Falcon High School students in Tech Theater 1 were practicing their bruises and wounds to make it look realistic. This is a part of the costume/makeup unit in the class.

“We go through different makeup designs like scarring and bruising as well as aging,” said drama teacher Mickenzie McCluan. “The kids are given a demo about how to apply the makeup using an SFX bruise wheel to make the wound look more realistic.”

The bruise wheel consists of cream-based makeup in the colors yellow, green, blue, purple, red and maroon. They are also given a scar wax to create the "bump" on the skin so that the students can create a gash to make a cut into and make the cut look more realistic, instead of simply pouring the fake blood onto the skin. The wax gives it a place to settle so it doesn't run all over the place. 

“The fake blood is basically just made out of water and cornstarch and propylene glycol aroma. While that word looks intimidating, it's just the scientific name for the liquid that helps to bring out the aroma and flavor of the fake blood, which is actually mint,” McCluan said. “The blood is non-toxic and able to be used in the mouth should that be necessary for a theater production.”

As far as students using the skills they are learning, no gore will be needed this semester for theater.

“We are doing Roald Dahl's ‘Willy Wonka’ this year for our spring musical so there will not be a need for the bruising and scarring this time, but there will be one for the aging makeup,” McCluan said.