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Costumes, Masks and Puppets | African Masks | Bunraku Puppetry | Shadow Puppetry
Julie Taymor Biography | Sets, Lighting and Special Effects
| Julie
Taymor's first hurdle was 'how to deal with a story that is
all animals, but is in essence a human story - am I going to take
great actors and hide them in animal suits?' This duality between
the human and animal became the philosophy behind the costumes,
masks, puppets, even the staging; the human and animal would both
be seen, and celebrated, at the same time. In all cases, the actor
would be the force behind the stage magic, and he or she would be
visible to the audience. |
Julie
Taymor - Director, Costume Designer,
Mask/Puppet Co-Designer
Photo ©Ken Van Sickle
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"Taymor: I thought, what if I create these giant masks
that really are clearly Scar and Mufasa, but then the human face
is revealed below, so that youre not losing the human facial
expression, youre not hiding the actor?"
Taymor and Currys first step in creating the theatrical
world of 'The Lion King' was to craft the masks for Mufasa and Scar.
Could a balance be found between the recognizable characters from
the animated film and the human actors?
The lions' costumes also helped to create this duality. While
the human qualities of the lions come out in the African styled
beadwork, corsets, armor and cloth, the costumes use silk cloth to
negate the human shape, breaking the shoulder line, enhancing the
powerful joints and thighs.
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