In Part 1 I described the recording process of Princess Polly's song for the "Forbidden Zone 2" music video promo. Now the process of creating Princess Polly's grotesque face begins...
I was invited to SOTA F/X to have a life cast of my head made. This is where I first met the SOTA F/X crew: Roy, Cleve, Constance, Cindy, & Johnny. They were all super nice despite their tough looking exteriors.
Who would want to mess with these guys?
Putting the molding material on was an interesting experience. I didn’t have to sit with straws in my nose like most people expect. They slicked my hair back and basically glued a bald cap to my head and they put globs of Vaseline on my eyebrows and eyelashes to keep them from sticking to the mold. Then everyone made sure I was ready and told me to expect it to be very cold. Boy they weren’t kidding! We ended up having to do it twice because the water they mixed with the molding material wasn’t cold enough & it started to stiffen before they could get my head covered with the goo. The 2nd attempt was definitely cold enough! I was freezing under it. But they worked super quickly to mold the goo around my nose, over my eyes, ears, mouth, chin, neck – I heard Johnny exclaim, “Her nose is so small!” They were having a hard time making sure there were holes for my nostrils to breathe. After they got the goo situated they wrapped the entire thing in bandages like a cast you get from the hospital.
Once everything was in place I probably sat there under the cold stuff for about 20 minutes. It really wasn’t that long at all.
It’s hard to explain what the experience was like. It mostly reminded me of the few times I worked in a character costume during my days at Disneyland. I could hear and feel vibrations if someone touched the top of my molded head, but I couldn’t feel it on my skin. I could hear everything in the room, but it sounded distant and muffled. It was kind of comforting actually. I could hear my breathing & I was tucked into an intimate space with myself. Ah, so serene.
It’s hard to explain what the experience was like. It mostly reminded me of the few times I worked in a character costume during my days at Disneyland. I could hear and feel vibrations if someone touched the top of my molded head, but I couldn’t feel it on my skin. I could hear everything in the room, but it sounded distant and muffled. It was kind of comforting actually. I could hear my breathing & I was tucked into an intimate space with myself. Ah, so serene.
But then I got an itch on my chin …and I couldn’t scratch it. Ugh! I’ve never had a broken bone before but now I understand the pain. However, I knew I just had to hold out for a few minutes and I would get some relief. The itch got more intense and I tried to focus on some other part of my body, my ankle, my knee, my arm, anywhere but my chin. Oh the itch!
Then finally I heard “Ok, we’re ready to take you out.” Yes! I think 4 people were all around me working. They cut a seam up the back of the mold and I moved my face all around to loosen the mold from my skin. Then on the count of 3 they pulled me out of the cocoon mold. I had been wearing a little mascara and lipstick and inside you could see a perfect imprint of my lips and eyelids. Totally creepy!!! During that week they made a cast of my head.
Then finally I heard “Ok, we’re ready to take you out.” Yes! I think 4 people were all around me working. They cut a seam up the back of the mold and I moved my face all around to loosen the mold from my skin. Then on the count of 3 they pulled me out of the cocoon mold. I had been wearing a little mascara and lipstick and inside you could see a perfect imprint of my lips and eyelids. Totally creepy!!! During that week they made a cast of my head.
My new wig holder
Next time: I perform as Princess Polly with my new SOTA-designed face!
*This episode of "Monster Man" will air Wednesday, March 21st @ 10pm/9pmC on SyFy
*This episode of "Monster Man" will air Wednesday, March 21st @ 10pm/9pmC on SyFy
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