrilyn Lanier of Bridging the Gap, offered a day of workshops that spring with students that were recorded to pilot how to develop asynchronous learning modules. Over the summer, U-M’s Center for Academic Innovation approved this course for further development as a MOOC with the ultimate goal of reaching a global community of learners, including high schools and community theatres, in addition to exponentially increasing access to our current performance and production majors in a “choose your own adventure” structure that allows students to tailor their learning to the skills they need at the time. That fall I secured additional funding through U-M’s Arts Initiative to hire alumni, guest artists and students to join the MOOC as instructors and models, and to provide critical “testimonials” throughout the course.
Filming began in March 2023, continuing throughout the year. That summer I developed most of the Module 2 content- focusing in skull anatomy and color theory. In the fall and following winter Sarah developed all of the practice guides built off of dozens of hours of video demonstrations. After organizing the guests, I developed the quizzes, and as we approached a launch date in March 2024, together we ensured we had completed all the components on our detailed outline. Our partnership with CAI was critical as they provided a dedicated media designer as well as instructional specialists.
Just after we launched, Sarah & I showcased the MOOC at a booth at USITT’s national conference and stage expo. All the feedback so far is universally supportive and theatre educators are grateful to have this resource at their fingertips. Check it out & spread the word! https://www.coursera.org/learn/equitable-stage-makeup-and-hair
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