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Hi everyone!

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The focus of this session is spectacle.

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Spectacle. Spectacle.

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That's a fun word! Spectacle.

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Spectacle refers to
everything you see on stage.

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It's the visual wow
that we use in the theater.

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Today we'll be learning
about the work of the many designers

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it takes to create a production.

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It takes many designers

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to create the visual magic
for each musical or play.

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There are Set Designers,
Costume Designers,

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Mask and Puppet Designers,

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Makeup and Wig Designers,

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Sound Designers

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and Lighting Designers.

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All of these people work with the Director
to make their vision

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for the show come to life.

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Today, we're going to focus on Mask Design,

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which is part of the overall
Costume Design in The Lion King.

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Even though it's still me underneath,
putting on that beautiful lion mask

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really helps me
transform into Simba on stage.

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But before an actor gets to wear a mask,

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a lot of work goes into designing
and making it.

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Because Julie Taymor
is a visionary artist,

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she did lots of jobs in The Lion King
in addition to directing.

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She even collaborated with Michael Curry
to design the masks.

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Usually these jobs are done
by different people.

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But one of the cool things

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about working in the arts
is that there are no hard and fast rules.

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Let's look at the design process
from the Mask Designer's point of view.

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First, the Designer has to read the play
and get to know and be inspired

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by the characters and story.

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Then the Designer needs to meet
with the Director to understand the vision

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for the production.

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Next, the Designer uses imagination
to create a design concept,

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usually with sketches or a model to show
what the final product could look like.

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If approved by the Director,
the Designer enters the execution phase

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of design and builds the masks
based on the designs.

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Finally, the masks need to be fitted

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to each individual actor
and tested for functionality

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so the actors can do everything they need
to do, like dance safely and comfortably.

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Although the materials differ,
this overall design process

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of inspiration, imagination and execution
is the same for all theater designers,

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whether they are creating masks,
sets, costumes or anything else.

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Now let's check out a couple of the masks

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from the Broadway production of The Lion King.

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Part of Director Julie Taymor's vision
for The Lion King was the double event.

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The actors human emotions communicated at
the same time as their animal characters.

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Because these masks are worn
on the top of the actor's head,

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We see both the actor's face
and the animal character in the mask.

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Let's look closer
at the masks of Scar and Mufasa.

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Look at how circular Mufasa's mask is,

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representing balance
and the circle of life.

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In contrast,
we see sharp lines and rough edges

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in Scar's mask,
which reflects his crooked character.

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Both of these masks

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are for lion characters,
and the lions even live in the same place.

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But the designer made choices

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that tell us a lot about how different
these two characters are.

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By collaborating with the Director,

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Designers create the visual world
of the play and help the audience engage

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with the story.

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Today, we've explored the design process
and seen

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how masks play an important part
in the spectacle of a production.

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Now you'll brainstorm
some ideas about Shenzi, Pumbaa and Nala

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from The Lion King Kids and create a mask
design for one of these characters.