Great Rite 1 Some Eminent Atlanteans Village Life Elsewhere on the Playa
1- Impromptu monkey chant at the costume table
Eric, Dan (making costumes for the Alien Mystics), and Papa Wu follow Grady's lead in an impromptu monkey chant, one of the several Vortex sound elements practiced spontaneously all week.
2- Dan in partial costume for the Alien Mystics
The Alien Mystics performed the Atlantean Tarot Reading during the Great Rite and played various roles during the Vortex and Pyramid Initiations.
The full costume included a mirrored face plate with blue glowing trim.
4- Annie Hallatt coaching Will in her mask for the Minotaur
Though the Minotaur costume was one of most spectacular, for Will himself it meant seeing almost nothing of the Great Rite though he was right in the middle of it.
5- Standard-bearers for Moonbull and Sunsnake
Mick and Teri Ann wearing the peplums of the Atlantean priesthood and carrying two of the sixteen torches representing the deck of the Atlantean Tarot.
Moonbull mask by Annie
Hallatt.
Sunsnake headdress by Kelly Ransom and Pepe Ozan.
Flags by Cody Chancellor.
6- Three of four Alien standard-bearers
Marissa, Lawn Boy and Dancing Fool, inside the pyramid.
Hats by Pepe Ozan and Jim Gasperini.
Sarongs by Dancing Fool.
7- Jim and Valerie in bodypaint
Here I am all glittered up for my role as Moonbull standard-bearer.
Valerie had a friend do this lovely body painting representing her recently broken heart. She came by to join the Opera as a way of ritually getting over it.
Photo probably by Michael Cameron Enns
8- Cody making up Paradox and Tierza as the Divine Hermaphrodite
Next to a warm fire in the village courtyard.
The night of the performance was chillier than we might have liked, but nothing like the bone-chilling weather for the 1999 Opera.
9- Cody making up Paradox and Tierza as the Divine Hermaphrodite
Cody's design emphasized making the linkage of two bodies into one character visible from afar.
In the Great Rite, the Divine Hermaphrodite rode the flaming Lingam as it was pulled toward the Yoni.
10- Sunsnakes and Moonbulls painting each other
For most of the day prior to the Great Rite, the first floor of the pyramid was given over to bodypainting.
11- Rebecca as one of the Seven Alien Pleiades
Each night during the Vortex the entrance of the elegant, graceful, mysterious Pleiades electrified the dancing crowd.
Glowstick-enhanced phallic strap-on by Ray Cirino.
Great Rite 1 Some Eminent Atlanteans Village Life Elsewhere on the Playa
