Halloween pro-tips

Halloween comes but once a year, leaving you plenty of time to forget your costume construction and makeup application skills. But some, including many of Madison’s best entertainers, must keep those skills sharp all year. In case you’re stressing about preparations for the upcoming holiday, The A.V. Club caught up with a few local artists via e-mail and asked them to share some tricks for dressing up and acting out.

Man Mantis is a hyper-prolific DJ, producer, and MC, who also happens to wear a homemade mask a lot of the time. Here’s what he had to say about getting your own mask right:
Homemade is better
Homemade masks are uncomfortable, impractical, and when done correctly, awesome. To make the Man Mantis mask that I perform behind, I started with a cheap Jason hockey mask from the Halloween store. I taped down clumps of newspaper to make the basic features, then covered them with strips of gauze dipped in Plaster of Paris. This material is available at Jo-Ann Fabrics, and is much sturdier and cooler-looking than papier mâché. You can mold it to a degree while it is wet, and it dries fairly quickly. For the mantis eyes, I used foam spheres cut in half, glued down, and then covered with gauze. One paint job later, I had a mask.
Make sure it holds up
One problem I have with the mask is that because it is so heavy, the elastic has stretched out, and it doesn’t hang as tightly to my face as it should. I recommend that whatever you use to secure your mask be as tight as is comfortable. Also, the eyeholes I punched in the mask are very small, so as to be inconspicuous, but they offer no peripheral vision. The next generation of the mask will most likely use a wide, narrow slit, rather than two holes. For mask-making inspiration, I highly recommend the Twilight Zone episode “The Masks.”

Alan Talaga is an active stand-up comedian in Madison, who also hosts a talk show at The Frequency every other Monday as his alter ego, Dan Potacke. Here’s what he had to say about staying in character:
Sustain the illusion
Anyone can talk in a funny voice for a few minutes, but can you hold that voice for an entire night? If you are planning to stay in character for an entire Halloween night, practice that character for a few hours in your apartment. Sure, your friends might get annoyed at your Sarah Palin accent or your Dr. House limp, but just think of it as your revenge for all the dirty plates they left in the sink.
Prepare for any scenario
Think of any possible scenario that could occur at Freakfest or a house party and plan how you will stay in character, even in the most dire situation. If you are spending Halloween as Cookie Monster but still plan on drinking, you had better be one damn fine drunk Cookie Monster. Waterproof makeup is a must; if you are doing a good job with your character, there is a good chance someone will throw beer on you. Finally, you should prepare for any possible bedroom encounters. How generous a lover is your Colonel Sanders?
Have fun
Use Halloween as an excuse to be someone else for a few hours and forget about the problems of your life. Anybody can put on a cheerleader outfit and go walk up and down State Street; take the time to do something different. Don’t feel like you have to be stuck with a pop culture costume. You can make up your own character, like a robot ghost or a giant slice of pie.

Black Goat is a powerful force of black metal mayhem, with members who paint their faces before each performance. Here’s what guitarist Andrew Leech and drummer Scott Rourk had to say about face painting:
Keep it in place
Scott Rourk: We upgraded from shitty Halloween stuff to some professional stage makeup.
Andrew Leech: We get it all tattooed on before shows and then lasered off afterward.
Put some thought into it
AL: The process is thus: First we do 3D digital modeling, then focus-group the models with randomly selected groups of serial killers, then compare each design with how much it resembles Ultimate Warrior’s face paint, then get drunk and wing it.
SR: We just came up with random shit. I stole mine from the lead singer of Immortal.
Know how to remove it
SR: Soap and water and a rag works for me; some people use oil-based stuff. It still looks like you’re wearing eyeliner afterward.
AL: Machetes.