Priscilla Lore - Griffin

During the 2001-02 season, the then Super captain Albert Goodwyn asked me to attend Magic Flute animal auditions, thinking I would be suitable for the Griffin cover. By the time I arrived at Zellerbach A, the only three people who auditioned for the part had already left after trying on the costume. I got the part not because of superior acting ability, nuanced, graceful movement, or dazzling beauty—no, I got the part because I was the only person who could stand to wear the costume.

I love being the Griffin, even with the discomfort. The costume is hot, heavy, unwieldy, restrictive, and not very pretty—not qualities I hope for in a costume.

As are the other Supers, I’m put into costume in the wings minutes before our entrance, so I come up from the basement dressing room wearing the costume’s foundation: long underwear, socks, and cotton gloves.

It takes two dressers to help me assemble the Griffin. The core is essentially an animal-print sleeper built over a backpack frame, so I step into the body’s back legs and upper arms. Next I slip into big hairy-between-the-toes feet (very dainty).

The dressers insert wings constructed on two poles into the top of the pack. Afterward, one dresser lifts the Griffin head above mine before lowering it into place and locking the rods while the other dresser holds the neck fabric away from my face. To complete the costume, I hold on to handles inside forearm constructions connected to hands (paws? claws?), which I use to support myself when I move.

My field of vision is limited. The mesh screen embedded in the Griffin’s neck is partially obscured by thick feathers and smashes right up against my nose. I tried to describe all of this to Yvette, the Griffin cover, but it’s a little difficult to convey just how claustrophobic and awkward it feels inside that costume. Not everyone can wear this look, you know.

Yet, I still love being the Griffin! I don’t have as much business to do in our scene as the other animals do—thank goodness, because my mobility is limited—so I crouch in the back, sway to the music, and watch everybody else do their bits while Tamino sings. We’re in a happy scene, and it’s one of the few that always draws laughs.
I’m sure the other animal Supers would agree that the music makes the physical challenges easier to face, but I have to admit to a certain satisfaction and relief each time I make my exit and know I’ve been able to crouch, hop, and sway without toppling over or running into anyone. If I fell over, I figure it would take at least two stagehands to set this creature on its feet again, not to mention signal the end of my Griffin career.

The Sound
and the Furry

Read the tales straight from the beasts' mouths:

Mike Harvey
Giraffe / Dragon

Priscilla Lore
Griffin

Yvette Rosedale
Griffin Cover

Jaye Hepburn
Salamander

Carolyn Waugh
Hedgehog

Lisa Gelling
Other Cover

Jeremy Joseph
Bear

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