Mwindo and original production from Seattle Childrens Theatre.

The Hawk was a major character both in personality and that it was the symbol of the arc of the story. The hawk had to, fly, land, pick something up and fly away with it, as well as have a fully articulated head. It also had to change color on stage, while flying. It also had to display hints of the coming color change. There were actually two birds built so that the color change could take place via removing the outer surface of the bird while flying very much like a costume quick change.

The color change causes the bird’s health to fail:

Large plains animals were also used as part of the story. The giraffe is about 12 feet tall as but is light enough to be operated by one person

Kuti! King of the underworld! He must be appeased before Mwindo can become a man.