Mask design for
EQUUS
The Challenge
With two weeks to go before showtime, the director approached me to ask if it would be possible to design and build six horse masks… with virtually no budget.
But for me, constraints are paradoxically so freeing.
The Approach
I analyzed the director’s favorite mask designs from the 1974 Broadway production to present day, and devised a series of principals upon which to base my rendition — strength, suffering, and menace would be communicated through a wide nose bridge and an angular dagger shape drawn from the eyes downward.
With little time and funding, I opted for an open-air wire frame design that would be relatively inexpensive and quick to assemble.
The Result
The masks were built out of stained plywood, steel wire, and epoxy. To give the actors more height and to increase the visual separation between their faces and the open-air structure, I mounted the masks on up-cycled equestrian helmets.
Are you a student?…
….particularly, a student who needs to make masks with virtually no budget? If you want a little more info on how I did it, please don’t hesitate to reach out via the Contact form! I’ve received messages about these masks from people literally all over the world. I read every response and help in whatever way I can. In case you’re shy about asking for help, I’ll say it again: reach out.