Masks and Puppets
As an elementary school art teacher, I get to try out new media and techniques along with my students. After taking a giant puppet / mask-making workshop with artist Henry Lipkis, I began to teach similar techniques to my students. In 2024 a small group of 4th, 5th, and 6th graders worked with me to create close to one-hundred masks for our school production of The Lion King, Jr. In 2025, another student group worked with me to create an 8-foot-tall Oz head to use in our production of Oz: The Musical.
The Lion King, Jr.
The masks we created for The Lion King, Jr., were modeled after the The Lion King theatrical production on Broadway. They were designed to sit on top of the student actors' heads so that their faces would be visible to the audience. Several of the animals, such as the elephant and giraffes, required additional physical support. Those pieces were built into small backpacks that helped the actors support the headpieces. The masks for the main characters included small white plastic balls that were colored on with sharpies to create more detailed eyes. The eyes for Scar were fitted with remote-controlled LED tealights that were activated when the character appeared on stage for the first time out of the darkness. Students covered brightly colored raffia with white glue and twisted it, allowing it to dry in a more rigid shape that was then attached to the masks to create the lion mane effects.
Oz: The Musical
Completed Oz head
Over the course of twelve school days, I worked with a team of 12 4th, 5th, and 6th graders to create a gigantic Oz head. The final piece measured 8 feet tall and 6 feet wide. We constructed a movable jaw so that student actors could move it up and down as they spoke their lines during the performances. The eyes were fitted with two small remote controlled LED lights. Student stage hands changed the eye color from green to red to express different emotions from the puppet. Being created from cardboard and paper mache, the final product was surprisingly light. We were able to secure it to the basketball net in our gym / auditorium. The head was then lowered from the ceiling by a student stage hand during the performance and then raised at the end of the scene.
