What I learned about writing and life as a Makeup Artist for TV and Film

When I did make up for television I always stood on the right side of the chair, it had to do with being right-handed, but sometimes I discovered there was no right side—there was no right side for difficult personalities, but I had to pretend I was okay with bad behavior a skill that became as essential as my steady hand.  But the truly difficult—even abusive were the exception and were often not famous at all or their fame faded like something no longer visible in the rearview mirror.

Whenever I told someone, I was a makeup artist for TV and film mostly they wanted to know more. Who was the nicest, was some newscaster as friendly as they seemed on camera, or as attractive. I learned to be evasive, which was part of my code of conduct and for most working in the industry.

I am writing this newsletter about the craft, what it has taught me and how it informs my work as a writer. For many years it supported my write side. I was able to afford and graduate with an MFA in creative writing from The New School. Some who sat in my chair informed my fiction. Others gave me a reason to write not because of their celebrity but because they deserved to be celebrated— ordinary people in extraordinary circumstances. Some posts will introduce you to those who stand behind the camera and make a celebrity look the part, or give them a cue, or hold the camera, build a set, hand them a prop, or drive them to location.