Gluttony

I had the pleasure to learn that today's model is a good friend of my teacher in 'Acting and Improvisation' from three years ago. It triggered the memory of a good story told by a guest teacher in that class, David, a specialist in mask play.

He had spent some time in Italy with a famous master of Commedia del'Arte masks. I forgot the master's name, but I still remember that whenever David referred to his master, he seemed to take a fresh breath and said 'Maestro' with a face that showed nothing less than the deepest respect.

When the Maestro had asked him what he wanted to learn, he had expressed his ambition to create a series of masks about the Seven Cardinal Sins. The Maestro looked at him in disbelief: "You want to do seven masks... in three months?" He picked one: gluttony.

He spent the next three months sculpting, working and reworking his mask. And when he took a closer look at the finished mask, he saw a familiar face. It was the face of his father, a man who had always loved to wine and dine...