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• creative peopleAndrew Keshan. (Photo by Branco Gaica)I grew up to be a ...Makeup Artistfor the OperaMake-up artistry and the theatre were not on the list ofrecommendations that Andrew Keshan’s career advisorgave him when he encouraged the young man to trygraphic design. Today, however, aged 44, Andrew- who’d never stepped foot inside an opera house beforehe started working in them - is Head of Performance,Wigs and Make-up for Opera Australia.It’s common for Andrew to beworking on three or four productionssimultaneously - ‘Marriage of Figaro’,‘Rigoletto’ and ‘Der Rosenkavalier’were in the works when we interviewedhim. Sometimes the shows are inrehearsals, sometimes in full flight.“It only really gets confusing if acast member is in more than one ofthe productions,” he says. “Normallyit’s pretty streamlined. We photographeverything along the way so there arereferences to work from and the chorusmembers are experienced in doingtheir own make-up.”When he finished high schoolAndrew had no strong careerambitions. His parents took him to avocational guidance counsellor andfrom there he was launched on thepath to graphic design. Along the wayhe developed a love of photographyand particularly of faces and eyes.“Actually I’d always had a thingabout eyes,” he says. “My schoolbook doodles were always eyes andI would often embellish the eyes onMum’s magazines.”Because of the photography Andrew130 spotlight.com.au