Being the Dragon in 1984 was brutal, but very rewarding in the end. Imagine putting a 30-lb head on your shoulder with a crude harness, a head that because of the long jaws was hugely weighted towards the front. You hold those up with arm strength.
| Then kneel so you can only move forward by shuffling. |
| Then put a long train of fabric down from the head so the audience can't see your legs, and to give you something to stumble over. |
| Then attach yourself to10 guys on their hands and knees behind you. |
| Then sling a fire extinguisher under your arm, so the guy behind you can trigger it at critical moments ("fire") |
| Then act with Siegfried to the music, and the vocal cues (in German, of course) |
| ...and do it all on a raked stage. |
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