MASKS & PROPERTIES
​Design & Construction

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Mask Making

As a dedicated photographer I come up with inspirational concepts for my photos. One of my most prominent themes is the absence of identity, thus the absence of faces from my photographs. To achieve this I utilize the use of masks, some of which I design and build myself.
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​The photographs in the right depict some of the final products of my masks.

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Properties

Dead Man's Cellphone
​Directed by Jay Stratton
​April, 2016

​For this particular production of Dead Man's Cellphone the two properties that required most attention were the cellphone, which ended up being listed as a consumable, and the paper-mache kidney lamp, which was considered practical lighting.

​The image on the top left presents the plastic cellphone during a run of the production. The bottom left depicts the dimensions of the prop (in the middle) alongside a real iPhone (on the far left). This prop was a consumable, since every night the phone had to be thrown and stomped on.

The second property that required most of my attention was the paper-mache kidney lamp, which had to turn on and off, and had to be cord-less.

​Due to decisions made by the director, the kidney needed to appear as grotesque as possible and the lamp had to turn on and off multiple times during a scene.

​Shown on the right photograph is the final product of the kidney lamp being turned on by the actress with a quick on-and-off switch. This prop is used by another character to knock out the protagonist, thus its construction and design had to accommodate for the prop to withstand quick movements and sudden impact.

​The property was constructed utilizing LED tape in the inside of the shade, and the kidney was made with actual paper-Mache. Four coats of paper-mache were needed in order to guarantee the survival of the prop through tech-week and a week of performances.

Firebird
Choreographed by Lisa Smith
​February, 2016

​Few props were requested for this dance show. The ones that gathered most of the attention were the Faberge Egg and the Golden Apples.

​The Faberge Egg needed to brake apart for every performance, since it contained the "villain's soul." For this I used paper mache and many plastic jewels. Due to the fact that the egg needed to withstand being tossed around between dancers and being torn and thrown on the floor for more than 12 performances, the construction consisted of multiple layers. The paint and ornaments needed to be reinforced with many layers of spray glue. The egg was able to break apart on stage using magnetic tape in its middle section.

​The Golden Apples were also used during the dance, so they needed to survive being tossed into baskets and off the stage. These apples needed to be "golden apples" yet still needed to contain hints of red to hint towards fire. The golden apples were also part of the scenery, since they were hung in the tree by the end of a piece.
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​Bellow is a photo of the egg after 12 performances of mistreatment, still alive.

Photo Credit: Marissa Diaz

Photo Credit: Marissa Diaz