Wig Construction

There are many reasons that an actor will wear a wig in theatre:

To give a different hair colour or style that is required for the performance.
For Historical authenticity.

However sometimes the actor will have a wig that appears the same as their own hair. (see photo to right, of Lee Mead in Joseph and the technicolour dreamcoat.)

So the hair and makeup team can have complete control over the look of the actors hair. (he or she can cut or style their hair underneath but the wig will remain the same.
For continuity purposes
to hide the Microphone pack in the back of the head (since he had no shirt on this is a good trick to hide the pack,) and also to hide the microphe reciever in the lace at the front.

Wigs Used in Theatre

3 part foundation Wigs are the cheapest to create and most flexible.

The more parts the wig lace is the more sophisticated and better the fit will be to the actors head.

Caul Net

-Lots more stretch used for making the crown of the wig in Theatre. (good for hiding microphone packs.)

Foundation net less stretchy

-Used for tv,film and theatre.

Get 3 people to do this.

1) To take measurements and notes throughout the process.

2) To wrap the hair and make the template

3) To assist

Before you do anything you must assess the hair.

Dont wet or gel the hair. it must be dry wrapped under the wig.

Step 1

Prepping the hair-

wrap hair to crown

wrap into pin curls, (anchor/salient points)

plait it and wrap to crown

think about style of wig. dow it have a parting?

For lots of heavy hair like Georgia's.

- can split into three sections.

You have to be able to see the persons hair line the whole way around the template. more important thing!

always make a note of how you put the hair up when doing the template. either do little diagrams, make notes or take photos so that whn you put the wig on it fits the same way as the template did.

Step 2

Cling film!

make sure you use 1 big length of cling film not 2 or 3 pieces.

dont selotape the cling film to the wig too tight. - you want to be able to take it on and off easily.

Step 3

Measurements (make sure you note what units you work in. ie. Cm/Inches.)

Measuremensts are not used to make the wig, but to check the fit and measurements after construction.

1) Circumference of the wig.

2) over the head from the hairline from the nape or crease of the neck.

3) Nape width

4)top of ear to corner of the nape.

5) Ear to ear over the top of the head.

6)Ear peak to ear peak, across the hairline

7)Temple to temple across the face.

8) Across the back of the head.

Step 4

Releasing the ears

after this, adjust the template to it fits properly again. usually just tape the excess at the back

Step 5

Marking the hairline

use a sharpie marker. (always have 2 different colours with you incase you make a mistake)

-Mark the centre front

-Mark the circumference

and selotape over markings again.

Step 6

Hair Sampling.

Take 2 colour swatches.

Really short hair - take a razor a grade down from hair cut and can collect small shavings and selotape them to chart.

Longer hair - use a razor to collect a small sample at back of hair. and one sample from the top of head, behind the hairline.

70 % dark colour. 20% top lighter colour.

Blocking out a Lace Front Wig Template

Wigs in Theatre

Taking a Wig Template

The Circumference on the template should fit the block exactly. If it does not fit, you need to change the block. Then you should only have to pad out at the crown of the template.

Step1 - Prepping the block

-It is a good idea to selotape all over the block, so if necessary you can mark it.

-To pad the block, use tissue paper.

- In industry you will always keep a master copy of the template, so you will make copies on the block.

- Draw on the 3 part foundation lines and selotape to seal. (allow for where partings in the wig will be.)

Make sure your lines are even and the left and right sides mirror each other.

Lace front space -

6-8cm on foundation net at centre point of hairline.

At some points the line will only be 3-4 cm from the hairline. So the line is even all the way across the head.

Foundation Net space-

7-8 cm from the lace front line.

keep this one even. 7cm from the nape. it may be about 1cm less under the ear.

Caul Net Space-

Should be draw out in a cirle at the crown of the head.

Step 2 - Constructing Nets

Order of Construction

1) Foundation Net

2) Caul Net

3) Lace Front

Foundation Net

Block the foundation net around the circumference bind. . To do this fold the net in half and note the mid point, unfold it and start by pointing the mid point of the foundation net from the top front. Place points in pairs from front to nape area. the foundation net should overlap to make a central seam at the centre of the nape.
Hammer the pins in just behind the lines drawn on head.
Whip the overlap at the base of the head. will need to do it twice, at the overlap points.
Cut the excess from the bottom of the net to 1.5cm, and in the Caul and Front Lace areas.
Fold the excess upwards and block pin it to the block. (so the wig does not Fray. this will destroy the wig.)
Whip any excess upwards so that it is all flat.

Caul Net

Must place this so it has a horizontal bar across the back of the head, so the hair can be knotted straight backwards, so it looks natural.
Pin at North/South/East/West points. just as markers.
DARTS: because of the circular shape of the area you will need to dart the excess netting.
Always fold the darts in the direction that you will brush the hair in. (down and outward usually.)
Trim the excess net, leaving 1cm beyond the area. This can be done either before or after whipping the darts.
Next whip the foundation net and caul net together. in 2 places, at the edge of the Caul net and on the line where the caul net is drawn on the block.

Lace Front

Find middle
nneds to be flat at the front/face
pull the lace right round and oerlap the foundation net by 1cm
Cover sideburns (if necessary)
Do not pin in the front of the lace. because they will mark/damage it.
start in the middle, and lay front flat.
you will have darts in the lace front, however you need to make sure that they are not intruding in the hairline.
Need to fold darts BACKWARDS. Horizontally rather than vertically down, because of the way the hair will be brushed backward.
whip along the foundation net line and again 1cm back.

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This is the final outcome of the Wig Construction workshop, and gives an idea of how the final thing would look before it is sewn together and cut to fit.

I found the process quite difficult, and i know i dont want to do theatre and wigs so i think i was less interested in this compared to other workshops.

However it was really useful. I learnt a lot about how a wig is made up and i think i could repair a wig if necessary. However i don't think i will be making a full wig any time soon.