THOUSAND OAKS : CLU Adapts ‘Jungle Book’ for Arts Plaza

Rolling across a stage at Cal Lutheran University, Bagheera the panther and Serakhan the tiger appeared locked in mortal combat.

“Bagheera, you try my patience,” hissed Elisa Johns, the senior playing Serakhan in “Jungalbook,” an adaptation of Rudyard Kipling’s classic “The Jungle Book” that the school is rehearsing for the opening celebration of the Thousand Oaks Civic Arts Plaza.

As the panther pinned her to the ground, the tiger’s furry, fierce mask slipped to one side.

“This mask is going to fall off every time,” Johns said, staring up at Bret-Jordan Kreiensieck, the sophomore playing Bagheera.

“No, it isn’t,” Kreiensieck said, efficiently snapping the mask back into place for her with a black-gloved paw.

Despite a few kinks to be worked out with the masks, the Cal Lutheran production of “Jungalbook” is almost ready for performances Oct. 21 at 3:30 p.m., Oct. 22 at 1 p.m. and Oct. 23 at 11 a.m. and 1 p.m., all at the Civic Arts Plaza Forum Theater.

Two private preview performances for the Conejo Valley Unified School District are scheduled Oct. 20 and 21.

“Jungalbook” tells the story of Mowgli, a young boy raised in the jungles of India by wolves. Through the teachings of Baloo the bear and Bagheera, Mowgli is protected from harm and taught the ways of the jungle.

Director Barbara Wegher-Thompson said the drama department chose to produce “Jungalbook” as a tribute to Jungleland, the animal training facility that originally occupied the site of the new Civic Arts Plaza.

“It is meant to be a children’s play,” said Wegher-Thompson. “The thing is, I think it has something for all ages.”

Turning college students into believable jungle animals--including a vulture, a python, a pack of wolves, a hunter and the stern but wise bear--involved months of work.

The process of building a dozen animal masks, which cover the tops of the performers’ faces and their heads, began last summer in Lolita Ball’s workshop.

Ball, a lecturer in makeup and costume design with the school’s drama department, made clay molds for the masks, then poured layers of latex into them, one by one. Some, like the enormous elephant head, she shaped with balloons.

When the students returned in the fall, they joined in, painting the masks, gluing on fur and adding finishing touches.

“It’s been a fun project because of the level of enthusiasm,” Ball said. “The students spent a lot of time on the masks because they’ve had such fun with it. Some of them have become terribly attached to those masks.”

Tickets for the performances are available at the Civic Arts Plaza box office for $6 each. Those interested can call 449-ARTS.