The man who knows all the secrets, as well as each characteristic of the bounty of puppets and masks in "The Lion King," is David Woody. He is puppet supervisor and one of a crew of three who oversees all the puppets and the masks for the hit megamusical, playing at the Blaisdell Concert Hall through Dec. 9.

"I'm not a puppeteer, but I have done arts and crafts, and this is the place for arts and crafts," he said of his job maintaining the myriad puppets and masks that give "The Lion King" its unique personality.

Woody was diligently trimming and fashioning Zazu's feathers — busy work for "down" time — in a somewhat calm backstage room on a recent afternoon.

"Zazu is one of the most complex roles in the show," said Woody. "The actor has to tap dance, rub his stomach and sing at the same time — and run the puppet with a series of levers and triggers. It's a lot to accomplish; it's a labor of love."

Motionless head masks of Scar, Mufasa and lionesses sit on cluttered worktables. One headdress of sprouting grass — part of the brigade that brings the Pridelands to life — provides a rare patch of green amid the muted browns and earthy hues of most masks.

"Three of us come in daily to find the fix, if there's a problem," said Woody, who has been with "The Lion King" tour for 2 1/2 years. "Two of us work an eight-hour shift from 9 a.m.; one comes in at 2 p.m. and baby-sits the show during the performance."

Masks are custom-made for each actor, said Woody, since they have to fit the head contour of each performer. "One size doesn't fit all."

Carbon graphite, commercially known as Kevlar, is the principal material used to create masks. It's valued for its lightness and toughness — and is used for stealth bombers and cars, said Woody — and bonded by epoxy, and augmented by Teflon, the material used for bulletproof vests, for added strength. Scar's mask, consequently, weighs only 9 ounces; Mufasa's is 11 ounces despite the large size.

Scar's costume, in comparison, weighs 50 pounds when packed with techie gear that's concealed in pouches or attached to parts of actor Gray's body.

Scar's get-up also presents the biggest risks, because of the complexity of high-maintenance electronics required to help the antagonist find his groove.

"If there's a short in the wires, Scar's mask could be stuck on his head — or projected off his head," said Woody. And Scar jumps, crawls and struts a lot, which means things can go awry.

"I had an actor a few years ago who did Scar for four years," said Woody. "To the day he left, the mechanics were a problem."

The actor playing Scar doesn't merely deliver lines and sings; he has to engineer the movements of his mask, said Woody. "There are wires down his arm and a trigger in the finger to prompt a move," he said.

And should there be a glitch, the actor can't easily see where the miscue is — unless he finds a shadow of the errant mask during his stage moves. "And you make the most of it ... the show goes on."

Meanwhile, Woody waits — with epoxy, paint, carbon fiber and other supplies — to repair what's broken.

"And there are ants to cut," he said, noting a pile of oversize crawlers that need to be snipped for a reserve supply. All in a day's work for the puppetmeister.

Reach Wayne Harada at wharada@honoluluadvertiser.com.