Balinese has the word “Topeng”, which means both “a mask” and “a dance drama with masks”. Topeng is the origin of Balinese dance dramas. In Topeng, masks are used for characters such as a god, an evil spirit, a king, a queen, a hero, a priest, a gay, a person with buckteeth and a clown (clown-masks don't cover your mouth). In addition to Topeng, there are several types of dance dramas like “Barong dance”, in which some masks are used for fictional characters including “Randa (a witch)”, “Barong (a holy animal)”,“Garuda (a holy bird)”. Balinese dance dramas performed to gamelans are entertainments as well as rituals (dramas were originally rituals). They are fun as well as serious.

The outdoor masque called “commedia dell'arte”, in which only the main characters used masks (“maschera”), was born in north Italy in the middle of the 16th century and performed in various places in Europe. It was very satirical comedy. For example, characters like Arlequino (an impish devil in French folklore) and Capitano (a boaster) are good evidences to prove that it was satirical. Masks used in “commedia dell'arte” don't cover actors mouth because the tones of voice and dialects were very important to make features of characters stand out.