TPAC & NECAT to Host 'The Art of Special Effects Makeup' Workshop

The nonprofit Tennessee Performing Arts Center (TPAC) presents an interactive makeup workshop featuring renowned artists from film and television and in partnership with Nashville Education, Community, and Arts Television (NECAT).

"The Art of Special Effects Makeup" on Saturday, March 5, from 1:00 to 5:00 p.m. in TPAC's James K. Polk Theater features Rick Prince and Roy Wooley from the SyFy Channel's Face Off and Emmy Award-winning makeup artist Ben Rittenhouse. The family-friendly experience includes opportunities for the audience to ask questions and take photographs with the celebrity makeup artists and the local performers they transform, including dancers from Nashville Ballet.

Tickets are on sale now at TPAC.org , by phone at 615-782-4040, and in person at the TPAC Box Office, 505 Deaderick Street, in downtown Nashville. Discounts are available for groups of 20 or more. Admission is $22 with proceeds benefiting NECAT's education initiatives. The workshop is presented in partnership with NECAT, and highlights of the program air on Comcast Channel 9, AT&T U-verse Channel 99, and stream at NECATnetwork.org later this spring.

The workshop is part of a series of programs coordinated by TPAC InsideOut, which offers an annual series of programs for adults and families, taking the public behind the scenes of the performing arts.

"We're especially excited about this opportunity because of the experience and expertise of the artists in their field," said Kristin Horsley, TPAC's senior director of education outreach. "Special effects makeup is a unique skill, a special artistry, and these men have extraordinary credits. Their work is well known and widely recognized within the entertainment industry and by people who have seen their creations for film, television, and theatre."

"We typically offer workshops geared to one specific group - students, teachers, artists, or the general public. This time, all of those groups are invited to participate together, whether they want to learn about special effects makeup for school or professional productions - or if they just want to watch the artistry and skill in action for their own fun and enrichment," Horsley said.

Prince, who has led workshops in partnership with varied arts organizations, is NECAT's artist in residence and will demonstrate makeup and facial prosthetic application. He also will serve as moderator, explaining what he and the other artists are doing and inviting questions from the audience.

The artists will work simultaneously on their models on the stage, while NECAT cameras project close-ups on a large screen. The models will be made up in a variety of styles, to provide a comprehensive look into the art form. Thirty members of the audience will be seated on the stage, while other patrons will have a chance to walk onto the stage in groups.

"Audiences will be in awe when they see what kind of expertise and effort it takes to apply special effects makeup for theatre and the screen. Tremendous skill goes into creating these illusions, even when the characters are science fiction aliens, zombies, heroes, monsters, and other creatures," Horsley said.

After the workshop, audiences will have photograph opportunities with the artists and models on the stage and in the lobby.

Prince is an award-winning professional makeup artist who was featured on season five of the SyFy channel's hit reality makeup competition series Face Off. Based in Nashville, he has created animatronic characters for more than 17 years for major theme parks and clients including Hasbro's Transformers Universe, Disney, Universal Studios, Dollywood, and Busch Gardens.

In 2013, Prince led a team of artists as the SFX Coordinator of the nationally recognized Nashville Nightmare. His company, Malice In Mind FX Laboratory, creates live interactive art such as the Prowl mobile suit for Transformers Universe, full zombie makeups for the annual Nashville Zombie Walk, high-concept artwork and designs for clients like Cee-Lo and Call of Duty, special makeup effects for film and television, and live show set ups for conventions.

Wooley, a fan favorite on Face Off, is an expert in body prosthetics/fabrication and special effects makeup with more than 20 years of experience. His film and television credits include The Hunger Games (Mockingjay 1 and 2); Halloween II, Strange Blood, The Devil Incarnate, and Blood Type, among others. He lives in Georgia, where he manages the makeup department for Netherworld Haunted House, which has become one of the nation's leading haunted attractions.

Rittenhouse received an Emmy Award for his work on the HBO miniseries The Pacific. His television and film credits in makeup and special effects include Mirrors; The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian; The Hills Have Eyes 2; Poseidon; The Amityville Horror; Planet of the Apes; Ray; and Blade II, among others.

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