A Revealing Experience in Mask Making

By Gregory Pings, August 30, 2022

Michael Sullivan ’16 explores his passion for making masks. 

Michael Sullivan '16 with masks that he has made.

(Photo Submitted)

Ithaca College’s faculty had challenged Michael Sullivan ’16. A class on Shakespearean theatre required the students to make masks and perform in them—and Sullivan found his breakthrough opportunity. 

“School was tough,” said the musical theatre major. “I thought theatre would make me feel super comfortable, but it was hard to break out of my shell.” 

This mask project was a natural extension of craft projects he had done at home, and the Shakespeare assignment launched a new passion. Other assignments tweaked his interest as well—such as a cabaret show.

“I love the queer arts, especially drag performance—at least, my version of drag,” he said. The experience wasn’t what he expected, but he wore the makeup, experimented with different clothes, and made head pieces, which was not so different from making masks. “This turning point in my life was not so much a single moment but more like a lot of dominoes falling at once,” Sullivan said. 

Mike Sullivan, showing one of his masks. (Photo Submitted)

A mask can hide your identity. It can redefine your character. It can invite you to enter a new reality. In the high-tech age of augmented reality and computer-generated imagery, a low-tech mask’s utility for the theatre is obvious.

Sullivan’s first mask for the Shakespeare project incorporated natural elements such as leaves, twigs, and feathers. Reeds, marsh grass, flowers, and more found their way onto some of his other masks. He has since moved on to artificial materials such as jewels, mirror shards, metal, and found objects.  

The result is stunning. His mask craft has expanded from the theatre and includes a niche in queer culture and art shows. Sullivan’s work has been featured at Studio Lacombe, the Schoolhouse Gallery, and others in Provincetown, Mass. Provincetown Magazine noted that Sullivan’s work evokes “dichotomies, split personality, clashes of materials, ideas, and ideals.”  His latest show in July 2022 was at the Cherry Artspace in Ithaca, where it ran for six weeks. 

He works with jewels and other nonperishable objects because art that lasts is art that leaves a legacy. But the call to nature persists. 

“I'm aching to get back into it,” Sullivan said. “Wasp nests actually survive, and I have a huge nest right now. I'm waiting to figure out what I’ll do with it.” 

“London was amazing in so many ways. It was such a huge opportunity. It was incredible because the curriculum included voice lessons, stage combat, and scene study.”  

Michael Sullivan '16

The semester Sullivan spent studying at Ithaca College’s London Center infused for him an international cultural experience with fascinating course work. Its location is ideally suited to exploring London, as well as Europe. 

“London was amazing in so many ways. It was such a huge opportunity,” he said. “It was incredible because the curriculum included voice lessons, stage combat, and scene study.”  

Then there was London’s theatre scene. They saw a lot of it and then discussed the shows the next day. The curriculum also included tours where the professor would connect various parts of London to the theatre. The history was obscure, informative, and enriching. 

London is far away from Ithaca and Sullivan’s hometown of Guilford, Conn., in terms of distance as well as experience. London was his first time in a large city with a lively gay culture.  

“This was my first time seeing queer nightlife and creative and artistic queer people.”  

It was also the first time Sullivan made a mask to wear in a public space that was not for a classroom or a theatrical role.  The theatre, he explained, is an umbrella for queer communities. They are safe spaces, regardless of whether they’re located in London, New York, or Ithaca. 

“London’s gay nightlife is a community where people openly express gender performance. It was a new experience. I was inspired and moved,” Sullivan said. “When I came back to Ithaca for my senior year, I really started experimenting with drag for the first time.

“London was amazing in so many ways,” he said. “Studying abroad for anybody is incredible. Being able to see Europe is incredible. I especially enjoyed seeing and being part of nightlife for the first time.” 