A prominent feature of our production of Panji and the Lost Princess is the use of 3D shadow masks, which allow a performer to create movement of the head without turning the body. In traditional wayang kulit, the entire puppet turns if a character needs to look back, for example.
3D shadow masks were created by Larry Reed, a prominent and award-winning theatre artist, in collaboration with I Madé Sidia, a famous Balinese shadow puppeteer (dhalang). In performance, they allow an integration of techniques from traditional shadow theatre with some practiced in modern theater and film. The result is an original and totally captivating use of shadow work in wayang listrik. Our co-director and designer I Madé Moja has collaborated for many years with Larry Reed, who founded ShadowLight Productions in 1972.
To create 3D masks for characters who perform both in front of and behind the screen, Moja must ensure that these characters’ silhouettes are recognizable by the audience when they appear in shadow. This is why he begins a 3D mask design by photographing a character’s profile both in shadow and fully illuminated. In the images featured here, the performers appear wearing wigs, mustaches, and headdresses typical of their characters.
Moja uses both profile images to design a character’s 3D mask. Since the mask consists of two faces, each touching a performer’s cheeks, a performer needs to practice carefully a limited head mobility to ensure a crisp shadow of both profiles. Watch Episode 20: “The secret behind the wayang listrik shadow mask” from a behind-the-scenes documentary on Battle of the Monkey Kings (2016) to learn more about how shadow masks work in wayang listrik.
By Maggie Ivanova
Left column: I Madé Moja takes profile photos of Arya Simpar, performed by Thackery Shane Taylor. Row above: I Madé Moja demonstrates how a 3D shadow mask works; shadow of Macan Angelur, performed by Cameryn Richardson; I Madé Moja takes profile photos of Raden Ino Kertapati (Panji), performed by Jill Sanders, and King Terate Bang, performed by Robert Morris, III.
Balinese Wayang Listrik at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa 