I spent my second day learning a bit about shadow puppets and mask making at the Sovanna Phum Art Association. There is a company called Backstreet Academy that books interesting activities that support local artists. I tried my hand at shadow puppetry. My able teacher taught me the proper dance moves. It is really hard because the shadow puppets are like large 3-foot leather fans attached to bamboo sticks. They weigh about 10-15 lbs. You have to hold them above your head and move them to the music while gracefully dancing about the stage and balancing on one leg to symbolize flying. It was hot as hell in the outdoor theatre with the sun beating down on us and the hot lights beaming on us from behind to cast the shadow on the screen. With each blistering step my “grace” became less and less. Finally, my teacher gave me a water break. I bought a really cool miniature drum with a long metal spring attached. It can make the sound of thunder, wind, and rain. Then it was back to the puppets. We completed my mini show and then he showed me other types of puppets. It was a really fun but sweaty afternoon.

After my lunch break, I returned for the mask making class. I was shown how to make a paper mask of a monkey. They use a concrete mold that they layer with strips of crumpled/softened paper that is held together with tapioca flour glue – sort of like making a mask with paper mache. After we dried it with a hair dryer, he showed me how to paint it. It was very fun. During my mask-making class a young ex-pat reporter for a local paper came by taking photos for an article for the weekend section of the paper. Not sure if my sweaty face will make the cut – probably a blessing if it does not because I do not know if I will be good advertisement.

The next night at 7:30pm, I returned to watch their puppet show which was performed with live music and dance with the masks. It was really cool to see the dance I had learned performed properly. It became clear why many years of training is necessary to learn this art form – but I gave it a valiant try.