doodling sketches of masks of my own design. but one day the family moved and I forgot about benda and masks until in 1986 while researching my dissertation in the university library I once again found a dusty copy of Masks on the shelves and found myself back on the floor re-reading forgotten passages with the same fascination as a kid. by 2003 masks and masking rituals had become a major passion in my life. While studying mask carving in bali I found a tattered photocopy of Masks which was being used for inspiration by the master mask maker and as instruction for his students. In 2005 when my university hosted an International and Interdisciplinary Mask Conference (See deborah bell's review "Masks of Transformation," TD&T 42, no. 2 (Spring 2006)) we were excited to invite Sears A. Eldredge and Judith Howard of Macalester College to present a "documentary collage" presentation combining live readings from benda's journals with still images and a brief film shot in 1936 in his Gramercy Park studio where he demonstrated the wondrous transformations possible with his masks. As a result of this session I discovered that many mask makers and performers also counted benda as a seminal influence in their careers. but still in all this time I had never yet seen a real benda mask. The usITT exhIbIT "Baboon" and "Long Eyes" masks waiting to be hung in exhibit. Then in the September 2009 issue of USITT's newsletter, Sightlines, I read that an exhibit entitled "The False Faces of W. T. benda" was planned for the 50th Annual USITT Conference & Stage Expo in Kansas City. I impatiently looked forward to finally meeting benda's creations "face to face." Bonwit Teller window displays featuring Benda's masks: "Long Eyes," "Dolorosa," and "Golden Peacock." 40 theatre design & technology F A L L 2010