Shots from the rehearsal room

I spent this last week in Pune, rehearsing with the cast at KCT.  We had more fittings and used the masks in rehearsal to discover any potential difficulties in comfort and sightlines.

Sunset Elephant!  I love it when I can conceal the eye-hole the actor looks through.
Sunset Elephant! I love it when I can conceal the eye-hole the actor looks through.
Mountain Monsters: Obsidian, Dacite and Copper. These characters hurl rocks (puppeteered by other cast members) down the mountain at Maya and her companions.
Mountain Monsters: Obsidian, Dacite and Copper. These characters hurl rocks (puppeteered by other cast members) down the mountain at Maya and her companions.
Hey Monkey Monkey!  I used close-fitting face masks for the monkeys, and you can see the actor's eyes move.
Hey Monkey Monkey! I used close-fitting face masks for the monkeys, and you can see the actor’s eyes move.

In the second act, there is a large dance featuring all sorts of animals, in a variety of masks styles that cover different amounts of the actors’ faces.

Queen Tiger leads a celebration dance
Queen Tiger leads a celebration dance. As we rehearsed, we only had to change minor details in spacing. Success!
Resting deer.
Deepak takes a rest in the dance rehearsal. Wearing a mask can be exhausting when you do the dance several times in a row!
Beast Feast!
Beast Feast! The Queen Tiger’s mask is based on a bicycle helmet. When dancing, it still rocked front to back too much, so we added a bamboo back harness (not pictured).

We also were finally able to try the full masks of the serpent Ska. There are some special tricks that these masks have to accomplish in the play, including the removal of three of the heads.

Priyanka surrounded by the sinful faces of the serpent Ska.
Priyanka surrounded by the sinful faces of the serpent Ska.

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