Stage Directions: It was this week 21 years ago, Oct. 15, 1997 to be precise, that The Lion King played its first preview and audiences first saw the beautiful and intricate costumes, masks and puppetry so central to the narrative and to the unique experience of the production. Adam Savage and the team at Tested went backstage at The Lion King during its run in San Francisco in this video visit to the musical's puppet shop, where puppet supervisor Michael Reilly walked them through the numerous intricate and varied puppets and masks used in the performance and showed how they're maintained in their traveling workshop.
12 comments:
While the puppets are beautifully made and presented, I think the real art is in the lion masks. While watching this video I was impressed by the time and research that went into the making of the masks, and how they stayed close to their inspirations from the Maasai tribe. The Scar mask was creepy and beautiful at the same time, which is a balance that I don't think a lot of artists find easy, but I think is interesting because so much of this show is image based, and there's a central aesthetic throughout the whole work. While it's easy to make Scar ugly in order to visually cast him as the villain, it's more difficult to fit in his character's style with the shows. I also have to commend the actors who not only play the characters, but physically control either the headpieces, or the puppets. I don't think I have nearly enough grace or composure to account for a puppet like Zazu, where you have to control the neck, the eyes, the mouth, the wings and just the general movement of the bird. It also amazes me that a bird puppet (and one of the few hand puppets) with that many capabilities only weighs four pounds. I assume more of the mechanically operated are heavier, and that's a whole other challenge (you need to be physically fit). I've never seen it live, but it's no wonder that audiences continue to pour out for performances after so many years.
I didn’t realize this was a video until I clicked on it, but I think that format really did a better job of capturing all of the information than an article ever could.
The Lion King is the show that initially got me interested in puppets and props and it still captivates me to this day. I remember in high school, my art teacher showed me this book full of pictures of the Lion King puppets on Broadway and since then I’ve wanted to understand how they worked and to reach that level of craftsmanship myself.
I got the opportunity last summer to create the puppets for a production of Lion King Jr. at the Patel Conservatory and that was honestly some of the most fun I’ve ever had working a show. To make something with your own hands that an actor can connect to, that changes and informs their performance while having a visual impact on the stage is such a unique and rewarding experience that I really enjoy. To see Michael’s experience being on the show for so long was fascinating and informative. I have so many things that I want to research and learn how to do now.
Seeing the innovation that puppetry has gone through in recent years and even now with King Kong on Broadway is astounding and I hope to be a part of that progress during the course of my career.
The design in Disney’s stage production of The Lion King is absolutely amazing. I have always admired the craftsmanship of the costumes and props especially. The show is so high energy and asks a lot of the durability wise. Even with their intricate designs, which look so beautiful and delicate, these costumes are able to withstand the physicality of the show and continue through hundreds of productions. The puppets are so well crafted that performers can operate them with ease, for they are not heavy or overly difficult to use. The masks are gorgeous, handmade, and some even include mechanics. These components add so much life and realism to the production, and learning how they were actually built makes them even more impressive to me. Another thing that impresses me is the organization their team has when it comes to traveling. Transporting so many puppets, masks, and costumes must be difficult, but the Lion King team travels with a full shop of supplies to make repairs. The whole process they use absolutely wows me.
I love puppets! I wish there were more puppets in shows, especially puppets that are used discretely and not just an obvious hand puppet, which Lion King does so well. I am not a particular fan of the show, I am not nostalgic about the story, and except Circle of Life and Be Prepared I find the music rather grating, however I deeply admire and respect the creativity and innovative stage magic of the Broadway show. Also Tested is one of my favorite series because Adam is just so inquisitive and intelligent. I think the Zazu puppet is my favorite in the show because it just looks so lifelike and I forget that it is just a puppet not an actual living character. The most impressive part to me is how light everything is even though it appears to be heavy woods and leathers, like the giraffe head which could easily be cumbersome and unwieldily but is in fact so light and maneuverable. Then of course there is the fact that they all stuffed into road trunks and transported around the country on tour. The fact that they have an entire shop in road boxes devoted solely to puppets it is no wonder it was is and probably will be Disney's biggest touring show. It is not just because of the scale though that it astounds me so, it is the intricate details, the burnt bleached peacock feathers, and other details that make it simply a feast for the eyes.
I really wish I could have the opportunity to see all these puppets up close. There was a window when I was considering trying to do more props work and potentially puppetry, and I’d still love to learn more about designing big complex puppets given the opportunity. Unfortunately there aren’t many places that use puppets like this, and I think a big part of that is because of the expenses and skills needed to maintain them as well as the difficulty of learning to operate them, as discussed in this video. Each puppet is really a piece of art all on its own, and are visually stunning up close. I’m also very impressed by the actors who are operating the articulation of their masks on small buttons alone. I can’t imagine how you’d get used to acting with a device you can’t see and control with actions so far removed from the actions of the puppets itself.
The emotion that can be expressed using the range of motion in a puppet is incredible. Seeing all these pieces and what is taken into consideration in storage and maintenance shows such a high level of understanding for what is truly necessary. I love seeing how organized the prop-repair mini shop is, it is very different to have all of what is needed in one place. Usually with things like set pieces and costumes, once the items leave their place of creation you do not get to see what they are made of. There is so much thought that gets put into any piece of a show, and so much is required. Its beautiful to see that within props. It is especially incredible to see pieces that look to be made of traditional materials, which are in fact made with a variety of plastics and mechanics with careful treatment.
Ah, The Lion King. What I consider to be the best Disney animated movie adaptation to a musical ever. And the proof is right here. The Lion King is perfection in my eyes when compared to other Disney Broadway musicals. This show took the source material and evolved and improved it to make the theatrical experience more fantastic than the film. All the other Disney Broadway musicals simply take the source material and plop it onstage, no different from watching the film. The puppets created for The Lion King changed the game for musicals, it proved that more interpretive shows could be successful on the Broadway stage. These puppets are incredible, the intricacy, and the ingenuity of the controls are a marvel. I'm so pleased that Adam was able to go backstage and walk us the viewers through some of the puppets. I'd really like to get my hands on some of those sometime in my life.
This is a really interesting look backstage at the process that the props and puppets go through in order to be onstage for the show. Many times these things can be overlooked as something that just happens. However, the level of detail and importance that these characters play in the show are so vitally important that they had to be thought about since day one. Also to think that this show is twenty-one years old and is still running strong to this day is truly incredible. I greatly appreciated the fact that they talked about maintaining these puppets on the road and the importance of keeping them working smoothly as things break or wear out. It can be an aspect that often gets overlooked and forgotten about. Also, It was so nice to see this kind of "shop talk"; space and practice that is not traditionally masculine, but still so obviously technical, crafted, skilled, and industrial and to have it be treated as such.
I don’t follow Broadway on any level; I’m totally oblivious to major directors, designers, actors, and show tunes associated with the Broadway scene. The one artist I am more familiar with, however, is Julie Taymor. I have always been fascinated by the way her directorial work and design work are allowed to coexist in what feels like a very rigid sphere. I once watched a news special on Julie Taymor and her infamous Lion King puppets, which are still and more beautiful in this video, up close and without fancy effects. I was very young when I watched Lion King on Broadway, but the masks and puppets are aspects of the show that are impossible to forget-- and rightfully so. The video allows you to see every detail that is put into each and every piece, from the masks carved of wood to the bristles of the manes. While these famous pieces from a famous show are undoubtedly exceptional, I hope that such work will open the door for more designers and theater artists to gain more of this kind of spotlight recognition.
I love this show and when I saw it I was amazed by all the headresses and puppets that are in the show. Seeing this video was a really cool look behind the scenes because there is so much detail in each of the pieces. I was surprised that there were not a of hand puppets in the show and looking at the way that you control the puppets is amazing because there was obviously a lot of thought put into each one of them. The lion masks were so amazing. I had no idea there was leather and chain links and real horse hair in them. And having motors for the masks that move is amazing I've never seen anything like it. The articulation of the masks was not the even something that I really remember about the show but it is a beautiful way of conveying the story and I loved learning about everything.
I love this show and when I saw it I was amazed by all the headresses and puppets that are in the show. Seeing this video was a really cool look behind the scenes because there is so much detail in each of the pieces. I was surprised that there were not a of hand puppets in the show and looking at the way that you control the puppets is amazing because there was obviously a lot of thought put into each one of them. The lion masks were so amazing. I had no idea there was leather and chain links and real horse hair in them. And having motors for the masks that move is amazing I've never seen anything like it. The articulation of the masks was not the even something that I really remember about the show but it is a beautiful way of conveying the story and I loved learning about everything.
I absolutely love Adam Savage. Everything that man puts his hands on turns into an absolute master piece. And when I say everything, I mean everything. I once watched him modify a Nerf gun and by the end I would say it was a masterpiece. He started by replacing the spring and firing mechanism in order to get it to shoot farther and then spent an entire day painting it and it looked spectacular. He painted it using greens, reds, and browns and then aged the entire thing to look like something you would see in Water Worlds. His behind the scenes look at the amazing masks and puppets did not disappoint at all. These puppets and masks in it of themselves are masterpieces but the way that Adam Savage talks about them makes them that much more interesting. I hope to be able to get a look at these one day too.
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