Kerry Roucoulet is a senior Theater Arts major, with the unusual focus of Makeup/Hair Design. Her dream is to work on makeup for the entertainment industry, for either movies or television. Even a casual observer can tell that Roucoulet has a true knack for the art, simply by looking at her skillful everyday use of makeup. The Clock: How did you first become interested in makeup design? Kerry Roucoulet: I don’t know. Ever since I was a little girl I was kind of fascinated with hair and makeup and I was interested in the entertainment business. I did makeup on myself and my friends. My dad always told me he would pay for me to go to cosmetology school and help me start my own salon. I kind of laughed at him because I knew that wasn’t what I wanted to do. I was a Theater major my freshman year here, and decided that they (theater and makeup) kind of go hand in hand, and then I just made a conscious effort to follow that. Clock: What productions have you worked on here at PSC, with makeup design? KR: I’ve done makeup for A Little Night Music, The Secret Garden, Godspell, several other productions, too. I can’t really think of them all right now. I’ve taken the Stage Make-up class. This year I took a 3-D Makeup class with a guy named Bill Murray who was awesome. We learned how to do prosthetic pieces and a lot of three-dimensional makeup, which was really fascinating. And that’s really all I’ve done with makeup for plays here at PSC. Clock: How do you go about getting ready to work on a production? KR: Looking at a design you might want to work with. You need to look at the character, and what the character is going to need to provide a realistic look for who they’re trying to play. You need to look at what types of makeup you want, or wigs, or hairpieces, or hats, or decorations for your face or hair. You need to make sure that the actors can provide this makeup or the Costume Shop. Whether I write any of my plans down, it depends on the show and the costume designer I’m working with. Some people want things written down and want face plans done. Other people are pretty laid back, and don’t necessarily care, and trust my judgment. I actually haven’t dealt with any big makeup shows here; it’s all been pretty basic. So, I haven’t really had time to expand on all that. Clock: As a makeup artist, whom do you work the most closely with in a production? KR: Costume Designers, and that’s pretty much it. Sometimes a Costume Designer has a specific idea of what they want, and other times they want me to figure it out. It all depends on the costume designer and the directors. Sometimes they want to try something and the first night of dress rehearsal we’ll try whatever they want done, and if they don’t like it then we alter it. If it’s too heavy on the makeup, then we lessen it. If it’s not enough, because Hanaway Stage is very large and sometimes makeup just gets drawn out, you can’t even see it, you need to increase the lines and do it a lot heavier. Clock: Out of all the productions you’ve worked on, which one would you call the most challenging? KR: I don’t think any of the shows were challenging. I think it was more—I’ve done a lot with people’s hair, and I don’t think it was the production that was difficult, but maybe the people that I was working with. Doing hair and makeup you work with different canvases (the face) and different textures of hair, and it’s really difficult to get certain types of hair to do certain things. So, I have to say that it wasn’t any of the shows that have been challenging, but the people that I’ve worked with in the past. Clock: Do you have a favorite production that you’ve worked on? KR: Godspell was probably my most favorite, because the cast, the people that I was working with were a lot of fun, and outgoing. They were thankful for what I did. They appreciated what I did, and sometimes you don’t get that, which is really hard, being on the other side of acting. All the design crew works really hard, and sometimes you’re not always appreciated. But Godspell, the cast was really awesome and they were a lot of fun. Clock: Have you found it hard to work within the Theater Arts major on just makeup? KR: Yes, because they don’t have enough of it. Makeup isn’t a big focus here. Our theater program is amazing, and what they do is fabulous, and I love it. I wish they had more makeup. This year they tried, helping me with bringing in Bill Murray, who was an awesome teacher. I learned so much from him. I had never done any theater before I came to Plymouth State, absolutely nothing. So it’s actually been an incredible learning experience, because I’ve learned a little bit in every field of theater here, through my teachers and my classes. With my makeup focus, I plan to further my education in that area. Clock: Given how the Theater Department has responded to your interest in makeup, do you think PSC will continue to develop this focus area of Theater? KR: They’ve seen how much I desire and love it. I think that in the future that they’re going to see that other people are going to be into it too. Right now it’s tough, because we’re going through some transitions with professors and teachers who teach makeup. I don’t really know what’s going to happen, it’s kind of up in the air. I think they should expand on it, because makeup is everywhere. It’s in the media no matter where you look, whether it’s a magazine, a play, Disney World, Mardi Gras, movies, television—everything. I think they have such awesome programs for everything else in the theater business, maybe makeup might be something they want to think about. Clock: Do you work with other aspects of Theater besides makeup design? KR: I actually had my first real experience with acting this year. In September, I was in Crimes of the Heart. I played Chick, who was a Southern bitch, and it was so much fun. I really wish that I had gotten into acting a lot earlier. I took Acting I and II with Beth Cox, and she’s just awesome. I had so much fun with her doing it, but now I graduate in May, and it’s too late to be in any shows. I kind of regret that. Clock: What are your plans for after you graduate? KR: I’m taking workshop classes in Manchester at a place called the Chris Institute of Makeup Artistry. There I’ll learn more makeup skills and problems that you come along as a makeup artist. I’ll learn makeup not just for entertainment, but bridal and prom. I’ll do celebrity look-a-like makeup, and all kinds of things like that. Then a year from this summer I’m going to Joe Blasco, which is an extensive makeup school in Orlando, Florida. It’s a three-month program, and you learn everything from what you see in a magazine to makeup like in Planet of the Apes and heavy three-dimensional makeup. After that, I’ll probably stay in Florida for a while and do something down there, because makeup’s just everywhere in the industry.