Supervisor in charge of show’s many masks, puppets

It’s like being in charge of an enormous class of kids, each with their own personalities and quirks. And at times, some of them are temperamental and need to be “fixed.”

Meet Willie Wilson, whose official title is “Puppet Supervisor” for Disney’s award-winning musical “The Lion King,” Wilson has been with the show ever since it began touring in Los Angeles back in the year 2000.

With more than 200 masks and puppets to look after, he admits that his job is never boring.

“Our job is to check all the masks and puppets in the show,” Wilson said. “We take care of all the principal ones — Scar, Mufasa, Nala, Simba, Timon and Pumbaa … and we make sure nothing’s broken. If there is, we come in and fix it up.”

Masking the character

When coming up with the original blueprints for the show’s principal masks, design genius Michael Curry knew he had to choose a material that would be durable and easy to work with, yet light enough to not weigh down the actors that had to wear them.

“All the masks are made of carbon fiber, the same material used in formula race cars,” Wilson explained. “After every show we touch ‘em up, look for chipped paint, things that break and may be a hazard onstage.”

Mufasa’s kingly mask, for example, looks like it is made of heavy, painted wood, but in fact is as light as a feather.

The Lion King’s mask is also one of two in the show that is controlled by a battery pack disguised underneath the costume, the other belonging to his malevolent brother.

“We have the most problems with the mechanical ones, like Scar’s mask,” Wilson said. “We check to make sure the motors are working properly, that there are no loose wires.”

Wilson explained that the actor wears two servo motors on his body under the costume, which weighs between 30-35 pounds including the battery packs.

A switch worn on the actor’s thumb controls the movement of the mask, making it able to extend out from his head as well as move up and down.

With so much mechanics involved, Wilson and his co-workers have to be on their toes at all times.

“When it goes onstage, anything can happen,” admits Wilson. “The big thing is that we never want to stop the show because of a puppet, so we have to get the actor off in time and try to replace or fix it.”

For this reason, all of the principal masks and puppets, like the complex Zazu puppet, have “understudies” if needed.

A MULTIFACETED MAJORDOMO

Out of all the puppets in The Lion King, the title of “most complex” would have to go to Zazu, Mufasa’s fine-feathered advisor.

Inside Zazu’s neck is a baby slinky, which is covered in stretched spandex to give it the ultimate in flexibility, with the feathers painted and stitched on.

The actor controlling Zazu needs to be in total control of three movements while acting — his left hand controls the bird’s wing movement, while in his right hand one finger controls the the beak opening and closing and yet another lever moves the eyelids up and down, the key to Zazu’s many expressions.

If it sounds complicated, it is, considering Disney hires actors, and not trained puppeteers, for the show. Wilson and his team teach a new actor the basics of how the puppet operates, and from that point on, practice makes perfect.

“It can take them anywhere from four to six weeks to learn how to master it,” Wilson said. “They put in a lot of “mirror time” doing it by themselves, and then they spend a lot of time with the director — but it takes a long time to perfect, to make sure the eyes are moving in sync with the hands, and making expressions.”

HAVING ALL THE TOYS

Whether it’s working on sets or costumes, Wilson has been involved backstage at theatrical productions for most of his career. But being puppet supervisor for The Lion King is something he would love to do for the rest of his life, and one thing is for sure: It’s never the same two nights in a row.

“It’s kind of like being a kid in a toy store and having all the toys; you can break them, but you know you can fix them too,” Wilson said with a laugh. “In live theatre, there’s a challenge you have to meet, and it’s about meeting that challenge every night.”