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diff --git a/old/67752-0.txt b/old/67752-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index d4491f5..0000000 --- a/old/67752-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,2783 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg eBook of On building a theatre, by Irving -Pichel - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and -most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms -of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at -www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you -will have to check the laws of the country where you are located before -using this eBook. - -Title: On building a theatre - Stage construction and equipment for small theatres, schools and - community - -Author: Irving Pichel - -Release Date: April 1, 2022 [eBook #67752] - -Language: English - -Produced by: Alan, Charlene Taylor and the Online Distributed - Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This file was - produced from images generously made available by The - Internet Archive/American Libraries.) - -*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK ON BUILDING A THEATRE *** - - - - - - THEATRE ARTS MONOGRAPHS. No. 1 - - -[Illustration: Façade and entrance of the Beechwood Theatre and -Scarborough School, Scarborough, New York. Welles Bosworth, Architect. -(Photograph by Arnold Genthe.)] - - - - - ON BUILDING A - THEATRE - - STAGE CONSTRUCTION AND EQUIPMENT - FOR SMALL THEATRES, SCHOOLS - AND COMMUNITY BUILDINGS - - BY - IRVING PICHEL - - [Illustration] - - NEW YORK - THEATRE ARTS INC. - 1920 - - - - - Copyright 1920 by THEATRE ARTS, Inc. - - - - -CONTENTS - - - INTRODUCTION - - I. ARCHITECTURAL TRADITION IN THE THEATRE: - THE AUDITORIUM - - II. THE STAGE PLAN - - III. PROVISION FOR BACK-STAGE WORKERS - - IV. THE EQUIPMENT OF THE STAGE - - V. STAGE LIGHTING - - VI. STAGE MACHINERY AND SETTINGS - - BIBLIOGRAPHY - - - - -LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS - - - Entrance of the Beechwood Theatre _Frontispiece_ - - Stage of the _Teatro Farnese_ at Parma 15 - - Sketch of an Elizabethan Theatre 16 - - Interior of the Little Theatre, New York 25 - - Exterior of the Little Theatre, New York 26 - - The Munich Art Theatre 39 - - Exterior of the Munich Art Theatre 40 - - Section of the Munich Art Theatre 41 - - Auditorium of the Munich Art Theatre 42 - - The Arts and Crafts Theatre, Detroit 55 - - The Carnegie Institute Theatre, Pittsburgh 56 - - The Neighborhood Playhouse, New York 65 - - The Artist’s Guild Theatre, St. Louis 66 - - - ILLUSTRATIONS IN THE TEXT-- - - 1. Plan of the _Teatro Olympico_ at Vicenza 19 - - 2. Plans of the Berlin _Volksbühne_ 20 - - 3. Plan and section of the Little Theatre, New York 22 - - 4. Plan of the Carnegie Institute Theatre, Pittsburgh 28 - - 5. First-floor plan of the Munich Art Theatre 30 - - 6. Second-floor plan and section of the Munich Art Theatre 31 - - 7. Plan of the 39th Street Theatre, New York 35 - - 8. Plan of the Beechwood Theatre 37 - - 9. Stage of the _Théâtre du Vieux Colombier_ 71 - - - - -INTRODUCTION - - -Architectural ineptitudes are more likely to be perpetuated and in -time condoned than those in any other art. Generally speaking, a bad -painting is scrapped, poor music remains unpublished and unplayed -(along with much good music, no doubt), and bad books, after a time, -cease to be read. But a building is somehow inescapable. Having a -durability that needs no treasuring, and being erected more often for -use than for beauty, a building generally achieves longevity, and the -bad art crumbles no sooner than the good stone. Usefulness, great -initial cost, sturdy stuff, are all against a building’s being put out -of the way merely because it is ugly. Or even, as a matter of fact, -because it does not successfully serve the purpose for which it was -erected. - -As people live in a house, or work, day after day, in a store or -factory or public building, they become used to inconveniences, bad -arrangement, and lack of proper facilities. They complain for a time, -perhaps, and then forget. And after a while, when the house has -become home, or the large building has gathered tradition, a sort of -admiration settles upon it. What is really plain ugly or wrong or -bad appears quaint and full of “atmosphere.” And is imitated. Style -and tradition embalm the very features that make the building a bad -building. - -In the theatre, this perpetuation of musty, tradition-hallowed -faults of construction has been carried to an extraordinary extreme. -There is more ritual, one might believe, in constructing a stage and -auditorium in accordance with honored custom than there is in the -building of a church. In the more modern theatres, there have been -notable improvements over the theatres of a generation ago; but in the -auditoriums and stages of schools, clubs and societies, and in other -public or semi-public buildings in which such facilities are included -as a sort of side issue, the ancient law is observed. The average -high school stage seems to be inspired by the faint recollection of a -visit to the theatre, supplemented by the examination of old prints -illustrating the stage of Inigo Jones. - - * * * * * - -To-day, by a concerted movement throughout the country, hundreds of -community houses are being planned as war memorials. These buildings -are designed to include facilities for all the social and recreational -interests of the communities they will serve. Practically all of -them will include stages and auditoriums. At the same time, hundreds -of new school buildings are being planned, and these, too, will have -stages intended to be useful for dramatic productions. But unless -architects have at their disposal much more technical knowledge of -the producers’ requirements than in the past, it is certain that most -of these auditoriums and stages will be bad--as are the auditoriums -and stages in most existing schools. It is to forestall some of the -common mistakes that this paper has been prepared--to describe them in -detail, and to set up against them the ideal features toward which the -designers of such structures should strive. - -I believe that the memorial halls are destined to play so large a part -in community life that they must have removed from them every obstacle -to their fullest usefulness. In every community of moderate size and -culture there is a releasing to-day of dramatic impulse, and folks turn -more and more toward the theatre as a mode of group expression. The -Little Theatre movement, with its eighty-five or more centers renewing -their life, now that the war is over, is an evidence of the birth of -a new theatre in this country. Innumerable community pageants and -masques are an indication that people turn to the drama as a means of -expressing their corporate æsthetic. The production of worthy plays by -schools and colleges, the interest such institutions are showing in -the writing of plays and in the fostering of an indigenous drama, the -widespread discussion of the drama and the theatre by clubs, reading -circles and drama leagues, all are portents of a theatre that shall -be a vital and integral part of our daily community life. And at the -very moment these words are being written, the commercial theatre -that has so long held the arena is being convulsed by a revolution -that may mean nothing short of its eventual extinction. The system -of wholesale manufacture and distribution of theatre products is on -the wane, and the theatre as an art, as a social institution of the -rank and significance of the school or the church, may soon have the -field to itself. Hourly, in the little theatres, in community drama -undertakings, in the municipal theatres, in the classrooms and the -clubs, and on the school stages, the new theatre is growing up. - -One of the finest services that the memorial community house can render -is to provide a home for the dramatic impulse of the community--not a -makeshift home, but one worthy of the fine art of the drama and the -fine craft of the theatre. It does not matter whether or not the -building is to be large and pretentious or small and inexpensive; but -it matters that it should be fitted to the least detail to fulfill its -function efficiently and beautifully. - -I do not write these pages as an architect or as an instructor of -architects, but as one knowing fairly well the conditions which a stage -has to meet when it is used for dramatic representations of any sort. -In the course of a rather varied experience in the theatre--amateur and -professional, little and big, commercial and “art”--I have encountered -practically all the mistakes that are made in stage construction. I -have found them to be of two sorts: mistakes of imitation, and mistakes -of ingenuity. - -The first type of mistake is easy enough to account for. Usually, the -auditoriums and stages of schools have been intended primarily for -use as “chapels” or assembly halls. There has been a feeling on the -part of school authorities that the dramatic instinct is in some way -unwholesome and that its expression should be discouraged. As often -as not the design of the school stage has been a conspiracy to thwart -its growth. The attitude of the authorities has recently changed -somewhat, but with the change has come very little more intelligence -in the matter. Where, before, they were careful to obstruct, they are -now merely negligent, leaving the architect to his own devices. The -proceeding is very much at random, and experts are rarely consulted. -It is not wholly the architect’s fault that he builds as he does. -Opportunities to build stages are not frequent; he knows more about -building them than using them, and the models he follows have not been -often enough refreshed by the innovations of theatre experts. His -patterns are largely outmoded. In the largest high school in one of the -greatest midwestern cities, I have seen a stage built no more than five -years ago in which is exemplified almost every stage feature of the -civil war period--a vast curved apron, grooves for wings, and a stage -floor sloping from the back wall toward the footlights. In addition, -there are one or two mistakes peculiar to high schools,--notably the -omission of an entrance to the stage, save on one side. - -The other type of error which one encounters is usually made by a -clever man who has observed the more modern practices in building large -theatres and attempts to adapt them to a space utterly inadequate or -wrongly shaped for the purpose. Usually he cramps his space hopelessly -and renders it even less useful for its purpose than it might have been -had no such ingenuity been displayed. The finely equipped stage of the -Artists’ Guild Theatre in St. Louis is an admirable replica in little -of a fully equipped stage of the commercial theatre. But the stagehouse -is so small that the fly gallery at the left and the paint bridge at -the back are a constant embarrassment. The stage would have been more -workable if these devices had not been employed. - -These errors of construction, after all, indicate but one thing--that -the stage has been regarded as a characteristic type of structure, -to be built according to established rules, rather than as a place -designed to fulfill a peculiar function. A stage is a space on which -a dramatic action is to be revealed before an audience. Whatever the -space at the builder’s disposal--its size or shape--or whatever the -building he must remodel, that is the only thing to be considered. A -play is to be given. The players must be seen and heard. There must -be means for them to enter the presence of the audience, and exit. -The space on which they appear must be illuminated. Somehow the space -set aside for the player shall be able to suggest, either by means -of scenery as it is commonly understood, or by some conventional -arrangement, permanent or variable, a world in which the character he -portrays might move. - -Beginning with this much specification and no more, I propose to work -out with some definiteness the principles underlying the construction -of an ideal stage and the relation of the auditorium to it, bearing in -mind all the while the fact that many of the stages in the War Memorial -Buildings and little theatres are to be small, that large sums cannot -always be spent on them, and that they must in most cases serve a -variety of purposes. - -If we remember always the function our stage is to fulfill, we have two -good sources from which to draw practical details for its construction, -and a third source, debatable but interesting. First, there are the -errors which I have referred to. Some of these I shall discuss in -detail in the next chapter. Then, most valuable of all sources, are -the conclusions to be drawn from the practice of the most skilled -architects and artists of the theatre. And finally, to be considered -briefly, there are speculations as to the demands which the drama of -the future may make on the theatre,--demands that can be forecasted -inaccurately at best, but deserving a glance, perhaps, if only to call -attention to the certainty that such demands will be made. - - - - -CHAPTER I. - -ARCHITECTURAL TRADITION IN THE THEATRE: THE AUDITORIUM - - -There are, of course, other types of auditorium and platform than -that of the theatre. Churches, lecture halls, and the chambers of -legislative assemblies are planned with the same general end of making -a person or persons at one part of the room audible and visible to -many persons gathered in another part. The ready defense of much bad -planning in school auditoriums is that they were not modelled after -theatres but after one of these other forms. To-day this will not serve -as a defense. Interest in the drama is too widespread, and recognition -of the social potency of the theatre is too general. And whereas -none of these other forms of audience chamber meets the needs of the -theatre, a well-planned theatre can serve any use to which a gathered -community may care to put it. - -The rocks which threaten disaster to our intent to devise a room which -may serve as theatre, assembly hall, chapel, or whatever, are, if we go -to beginnings, the traditional form of the theatre and its traditional -_décor_. In the latter, time has wrought many changes. It was once felt -that a theatre was not a theatre if it was not adorned with a wealth -of gilded cupids, masks, tambours, and daggers, surrounded by stucco -wreaths and garlands in high relief, and interspaced with pictured -panels of the muses, especially those most at home in a playhouse. -And, indeed, about those old houses, their garishness now mellowed, -there is a glamor peculiarly of the theatre, and a sweet mustiness -in the air bespeaking audiences of perfumed ladies, long since dead, -the grease-paint and pomade of a long line of players, old scenery, -the fine fustian of the old plays. It is somewhat like the odor in a -garret stored with the treasures of our grandparents, or the mustiness -of an old book. But these are faded flowers that cannot be brought -to life, and the theatre of to-day, its plays and its players, are -moved by a different spirit. Whatever lure these tinselly old temples -have is a reminiscent one. To-day, there may be found theatres with -the simplicity and peace of a church, the unobtrusive luxury of the -drawing-room, and even, by overshooting the mark of simplicity, the -bareness of the lecture-room or the legislative chamber. - -The greater sincerity that has come into the theatre, and that fear of -romance that marks the first decade or more of the Twentieth Century, -did much to overcome traditional over-elaboration. There has come, too, -a marked freedom from tradition in the planning of the usual large -show-houses. The more modern theatres are, for the most part, free from -those glaring structural ineptitudes that several centuries of custom -had imposed. In Germany especially (the traditional form of the theatre -did not develop there), great progress has been made, and the theatres -of such architects as Max Littmann and Oskar Kaufmann serve as models. -Stage machinery in Germany has been brought to a point of perfection -not yet reached in any other country. Lautenschlager, Brandt, and -Fortuny (a Spaniard) have contributed inventions that have only -occasionally been experimented with in this country, and then somewhat -half-heartedly. - -Tradition clings close to its native heath, nevertheless, and in -England, to which America looks first, perhaps, and in the Latin -countries, it has enough vitality still to be a source of danger. It -may be worth while to scan the history of the tradition, especially -from the “front of the house”, before we consider the stage itself. -For it is from here that the gravest criticism against a stage can be -made,--that it is not easily visible from all parts of the house.[1] - -[1] I shall not consider it expedient, in any part of this discussion, -to go into questions of engineering detail. It is assumed that the -architect is equipped or will equip himself with such technical -knowledge. Nor shall I refer to structural modifications brought about -by the regulations of Boards of Fire Underwriters. These matters have -been treated more or less efficiently in several other works, to which -reference will be found in the Appendix. - -The form of the stage and the manner in which it has been used have, -throughout the history of the theatre, been the primary factors in -determining the shape of the auditorium. The Greek theatre was devoted -to a ceremonial drama in honor of Dionysus, acted about an altar -erected to him. So the stage took the form of a circular space with an -altar in the center. The seating was arranged in concentric tiers, with -the altar as a center, and more than half surrounded the stage space or -orchestra. Tangent to this circle, and perpendicular to a line drawn -through the center of the seating space, was built the skene, or back -scene. At first, this was merely a dressing tent; later it was a wall, -of wood or stone, masking the dressing-rooms of the actors. It was -pierced with doors, giving access to the stage before it, and served -as the palace, temple, or city wall, in front of which the scene of the -play was laid. There is no satisfactory evidence that it gave on to a -raised space conforming to the later stage platform. Chorus and actors -were on the ground level of the orchestra. All the seats being raised, -the spectator looked down upon the action of the play, and all the -seats were set on radial lines drawn from the altar or center of the -orchestra. - -[Illustration: Stage of the _Teatro Farnese_ at Parma, Italy. An -example of the picture-frame stage set into the plastic stage of -an antique theatre. See page 18. (From Hammitzsch’s _Der Moderne -Theaterbau_.)] - -[Illustration: Contemporary sketch of an Elizabethan Theatre. (From -Caffin’s _Appreciation of the Drama_.)] - -In the Roman theatre, a number of radical changes are to be noted. The -large orchestra is no longer needed for a chorus, and the space is cut -to a semicircle, in which are placed the chairs of the Senators. Since -spectators are now on the ground level, the actors must be raised, and -the stage becomes a long, shallow platform, beginning at the diameter -of the circle. Raised tiers of seats, as in the Greek theatre, surround -the semicircular ground space. At the back of the stage is a wall, -or _scæna_, which also closes in each side of the stage, meeting the -seats at the diameter ends. It is built to the height of the uppermost -tier of seats. Since the stage extended almost the whole width of the -seating, and was raised above the ground, sight lines were ideal. - -Between the fall of the Roman Empire and the revival of classic -learning in Italy, the theatre had no settled home. The drama went -through various vicissitudes, took on new functions, expressed itself -in new forms. The mediæval theatre of mysteries and miracles, after -it had become secularized, went forth from the chancel of the church, -and became a vagrant and an opportunist. It set up its paraphernalia -in the public square, in the inn-yard, in the guild hall. For the -most part, it was a daylight, outdoor recreation, with no fixed -home, and no such special ceremonial functions as in the Greek and -Roman state. It was proletarian, distinctly. With the Renaissance, -in addition to the popular itinerant theatre of the people, there -were two new manifestations. The humanists, in their academies, -revived the Roman comedies of Plautus and Terence; the courts of the -ruling families of the free cities became the scenes of magnificent -productions of masques, pageants, “triumphs” and fêtes. These were -usually allegories based on classic mythology or on ancient history, -but presented largely in the form and manner of the popular drama -of the time. To the presentation of the court fêtes, the greatest -artists,--Bramante, Leonardo da Vinci, Giulio Romano, etc.,--brought -their talents. They were given in the gardens of the palaces at night, -illuminated by flares and fireworks. The “pageant” or wheeled stage -of the mediæval popular drama, was used for the display of some -large piece of decoration or machinery. As early as 1491, however, -at Perugia, the first indoor performances were given. The stage went -through various modifications, still keeping its resemblance to the -stage of the mediæval drama, until one invention enforced the most -radical development that had yet taken place,--perspective scenery. -Hammitzsch[2] traces the invention of scenery in painted perspective -to Bramante’s decoration of the sacristy of the Church of San Satiro -in Milan. The wall painting represents in perspective an extended -vista of the sacristy, in an attempt to make it appear larger. The -modern counterpart is the mirrored restaurant. It is certain, at all -events, that Peruzzi employed such scenery in dramatic representations -in Rome before 1510. With these painted prospects came a variety of -changes in the arrangements of the rooms in which the masques were -given; the stage became more a place apart; it was set at the end of -the room rather than along the sides, that the effect of distance -produced by the painted prospects might be enhanced, and the proscenium -frame enclosed it. However, when the theatre as a building designed -specifically for the presentation of plays came into being, the form of -auditorium was not so thoughtfully adapted to this new type of stage as -had been the case with the ancient theatres. For it was to them that -architects turned for models for the auditorium, though the stage was -no longer the stage that went with the amphitheatre form of seating. - -[2] Hammitzsch, _Der Moderne Theaterbau_, I. Teil, p. 11. - -The theatre of the Academy of Olympians at Vicenza, begun in 1580 by -the architect Palladio and completed in 1584 by his son Scillo (Fig. -1), is practically a Roman theatre roofed over, and equipped with a -stage that compromises with the stage then in mode. It has a sloping -floor (to increase the effect of the perspective) and alleys of scenery -giving off each entranceway in the stage wall. - -The Teatro Farnese in Parma, completed in 1619 by Aleotti, is the first -modern theatre. In it appear theatre features that have come down to -our own day,--the elongation of the amphitheatre auditorium into the -horseshoe form, and a stage completely separated from the auditorium -and equipped not only to handle the new scenery but to manipulate it -quickly, so that changes of scene might be effected in the presence -of the audience. In this theatre, Aleotti not only broke away from -the classic stage but also from the multiple setting of the mediæval -stage and definitely introduced the modern form of picture stage. Less -completely did he break away from the classic seating, but he modified -it somewhat to meet new conditions. - -[Illustration: Figure 1--Plan of the _Teatro Olympico_, Vicenza.] - -With Aleotti passed the period of primitive experiment with a new -instrument. From his day until very recent years, there was to be no -marked change, except the introduction of balconies, a feature already -anticipated in the theatres of other countries and soon employed in -Italy, and the further accentuation of the horseshoe form. The old -circle plan became an ellipse, and still later, as the side balconies -were brought in closer to the stage, an oval. - -In England, very much the same history was enacted. The old English -miracle and mystery gave the theatre its platform stage, but the -imitations of Latin comedy first gave it a permanent home. - -Public performances of university-made imitations of Roman comedy were -common during the reign of Edward the Sixth, and during the reign of -Elizabeth (1558-1603) seventeen professional theatres were licensed -for the exhibition of contemporary plays. In something like sixty -years, the English drama and the English theatre had grown from crude -beginnings to the highest point they have yet reached. And it was by -professional companies of actors presenting dramas and not by the -court or academic presentations, that the theatre was first given -form. These companies, like the craftsmen bands of miracle and mystery -players, acted wherever they could find a place or wherever they were -bidden,--at court, in great halls, in the provinces, in the church or -the moot hall or the inn, and in London, in the inn-yard or bear pit. -It was the inn-yard that was most used and had the greatest influence -on the form of the playhouse. - -[Illustration: Figure 2--Plans of the theatre just completed in Berlin -for the Berliner Volksbühne. The form of the auditorium is typical -of the latest practice in continental and American theatre design -(see page 27). The large amount of stage space, in proportion to the -auditorium, however, is unfortunately not typical of American theatres. -The second-floor plan is included to illustrate the general arrangement -rather than to show the balcony form, which is neither typical nor -particularly good.] - -The inns were usually built in the form of a hollow square. A small -passage gave access to the inner court, which was surrounded by -galleries. The stage would be erected at the end of the court opposite -the entrance, and spectators stood on the level ground of the yard or -found seats in the galleries. The bear pits or bull rings were usually -circular buildings with several galleries similar to those of the -inn-yards. - -The earliest theatres, built about 1576, were round in shape, -with these characteristic galleries. They seem to have been used -interchangeably for theatrical performances and for bear-baiting. -The centers were open to the sky, like the inn-yards, and only the -galleries and part of the stage were roofed. The stages projected into -the center, and could be viewed, both by spectators on the ground and -by those in the galleries, from three sides. The only contemporary -drawing of the Elizabethan stage is that of Johannes De Witt of the -University of Utrecht, who visited London in 1596. His drawing of the -Swan Theatre differs in many details from the specifications of the -contract, but it gives a general idea of the form of auditorium and -stage. With the building of these theatres,--The Theatre, The Curtain, -The Hope, The Globe, Blackfriar’s, The Swan,--the use of the inn-yards -did not cease, and the Queen’s men performed regularly at The Boar’s -Head in Eastcheap as late as 1603.[3] - -[3] Ashley H. Thorndike, _Shakespeare’s Theatre_, p. 42. - -Contemporaneously, there were in England, as abroad, spectacular -performances at court, richly costumed and decorated. They were -performed in spacious palace halls, being acted on pageant wagons or on -the main floor, and were viewed from benches and balconies around the -sides. Eventually the pageant gave way to a stage temporarily erected -at one end of the room, the dancers descending to the main floor for -large ensembles and ballets. As early as 1607, scenery, curtains, and -a proscenium arch had been used. The picture stage, with its scenery -in painted perspective, was an importation from Italy, following a -visit there of Inigo Jones, and under his hand reached a high degree of -development during the third decade of the Seventeenth Century. - -[Illustration: Figure 3--Above is the section of the Little Theatre, -New York, showing clearly the relationship of the stage, auditorium -and other portions of the building. The dressing-rooms are above the -auditorium and are reached by both stairs and elevator. On the opposite -page is the first-floor plan of the building. It is a notable example -of the best contemporary American practice in auditorium arrangement. -These drawings illustrate the building as originally constructed, -without the recently added balcony and other changes. Harry Creighton -Ingalls and F. B. Hoffman Jr., Associate Architects.] - -[Illustration] - -With the reopening of the theatres after the Restoration, the practice -of the Italian theatre and opera house superseded the old-English -tradition practically altogether, the only noteworthy remnant being -the social distinction that made the ground level or “pit” the place -of the proletariat in the theatre. The visits of the aristocracy to -the theatre during the Elizabethan period, even when theatres were -under court patronage, were something in the nature of an escapade. -The sheltered galleries were reserved for the gentry, and the unroofed -ground space or pit was open to the crowd. From the galleries, -moreover, a better view of the protruding three-sided stage was to be -had. In the later, wholly-roofed theatres, the stage still protruded -somewhat. A great curved “apron” projected beyond the proscenium. -Nor was the proscenium the mere picture-frame of to-day, but a deep -portal. The balconies extended over the stage to the curtain, so that -spectators at the forward ends of the balconies were directly above the -stage. The balconies were given swelling curves, bringing them further -toward the center of the stage, so that those who occupied these -forward seats could not only see but could be seen. The stage boxes of -to-day are a relic of this type of apron-stage theatre, and to-day, -with the picture frame stage, serve no purpose but the stupid social -one of self-display. - -The apron stage preserved one great advantage of the platform -stage: that of keeping the stage grouping, for at least a part of -the audience, plastic. And the dimness of candle or oil footlights -compelled the actors to keep to the front of the stage as much as -possible. The disappearance of the apron has been due wholly to the -improved lighting of the modern theatre. With its disappearance should -go the auditorium features that belonged with it. And even though -there have been occasional reversions to the platform stage and apron -in the productions of Granville Barker or Jacques Copeau, there is no -occasion for the revival of the horseshoe balcony or the stage box. In -later pages of this paper, where I deal specifically with the stage, I -shall recommend provision being made for an apron, either permanent or -movable; but the auditorium should not revert. - -[Illustration: Auditorium of the Little Theatre, New York. This -building, constructed for Winthrop Ames in 1912, still stands as -probably the best-designed small theatre in America. This photograph -shows the absence of boxes, the carefully adjusted floor slope, and the -harmony of all the decorative elements, although it hardly does justice -to the intimate “feel” of the room. Recently large changes have been -made in the building, a balcony having been added and a new decorative -scheme carried out. Harry Creighton Ingalls and F. B. Hoffman Jr., -Associate Architects.] - -[Illustration: Exterior of the Little Theatre, New York. Harry -Creighton Ingalls and F. B. Hoffman Jr., Architects. (From _The New -Movement in the Theatre_, by courtesy of Mitchell Kennerley.)] - -With modern resources in lighting and construction engineering, most -of the “practical” considerations that determined the form of the old -houses do not apply, and the social considerations that called for -the display of certain parts of the audience are not even tacitly -acknowledged in the more democratic theatre of to-day, except at the -opera. Accordingly, the procedure of the architect should be governed -wholly by considerations of utility. - -The first consideration is that of visibility. A sight line drawn from -any seat in the auditorium should give a clear view of the entire -stage. As a general rule, therefore, the seating space should be very -little wider than the stage opening. A sight line drawn from a seat to -the right or the left of the proscenium arch past the corresponding -side of the arch will cut off that corner of the stage. The closer the -seat is to the stage the greater is the part of the stage concealed. -(See Fig. 4.) Accordingly, it is the custom in most modern theatres to -narrow the auditorium as it approaches the stage, so that the front of -the seating is no greater in width than the width of the proscenium. -The rear of the auditorium is slightly wider. (See Figs. 2 and 3.) - -As a concession to this plan, the back of a stage setting is often -narrower than the front. That is, in the case of an interior setting, -the side walls of the room represented, instead of being set at right -angles to the back wall, as is the case in most rooms, are set at an -angle corresponding to the sight lines drawn from the extreme right -and left ends of the last row of seats. This is purely a convention, -required by the shape of the playhouse, and pardonable on the ground -that it is less irritating to look at a distorted room than to be -unable to see its corners. - -At all events, this form of auditorium affords a higher visibility -than did the old horseshoe shape. The most noteworthy move toward the -adoption of this type of seating was made by Richard Wagner in the -construction of the Opera House at Bayreuth. Here the auditorium is in -the shape of a fan or blunt-nosed wedge, with the stage at the narrow -end. The most approved type of modern auditorium follows this form -to some extent. In such theatres as the Künstler Theater in Munich -(Littmann), or his Prinz-Regenten Opera House, this plan is developed. -(See Fig. 5.) - -The general plan of the best modern American theatres is rectangular -with the side walls converging toward the stage, beginning at a point -about two-thirds of the way from the back. The seats are in concentric -rows following a curve drawn from a center approximately at the middle -of the back wall of the stage. The back wall of the auditorium follows -the curve of the seats. The Little Theatre in New York is built on this -plan. Where balconies are included, they have only a slight curve, -approximately the same as that of the orchestra seats. - -[Illustration: Figure 4--Plan of the theatre at the Carnegie Institute -of Technology, Pittsburgh. The sight-lines from the sides of the -auditorium are badly distorted, evidently to preserve the novel -architectural effect of an elliptical room. By drawing lines from the -outmost seats in the first five rows, it can be seen that spectators -there will be shut off from any view of more than half the stage space. -The one outstanding feature here is the large amount of space given to -scenery storage-room and green-room.] - -It is a common fault of school auditoriums that the seating is extended -to the right and the left of the stage, so that a considerable number -of seats are valueless for seeing. They preserve, also, for no known -reason, other than that it has been the theatre practice, the apron, -projecting far beyond the line of the proscenium arch. - -A second requirement for assuring direct sight lines from every seat -to the stage is an inclined floor. In many cases, this appears an -insuperable difficulty. Auditoriums which must be used as gymnasiums or -dance halls require level floors. Often, then, the stage is elevated -at a greater height from the floor than usual, in the belief that this -device will overcome the lack of an inclined floor. On the contrary, -it merely makes the spectator tilt his head at an uncomfortable angle, -makes the players appear preternaturally tall, and, as they move toward -the back of the stage, conceals the lower part of their bodies. The -best height for a stage, whether with inclined or flat auditorium, is -three feet, nine inches. - -A number of means may be used to provide an inclined floor when -performances are to be given in a hall which must be used for many -purposes. In Copley Hall, Boston, movable risers were installed, each -row of seats being lifted about six inches above the row in front. This -scheme has the advantage of being the least costly at the beginning, -but this consideration is outweighed by a host of disadvantages. The -trestles and platforms occupy a large storage space when not in use, -they are not a hundred percent safe, and they emit a squeak with every -footstep. Moreover, they increase, to some degree, the fire hazard. - -Far more ingenious and needing no storage space is the device employed -by Laurence Ewald in building the Little Theatre of the Artists’ Guild, -St. Louis. The theatre occupies a wing of the building used ordinarily -as an art gallery, and has a level floor. When performances are to be -given, the theatre seats are bolted to the floor, and the back half of -the floor, which is built in one piece, hinged at the middle of the -auditorium, is lifted at the rear by a four-ton hydraulic jack until a -pitch of about one inch per foot is obtained. - -Mr. Ewald has provided me with the following account of the -construction of the floor: - - “The movable part of the floor consists of a floor-bearing structure - of steel which extends from a hinge half-way between the back of the - house and the stage, and parallel with the front of the stage, to the - back of the house. - - “This structure is made up of four I-beams at right angles to the - front of the stage, and another I-beam attached to them at right - angles at the back end of the house. In the cellar, immediately - beneath this cross beam, is placed an ordinary four-ton hydraulic - jack, which, when operated, revolves the back floor structure on the - hinges at the middle of the house. When the floor has been raised - thirty inches, four legs suspended from the four I-beams drop of - their own weight into position and support the load, and the jack is - removed.” - -Had it not been for the structure of the room under the auditorium, -Mr. Ewald would have constructed the _entire_ floor on a steel frame, -as described above, and balanced it on an axle at the center, where -the hinges now are. With suitable space under the front half of the -floor, it could have been tipped on its axle, depressing the front and -elevating the back, giving an incline to the entire auditorium. Built -thus, the floor would require no jack and would be amply supported at -three points; or, with the understructure built in the form of a -truss, the floor could be made to rock on the apex of the truss. With -this arrangement, the front half of the floor would have support along -its entire length. - -[Illustration: Figure 5--First-floor plan of the Munich Art Theatre. -Note that the seats shown here form only a part of the main floor -section, as indicated in the plans on the page opposite. Max Littmann, -Architect.] - -[Illustration: Figure 6--Above is a section showing the arrangement -and structural features of the Munich Art Theatre. Below is the -second-floor plan. It should be noted that the seats here are not a -balcony but a continuation, on the same floor slope, of the seats shown -in the plan on the page opposite.] - -Another device, proposed for a great municipal auditorium in a western -city, will not so readily commend itself for general use, because -of the great initial cost and because of the depth of cellarage -required under the auditorium. Here the entire floor was to make a -semi-revolution. On one side of the revolving plane was a smooth -flooring; on the other, seats were bolted. When the building was to be -used as a theatre, the side with the seats was turned uppermost and -held at the proper pitch. When the hall was used for a ball or for a -dog show, or any function needing a level floor, the smooth side was -turned up and secured at a horizontal position. - -When the floor can be built with a permanent slope, either a simple -incline or an incline in the form of a parabolic curve is used. The -latter form is preferable. - -In many places the fire laws limit the pitch of the floor to one inch -per foot. With rows of seats spaced at the legal minimum of thirty-two -inches this does not give enough clearance for the people in each row -to see over the heads of those in the row in front. For a decent degree -of comfort, a little seating capacity should be sacrificed, and the -rows spaced thirty-six inches apart. - -If possible, there should be a gradient of two inches to the foot, -giving a difference of elevation between rows of six inches. If the -law prevents the two-inch grade, the same effect can be produced by -“staggering” the seats. That is, the seats of alternate rows are set in -direct alignment, while the intermediate rows are set half a seat-width -to the right or left. Thus spectators will look between the shoulders -of those immediately in front of them, and will be able to see over the -heads of those in the second row in front, who, by such an arrangement, -will be sitting in a direct line with them. There will thus be a -six-inch difference between each two rows of seats. - -Beyond all these considerations of adequate sight lines, however, there -is another requirement far more important, far less well understood, -even in the light of any guiding or misguiding tradition, by the -average architect. That is the requirement of good acoustics. Until -quite recently, this was left wholly to accident. Buildings were -erected, and the acoustic properties were tested afterwards. If they -chanced to be good, the owners were to be congratulated. If they were -bad, great sums were spent stringing piano wires, or nets of raw silk, -or padding the walls. And then, quite as often as not, the acoustics -remained bad. - -The late Wallace Sabine, however, demonstrated that it was possible to -predict the acoustic properties of a proposed structure with scientific -accuracy, and to forestall defects by structural modification. In _The -American Architect_, Dec. 31, 1913, Professor Sabine described the -experiments by which the causes of the acoustic difficulties in the New -Theatre (now the Century) in New York were discovered and overcome, and -the methods which he employed in helping plan a number of the theatres -designed by C. H. Blackhall, perhaps the most experienced theatre -architect in the United States. This paper and others by Professor -Sabine should be read by any architect who contemplates building -an auditorium of any sort. The matter is too vital to be left to a -hit-or-miss chance of success. - -With an auditorium from every part of which the stage can be seen, from -every seat of which all the words of the actors can be heard, there -will be little fault to be found. Its comfort, its ventilation, its -isolation from street noises, its protection against fire--these are -matters which need not be treated here, and which have been written -of elsewhere more adequately than I could write of them. As for its -decoration, there are no rules to govern that. If the designer has -bad taste, there is no help for it, except to avoid him. If he is an -artist, let him exercise his art on the interior of the auditorium and -forget the sort of thing that has traditionally adorned theatres and -wedding cakes. - -But, most of all, let him talk with the artist, if there should luckily -be one, who is going to work in the particular theatre, and learn from -him the sorts of play that are to be done, and the æsthetic of the -group that is to present them, if it has one, and so find some clue to -the atmosphere the auditorium should evoke. From then on, his task is -one of high creation. - - - - -CHAPTER II. - -THE STAGE PLAN - - -We are accustomed to regard as the stage of a theatre that part on -which the actors appear, immediately behind the footlights, bounded, -right and left, by the proscenium arch. As a matter of fact, this is -a very small part of the stage. From the construction of many school -stages and many of the stages of the little and experimental theatres, -I am convinced that this misconception really exists. It is true that -many little theatre groups have been obliged to choose between a -cramped stage and no stage at all. On the whole, the work they have -done, in the light of their limited equipment, is nothing short of -amazing. - -One well-known little theatre director has declared to me that he -values these inadequacies because of the ingenuity required to overcome -them. And I imagine that very frequently admiration for this sort of -ingenuity passes current for the evaluation on its own merits of work -done in these theatres. - -No director could be hindered, however, by having excellent facilities -at his command. His imagination, instead of visioning means of -overcoming too low a roof to his stage or the lack of off-stage space, -would be free to interpret the matter of the play itself. It would be -a great pity to lose the work of many earnest groups who have been -presenting plays in remodelled dwellings, saloons, or stables, with -what appear to be hopelessly inadequate stages. But if a building is to -be erected for the purpose of housing a theatre, it will mean greater -freedom for the artists (in fact or intent) who are to occupy it, if -they are given every facility that foresight can provide. - -The stage, properly speaking, is about five times as large as the part -of it that is visible to the audience when the curtain is raised. The -spaces to right and left of the proscenium arch should equal the center -space within the proscenium. Then there is the space above the stage, -the space under the stage and the space required adjacent to the stage -for dressing rooms, shops, etc. - -Dimensions for practically all of these spaces can best be derived -from the dimensions of the proscenium arch. The width of the opening -generally is equal to half the width of the auditorium at its widest -part. It may be somewhat less or somewhat greater, but it is well to -establish a minimum of twenty-four feet for the width of the opening. -Less than this will not give adequate space without serious crowding -for the presentation of scenes with more than a very few people. - -[Illustration: Figure 7--Plan of the Thirty-Ninth Street Theatre, New -York. An example of good planning for sight-lines, illustrating an -auditorium with center aisle.] - -In height the proscenium should be fittingly proportioned to the -width, with a minimum of about twelve feet in mind. A stage too low -and too narrow will throw the human figure out of proportion to his -surroundings on the stage. Let us assume that we have a stage with a -proscenium opening twenty-four feet wide and not less than twelve feet -high. The aggregate off-stage space right and left should then equal -about twenty-four feet, making the total width of the stage-house -forty-eight feet. The depth of the stage should be not less than -twenty-four feet. The height of the stage, from floor to “rigging loft” -should be not less than thirty-six feet. The cellar under the stage -should be not less than ten or twelve feet deep. This is merely a rough -guide, using the measurements of the proscenium as index. - -Claude B. Hagen, construction engineer for the Century Theatre in -New York, suggests a “rule of seven” for the derivation of these -dimensions, making all of them multiples of seven. The following table -gives his measurements for stages of various sizes: - - ---------------------------------------------------------------------- - Proscenium width 28 ft. 35 ft. 42 ft. - ---------------------------------------------------------------------- - Proscenium height Seven feet less than width - ---------------------------------------------------------------------- - Height of loft 56 ft. 63 ft. 70 ft. to 84 ft. - ---------------------------------------------------------------------- - Height of fly-gallery floor 28 ft. 35 ft. (7 ft. back of proscenium) - ---------------------------------------------------------------------- - Width of stage 42 ft. 56 ft. 70 ft. - ---------------------------------------------------------------------- - Depth of stage 21 ft. 28 ft. 35 ft. to 42 ft. - ---------------------------------------------------------------------- - Cellar 14 ft. 21 ft. - ---------------------------------------------------------------------- - Distance between border lights Seven feet from center to center - ---------------------------------------------------------------------- - -These measurements, while customary, are hardly ideal, and are -generalizations from the more or less arbitrary dimensions imposed by -high land values. It goes without saying that however small a theatre -is, its stage should be as large as the plot on which the building -stands will allow. - -The off-stage space at the sides is particularly important. Without it, -entrances to the scene are cramped, there is no place to pack furniture -and scenery for other acts than the one in progress on the stage, and -there is no place for the actors to await their entrances. Such space -is needed, often, for the suggestion of other rooms than the one before -the audience, and an important part of the lighting of the scene is -done from the sides. - -Next in importance is the space above the stage, the “flies,” in the -technical vocabulary of the theatre. In this space, above the line of -vision of the spectator, much scenery is hung until needed, lighting -units are suspended, and with good overhead space, effects of height -can be produced and ampler places revealed than that in which the -audience sits. - -The cellar under the stage is of especial importance where the -off-stage spaces at the sides are cramped. It is used for the storage -of scenery and furniture, for stage machinery and for entrances from a -lower floor (with the aid of traps), and it often provides passage from -one side of the stage to the other during the progress of a scene that -occupies the entire depth of the stage. In some theatres, a part of the -stage floor may be lowered by an elevator, and properties or furniture -disposed of during the changes of scene, thus preventing crowding of -the stage-house itself. - -[Illustration: Figure 8--Plan of the Beechwood Theatre and Scarborough -School. The entire space under the stage is given up to a workshop, and -over the vestibule and lobby is a library. Additional dressing-rooms -and a property-room are over the stage-level dressing-rooms shown here. -The building is practically a complete theatre with two school-room -wings. Welles Bosworth, Architect.] - -Hardwood should never be used for the stage floor. The architect of the -excellent Arts and Crafts Theatre in Detroit, in his desire to use only -the best of building materials, specified a stage floor of maple. As a -consequence, it is almost impossible to support scenery by the use of -stage braces, screwed to the floor with a stage screw or “peg.” Soft -wood into which the pegs bite easily, is the only sort to use. - -It is particularly important in small theatres that the stage walls be -as unbroken by entrances as possible. At least two there must be: a -large high door, opening to an alley or street, by which scenery may -be brought in and taken out, and a small one, a stage entrance for the -people of the theatre. It is well so to contrive the building that this -one door gives access to the stage from the dressing-room corridors, -shops, cellar, stairs, street and front of the house. With many doors -opening on the stage, it is difficult to find space for the stacking -of scenery without blocking them. It is often desirable to have one -dressing room very near the stage or opening immediately upon it, not -for the use of the star, but for the player who may happen to have the -quickest change of costume. - -Stages intended for the housing of large productions and traveling -companies should include also a fly gallery, built out from one of -the side walls of the stage at a height of not less than twenty feet -from the floor. The ropes by which drop curtains, ceilings, and -“frame-pieces” of scenery are raised and lowered are operated from -this floor and are tied off to pins fastened in the gallery railing, -technically known as the pin-rail. In smaller stages, of no great -height, it will save space, construction costs and operating expense to -have the pin-rail at the floor level. - -Before discussing the equipment of the stage in detail, I wish to -digress for a moment and consider the provisions to be made for the -work that is done out of sight of the audience,--by the carpenters and -property men, the seamstresses, the electricians, and the actors before -they are ready to appear before the footlights. - -[Illustration: Auditorium of the Munich Art Theatre. The plates on -this and the following three pages, and the plans on pages 30 and -31 illustrate the interior and exterior appearance, as well as the -structural features, of a modern European theatre which comes close -to being a model for architects everywhere. Above is a view of the -auditorium as seen from a point near the boxes at the back. The -decoration in paneled wood (for acoustic reasons), the absence of -proscenium boxes, the uniform slope of the auditorium, and the simple -decorative curtain, are characteristic of the best contemporary -European practice. (The photographs are reproduced by courtesy of the -architect, Prof. Max Littmann.)] - -[Illustration: Exterior of the Munich Art Theatre.] - -[Illustration: A cross-section model of the Munich Art Theatre, showing -clearly the arrangement of boxes, auditorium, exits, stage, hidden -orchestra pit, double proscenium, etc.] - -[Illustration: A part of the auditorium of the Munich Art Theatre as -seen from the stage. This is interesting chiefly as illustrating the -arrangement of the boxes at the back, and the unbroken tiers of seats -with side exits.] - - - - -CHAPTER III. - -PROVISION FOR BACK-STAGE WORKERS - - -I have noted in an earlier chapter that the architecture of the theatre -is always governed by the function of the drama performed in it. The -use to which the stage is put determines always the shape and style of -the auditorium. There is no doubt that some great change is soon to -overtake the theatre; the drama will assume a new form, demanding a new -mode of presentation, and so a new theatre. Presently I shall discuss -what forms this new theatre may assume, but for the moment it is enough -to observe that it will be marked by a closer bond, one way or another, -between the audience and the players, between the audience and the play. - -For a long while, the theatre has shrouded itself in a sort of -pseudo-mystery. “Back-stage” has had the lure for the layman of a -hat from which rabbits are drawn by a conjurer. Of course, under -inspection, such a hat is found to be as empty as any other, bearing -even, in most cases, the mark of a respectable maker. And the -inspection deepens the mystery. The stage has shunned this sort of -scrutiny, because our drama of to-day and our theatre live mostly -by “effects”. And if the effect is stripped of wonder, the theatre -is almost as good as dead. What a sign of weakness this is! If the -snowstorm is seen to be bits of paper shaken out of a bag, and if it is -found that the imitation wind is produced by the scraping of paddles on -canvas, the public will lose interest in the theatre. - -And the people of the stage! How hungrily necks are craned for a -glimpse of the popular actor or of the beautiful actress, should -one pass in a hotel or on the street. They inhabit that mysterious, -unexplored back-stage. And a clever manager will encourage this sort -of curiosity by advising his people not to show themselves in the -street, except unavoidably. The matter of seeing the actors close -may be dismissed with a quip,--they might be found respectable upon -acquaintance, or, more likely, dull. But the truth about the back of -the theatre is the truth about the conjurer’s hat,--there’s nothing -there to see, except the pitiful little bag of tricks, the snowstorm -and the wind. There is not even the maker’s label. But this emptiness -is not all, for as with the hat, it’s quite engrossing while the -rabbits are there. The worst of it is that it is so poor, so mean -often, so dirty, so cramped and littered, to the last, dark cranny, -that we wonder how the actor-rabbits endure it all and keep their fur -so white. - -A rudimentary shame on the part of the managers, and a very human pride -on the part of the actors, have helped to keep these matters from the -theatregoer. Out front, there is warmth, light, comfort, elegance. The -spectator is lulled into forgetfulness of work, and the play casts -its spell over him. But a glimpse of the wretched barrenness of the -dressing-room or shop would make short work of his peace of mind, just -as a knowledge of the tricks sheers them of illusion. - -These things are becoming known, because the bond between the spectator -and the theatre-worker is already being formed. When it is full grown, -such facts will not be discovered; they will no longer exist. For -two movements that are bound to affect the theatre of the future are -bringing the lay public clambering over the footlights and crowding -in at the stage door. One, the Little Theatre Movement, is almost -altogether a lay insurgency. In scores of communities, it has made -its way; tradesmen, students, clerks, mechanics, people of leisure -and working people with a little leisure, have come together and in a -short time have plumbed the silly little mysteries of back-stage, and -have brought into their theatres a little bit of the real Mystery of -life and art that belongs there. And the more extensive, democratic -Community Drama movement is making play-actors and theatre-workers of -thousands who have heretofore been auditors. There will always be a -professional group of artists of the theatre, but in their theatres -there will be a close understanding and perhaps a physical connection -between the audience and the stage; in the great, popular theatre it -is conceivable that there will be very little distinction between the -auditorium and the stage. It may be that they will be interchangeable -or be one and the same. Then, it is certain that the conditions of -comfort and convenience that apply to the one shall apply fully to the -other, that the actor shall be as well cared for in the theatre as the -public. - -Let those who are building to-day look to this: Visit the -dressing-rooms, see the workplaces of the other workers of the -theatre,--the carpenter, electrician, property-man, and wardrobe -workers. Consider these workplaces, not only in comparison with the -front of the house, but as fit places for human beings to spend as much -as an hour a day. Consider them as places where work that should have -in it joy and beauty may develop. - -The community theatres that are going to be built within the next few -years are bound to be a blessing to those who have access to them. But, -for the most part, their projectors and builders are laymen, knowing -little of the vast work of preparation that must be done before a play -is ready for an audience. Where the commercial theatre builder does not -care how the actor and the theatre mechanic fare, the lay builder is a -little likely to overlook their existence. I have seen dozens of clubs -and schools, with fairly adequate stages and auditoriums, but with no -more than two small dressing-rooms, one for men and one for women. I -have seen several with no more than one, originally intended for a -closet but set aside as a dressing-room when it was discovered that -something of the sort is indispensable. - -Aside from the fact that the players and the workmen are human beings, -quite often of the same tastes and breeding as those who occupy the -front of the theatre, they have a long and exacting work to perform, -most of which can be done only in the theatre. And their domain is -the part of the theatre behind the proscenium line. The actors must -rehearse for several weeks before the play can be acted. They must -be in the theatre some time before the curtain rises on the play and -they leave it some time after the play has ended and the audience has -gone home. For they must dress and “make-up”, and should be allowed a -little while to shake off John Smith and enter into Hamlet. There is, -moreover, scenery to be built and painted, furniture and properties to -be made, lights to be arranged, effects to be devised, costumes to be -cut, fitted and sewed. - -How should these activities and these workers be taken care of? - -First, the actors. - -For their rehearsals, first of all, the stage should be used. If the -stage is otherwise occupied, with scenery, or with the rehearsals of -another production, as it often is in busy theatres, there should be -another place in the same building where rehearsals can be held, a room -with as large a floor as that of the stage proper. But, as often as -possible, the stage should be used for rehearsals. - -Then, for their preparation to appear in a performance, their dressing -and make-up. Dressing-rooms must be provided, sufficient in number to -accommodate the cast of the average play without crowding more than -two people to a room. Under ideal conditions, each player will have a -separate room, so that he can prepare for his performance, mentally -as well as physically, without disturbance. The rooms should be not -less than eight by ten feet, should each have a window, and should -be heated in winter. Against one wall there should be a long shelf or -table, about eighteen inches wide. Above it, should be a good mirror, -with lights so placed that the face of an actor seated at the shelf -and looking into the mirror will be well illuminated. Under the shelf, -there should be a drawer in which make-up materials may be kept. -Each dressing room should be provided with a washstand and with hot -and cold water. There should be a high clothes-closet or wardrobe in -which costumes may be hung. Where this is impractical, there should -be sufficient hooks to accommodate a number of costumes, and means of -covering them with a cloth to protect them from dust. Above the clothes -hooks, or at the top of the closet, should be a shelf for hats, shoes, -etc. - -It is well to provide from eight to twelve dressing-rooms, each large -enough to accommodate two persons. In addition, there should be two -large rooms, each with space for about a dozen persons, these to be -used for chorus, supernumeraries, or players of small parts. - -On each dressing-room floor there should be proper toilet -accommodations for each sex. Also, the ideally equipped building will -have shower baths. In these days of Dunsany, Hindus and Arabs and -Ethiopians may be met in many a town en route from the little theatre -to their homes, there to wash themselves white. - -It has been noted that, to preserve the unbroken wall space of the -stage as far as possible, dressing-rooms should not open directly upon -the stage floor. In many theatres, they are ranged off galleries above -the stage. On the whole, this is inadvisable. A dressing-room door, -inopportunely opened, will let a beam of light fall upon the stage, -often spoiling the lighting of a scene. The slamming of doors, sound -of voices, and other noises are almost unavoidable. And the argument -usually advanced for so arranging dressing-rooms--that the actors -can hear what is going on on the stage and thus be in time for their -entrances, is fallacious. This very fact breeds in them a confidence -that makes them careless, and they are more often late than if they -were required to wait for their cues on the stage. - -One more thing should be provided for the actor, not indispensable, but -making for fellowship and comfort--the feature known in German theatres -as the Konverzations-Zimmer and in older English and American theatres -as the Green Room. This should be a comfortable lounge, furnished more -as a room in a home or club, than in a theatre, and stocked with books -and periodicals relating to the theatre. - -With the actor carefully considered in the matter of cleanliness -and cheerfulness backstage, a new pleasure will come into his work. -Likewise, with the other workers of the theatre. Closest to the actor, -perhaps, the wardrobe people. In the ideal theatre two rooms should -be set aside for the wardrobe, one for the making of clothes and -another for their storage. The sewing room, needless to say, should be -well lighted, should have a space partitioned off as a fitting room, -should be provided with proper closets in which to hang dresses in the -process of making, and should be large enough to allow for a number -of seamstresses and a large cutting table. There should be a built-in -closet equipped with shelves and drawers in which to store cloths, -trimmings, findings, etc., for the making of costumes. For the costume -storage room, a loft space that might otherwise go to waste can often -be utilized. This room should have long closets, fitted with bars on -which dresses can be hung, and should have drawers in which other items -of dress can be packed--hats, shoes, wigs, stockings, tights, etc. -These drawers should be numerous enough to allow for the sorting out of -costumes by colors or periods, and should be properly labelled. - -Each of the mechanical departments should likewise have its two rooms, -one a shop and the other for storage. The carpenter, if the scenery -is built in the theatre, often can use the space under the stage -for building. If he cannot build his scenery there, either another -place should be set aside or the scenery should be built outside -the building. He should not use the stage. It must be kept free for -rehearsals. He should have, however, a room in which to keep his -tools, draw his plans, and file his ground and framing plans, bills, -time-sheets, etc. - -The matter of storage space for scenery is to be determined wholly by -the amount of space at the builder’s disposal and the use to which -the theatre is to be put. If many productions are to be made, a space -should be provided for a scene-dock, adjacent to the stage but separate -from it, unless the building is small, in which case a storehouse -elsewhere may be used. Scenery should not be allowed to accumulate -on the stage. The theatre of the Carnegie Institute of Technology at -Pittsburgh has an excellent dock, shown on the ground plan, Figure 4. - -The property department needs a shop for the making of furniture, -papier mâché work, etc., and a storage room in which furniture and -other stage furnishings can be stored. Often one large room can be made -to do for both. - -The electrical department likewise must not be overlooked. There must -be closets for the keeping of incandescent bulbs, lamp dyes, plugs, -connectors, cable, wire, and other electrical hardware, gelatines, -color frames, etc. There must be provision in the shop for the dyeing -of lamps, testing, repairing, etc. - -The property and electrical departments, like the carpenter’s, must -also be fitted in a sense as offices, for the keeping of electric and -property plots, full records relating to past and coming productions, -bills, orders, receipts, time sheets, and like data. - -It may be objected at this point that these various demands presuppose -a large-sized plant with elaborate equipment. As a matter of fact, -they apply quite as much to the tiniest of little theatres--even more -so, for in such, proper ordering of space and isolation of separate -activities is equivalent, in getting efficiency, to more ample space -less carefully sub-divided. For, inevitably, these various kinds of -work must be done in the theatre, and the people who do them must find -space here or there for their work, and the things they make must be -kept somewhere. Unless each job and each product is assigned its proper -corner, the building is soon a clutter of stuff, accumulating dust, -getting jostled about and broken. Then we are back at the old, dark, -dirty theatre we are trying so hard to improve upon. The provisions -discussed above, though they are not on the stage, are very much a part -of it, and go far toward making it an instrument of precision. - -In community buildings and schools, the various workshops, rehearsal -room, etc., can often be combined with rooms serving other purposes. -In any case some provision for them is quite as important as the open -stage itself. - - - - -CHAPTER IV. - -THE EQUIPMENT OF THE STAGE[4] - - -[4] Throughout this chapter I am at a disadvantage in that I do not -thoroughly believe in the standards which I here set up. It is true -that I am recommending higher standards than usually prevail in the -sort of building which is here considered, or higher even than those -that prevail in the well-equipped professional theatre. It is true, -also, that these recommendations as viewed in the light of the known -and tried methods of play production, are in the nature of reform and -improvement. As such, I believe in them. As viewed in the light of the -theatre of the future, I do not so thoroughly believe in them. But -only a revolution in theatre methods can refresh our conceptions of -what sort of place this theatre of the future is to be. This matter we -shall leave for discussion in a final chapter. I should be ill-advised -in advising ambitious groups interested in building adequate little -playhouses to set aside finally the known and tried methods of play -production and the stage they involve for methods adapted to a type of -drama that may not yet exist, for methods that must be evolved only -by sensitive and versed artists of the theatre. It is true that many -signal new ideas come into any art through workers who do not know or -trouble about tradition, young hands who blunder upon valuable methods -through attacking their medium experimentally. For instance, Antoine, a -gas-fitter by trade, who began his theatrical career as an amateur, by -his daring innovations in the _Théâtre Libre_, renewed the life-force -of the French theatre. But, in the main, I believe that the most -important revolutionary changes in the stage are wrought by men who are -thoroughly versed in the old practice, as was Gordon Craig. Hence, if -the little theatres and community playhouses continue for the coming -generation with a theatre modelled after the best practice of this our -day, they may in good season contribute mightily to that theatre of the -future to which I referred. Hence, for the present it is best that I -continue in the rôle of reporter, rather than that of prophet. - -The outstanding point about the stage, apart from the life the actors -bring to it, is that it is a machine. It is a mechanical device used to -aid in the setting forth of a play, much as a potter’s wheel aids the -maker of vases, or a mortise and tenon machine helps the cabinet-maker. -Perhaps the cabinet-maker is no less a hand-craftsman because he uses -the mechanical device to shorten his labor, and it is probable that -the vase has a truer form for being turned on a wheel. But cabinets -have been made wholly by hand and vases turned without the potter’s -wheel. There are people who treasure works made wholly by hand above -the machine-aided work, however artistic. The theatre once did without -the adventitious aids it now employs. Once it was merely a platform set -in the sunlight, revealed to the sight of an assembled audience. Many -believe that the theatre of the future will be something of that sort, -welcoming, however, in addition to or instead of the sun, the more -constantly available, controllable and subtly colorable electric light. - -But the Greeks had their machines for the revelation of gods, and -there is something about _periaktoi_, or revolving pieces of scenery. -It is with the machines that the theatre has concerned itself most of -all. Every developed stage has employed an amount of mechanism for -the producing of those “effects” which I mentioned in the preceding -chapter; and it may be that the theatre always will,--one wing of the -theatre, the Right, doubtless. - -Of late years, with the advent of the naturalistic or realistic type -of drama, the stage has sought more and more illusion, not only in -its imitations of the movements and acts of men and women but in its -representation of their surroundings. It has tried to become a more -perfect machine,--more nearly an _instrument of precision_. It may -be significant to observe that, although masterpieces of drama gave -impetus to the development of the illusion stage,--outstandingly the -plays of Ibsen,--the illusion stage has brought forth no masterpieces. -In this country, it may be held responsible for the buzz-saw, -train-wreck, or horse-race type of melodrama, a type now happily -removed from the theatre by the moving picture with its still higher -degree of visual veracity. In Germany, the stage as machine has been -developed to an extraordinary degree, and, for the most part, never -debauched by exhibitions of effects for their own sake, as in our -sensational melodrama of half a generation ago. I shall discuss a -number of these German inventions in a later chapter, but for the -present propose to consider the stage as a machine adapted to average -demands. - -There are two primary demands--that the machine shall be able to -do the work demanded of it efficiently and with a minimum danger -of breakdown, and that the machine be subject to control. The work -of the stage-machine is, of course, the handling of scenery, the -illusion-stuff of the present-day stage. This scenery is of two types: -pieces that are suspended from ropes (hanging pieces), and pieces that -stand on the floor (set pieces). For exterior scenes, the first type -includes drops, “borders” representing foliage, leg-drops representing -trees, pillars, arches, etc., or sections of wall, house-front, or -other flat architectural units, large enough to warrant hanging -overhead when out of use, so as to save floor space; and--for interior -scenes--ceilings and back walls. The second type includes, for exterior -scenes, any low-standing units, such as walls, hedges, fences, tree -trunks, “wings” or set-houses; and for interior scenes, the side-walls -of the room and very often part or the whole of the back wall. - -For the manipulation of hanging scenery, the most important piece of -stage machinery is the grid-iron. This is a slatted platform of steel -or iron joists, built a few feet below the roof of the stage, just -enough below to allow head-room for a man standing on it. Along the -center of the grid-iron, on a line at a right angle to the foot-lights, -is set a row of blocks and sheaves of a special type, manufactured -for stage use. Equidistant right and left of this center row by half -the width of the stage proper (the part of the stage within the -proscenium) are other rows. Over these sheaves, ropes are passed. Thus, -hanging over the stage parallel to the back wall, in sets of three, -are lines to which scenery may be attached. The other ends of the -lines in each set are brought together at one side or the other of the -stage, so that the three ropes of each set may be operated as one. On -the side to which the lines are led is located the pin-rail, either -on a fly-gallery or at the floor level. Of each set of three, the -line hanging nearest the side from which the lines are operated--the -pin-rail side--is known as the short line, the line most remote from it -is known as the long line, and the other as the center line. On very -large stages, with an opening of forty feet or more, four lines to each -set are advisable, not only to bear the greater weight of the larger -pieces of scenery required, but also to secure a better trim, or level -hang of the scenery. - -These lines, needless to say, should be of the best hemp rope, of -a weight adjusted to the size of the stage. Half-inch line is the -lightest it is wise to use. This rope should be subjected to periodical -inspection, to forestall breaking and the falling of scenery, with -consequent damage to the scenery, the play, or the actors. - -On some grid-irons, the blocks are screwed to the under side of the -grid. This is unsafe, as they have been known to tear loose. They -should ride the joists, the lines dropping between each two. At least -twenty-five sets of lines should be provided. - -When a set of lines is not weighted with scenery, sandbags are tied to -the loose ends, so that they may be lowered to the floor when needed. -Frequently a piece of scenery will be found too heavy for one or two -men to raise from the floor. In such cases, counterweights in the -form of large sand-bags are hung on the part of the lines between the -grid-iron and the pin-rail. - -The primary purpose of hanging scenery in this fashion is to be able to -haul it out of sight in the upper part of the stage when it is not in -use. Hence large overhead space is necessary. This system also makes -possible the use of unstiffened scenic units, such as drop curtains and -borders, which, literally, have no legs to stand on. - -In large stages the lines are controlled from a pin-rail on a gallery, -built out from one of the side walls of the stage. In smaller stages -the pin-rail may be built against one of the side walls on the floor -level. This has various advantages--ease of access the foremost, and -the saving of a stage-hand, who would otherwise have to remain on the -fly-gallery, besides. The advantages to be claimed for the fly-gallery -are that its use leaves the stage floor clear of ropes, leaves the side -wall clear for the stacking of scenery, and is a valuable vantage point -from which to cast light upon the stage. - -The stage of the Century Theatre is equipped with a counterweight -system that practically eliminates hand-power in the raising and -lowering of hanging scenery. To each set of lines is attached a metal -case, or container, which rides up the stage wall between tracks. At -the top of the stage, above each container, there is a magazine filled -with buckshot. By an ingenious mechanism, when a piece of scenery -hanging in the loft is to be lowered to the floor level, a quantity of -the shot in the container is allowed to flow out, so that the scenery -outweighs the counterweight and descends. Its descent can be stopped -at any point by brakes on the lines. When it is to be raised, shot -from the magazine above is allowed to flow into the container until -the counterweight outweighs the scenery, and the scenery ascends. The -shot that flows to the bottom of the chute is conveyed by an endless -chain-and-bucket conveyer to the magazines at the top. Such a system -is only warranted on stages of opera-house proportions. There are -also systems for controlling the lines by motors; but on the stage of -average size, man-power is the safest and most dependable. - -Scenery that stands on the floor requires little by way of machinery. -Some of it is self-supporting, as are the “wings,”--folding, -screen-like pieces used to mask the sides of the stage. All set scenery -is “framed,” so that it stands rigid enough when braced from the back. -Part of the equipment of every stage is a supply of stage-braces -for the support of such scenery. These are made of hardwood, can be -extended to any desired length, have a prong at the top which hooks -into a screw-eye fastened to the scenery, and a foot-iron at the bottom -which can he fastened to the stage floor by means of a stage screw -or “peg.” The use of these pegs demands a soft-wood stage floor into -which they will bite easily. Good stage braces can be obtained from any -reliable dealer in stage equipment. - -The main curtain of the theatre, if it raises and lowers, is often -operated from the fly-gallery. It is better, however, to have it -operated from the stage level, on the same side of the stage as the -fly-gallery or the pin-rail. The draw type of curtain is always handled -from the stage floor. “Travelers” for these curtains can be more -cheaply bought than made, and are kept in stock by any stage-rigging -firm. - -It is well to have the stage flooring built in lateral sections resting -on joists that run the width of the stage. When traps are needed in the -floor, they can then be cut without difficulty at any point. - -The lighting equipment of the stage, by far the most important of its -mechanical attributes, I shall describe later, but I shall treat here -of one device, which is structural. It is one of the German inventions -for the perfection of illusion to which I have referred, and the only -one I recommend to little theatres, far and wide. I recommend it -because of the added beauty it can bring into the playhouse, rather -than because of its merit as a part of the perfect machine. This is the -Kuppel-horizont, or sky-dome. - -The sky-dome approximates in shape a quarter-sphere, much like the -shells commonly placed behind out-door band stands. The base line -begins far enough toward the front of the stage and behind the -proscenium to be masked from the opposite side of the auditorium, and -sweeps around the back of the stage. The back and sides of the dome -rise vertically for some distance and then arch at the top toward the -front of the stage. The higher the dome is, the less the canopy need -overhang the front of the stage; and the less it overhangs, the more -grid-iron space is available for hanging scenery. But it will be seen -at once that the more dome there is to take the place of the usual -hanging stuff, the fewer of the usual tawdry borders are needed. - -The late Wallace Sabine, in a series of experiments conducted with a -model built at Harvard University by Theodore C. Browne and the present -writer, concluded that the quarter-sphere was disadvantageous to the -acoustics of the stage and was not required in order to obtain the -best results in lighting. He recommended a form flatter at the back and -with a sharper curvature at the sides and top. - -Three modifications of this device have been installed in little -theatres in America--one at the Neighborhood Playhouse in New York, one -at the Beechwood Theatre in Scarborough, and one at the Arts and Crafts -Theatre in Detroit. The Neighborhood Playhouse “dome” is really little -more than a cyclorama built in plaster. It has no canopy overhead, and -the ends extend toward the front of the stage only a little distance. -The one at the Beechwood Theatre is similarly simplified. But even this -plaster cyclorama is a great improvement over the canvas cyclorama in -its stability, freedom from wrinkles, and better diffusion of light. - -At the Arts and Crafts Theatre, the ends of the dome do not curve -toward the front of the stage at all, but the top arches, forming a -canopy over the back part of the stage. The only true dome in this -country was installed by Samuel J. Hume at the Madison Theatre in -Detroit, now used as a moving-picture playhouse. - -With such a dome, a great deal of the litter of painted scenery can -be done away with. A background of light takes the place of the usual -painted back-drop, and much of the scenery usually set at the sides -or hung overhead, merely to keep the eye from penetrating to the -back-regions of the stage, is no longer needed. - -Added to the stage at the time of construction, the dome costs little -more than the price of its materials. The initial cost will be saved -many times over in the decreased cost of scenery. The very least that -should be done, if the budget does not allow for the construction -of an entire dome, is to plaster the back wall of the stage. This, -more than counterweights, traps, revolving stages, and all the other -paraphernalia of advanced construction, will extend the possibilities -of the stage machine, not only for the uses of illusion but for the -service of the imagination. - -A familiar feature of most theatres in which productions are made is -the paint-bridge and paint-frame at the back of the stage. Here the -scenery to be painted, mounted on the frame, is raised and lowered -before the bridge. To my mind, this is a waste of space and money. -Primarily it is a waste of space at the back of the stage. If the dome -is used it is quite out of the question. But, strongest argument of -all, it is not needed. If the scenery must be painted in the theatre, -it can be painted lying flat on the floor. The saving on this item may -well be enough to cover the cost of the sky-dome. - -[Illustration: Auditorium of the Arts and Crafts Theatre, Detroit. -This theatre is of particular interest in connection with the movement -to build community houses as war memorials. It shows how a playhouse -may be fitted informally and beautifully into a building not designed -primarily for dramatic purposes.] - -[Illustration: Auditorium of the theatre at the Carnegie Institute -of Technology, Pittsburgh. This is an admirable example of dignified -decoration, uniform floor slope, and generously spaced seats; but the -auditorium is too wide to secure adequate sight-lines from all seats. -See plan on page 28.] - - - - -CHAPTER V. - -STAGE LIGHTING - - -The most vital part of the stage machine is yet to be touched upon, -the only part in which any mystery is involved. After all, most of our -machinery of the theatre is of the simplest type,--ropes and pulleys -and simple bracing. In a double sense, the electrical equipment is -approached with more awe. While most people know a little about the -simpler laws of mechanics, electricity, guarded by an element of -danger, is a matter too recondite to be brought into the fold of -everyday information out of mere curiosity, or to be reasoned out as -the childish working of a pulley can be figured out by common sense; -it has to be studied and learned. And besides being outside common -matter-of-fact, light is mystery itself, unplumbed nature, a fraction -of the inscrutable life of the world led by strings to the stage. - -If the little playhouse is without any mechanical convenience, if its -stage is cramped and mean, it can still achieve visual beauty through -light. This force brings into the playhouse the most vibrant, subtle -and affecting gift of the physical world, barring only the human -presence. - -Ultimately it will be seen that a forthright attempt to imitate nature -on the stage can result only in failure; the painted or modeled -semblances of rocks, trees, grass or distant prospects are in the long -run seen to be what they are not what they pretend to be. Similarly, -close as the light of the stage can be brought to resemble the light -of the outer world, it will still be short of complete fidelity to -its original. But it is, in itself, a force of beauty, an authentic -transplanting of the revealer of nature’s divers beauties, so that, if -it fails to achieve what the manipulator tries to make it do, it may -achieve something possibly more beautiful. - -More and more can this be true in the theatre, as the artist comes to -regard light as a pure medium, as he learns more of its profound effect -on human emotion, even on the working of the body’s organs, and as -he becomes familiar with the thousand subtle ways in which the earth -and its atmosphere modify the light sent by the sun, reflecting and -refracting it, stealing certain colors from its whiteness and leaving -others, resolving it prismatically by mists and clouds and the swirls -of atmosphere. These are a few of the ways in which nature plays the -artist with light. They point to unlimited lessons in technique that -the theatre artist in light has yet to learn. - -The little theatre, or any theatre for that matter, cannot go wrong -by beginning at the beginning. Let it revalue the customary machinery -for stage lighting, and the results achieved by its use. Later I shall -describe this customary equipment, for it has its great uses, and much -of the criticism that I shall apply to it applies perhaps with greater -justice to the manner in which it is used. But, implicit in the system -itself, is a criticism of its purpose to reproduce the effects of -nature under conditions that in nowise resemble those of nature, or its -laying over a convention (artistic at its best, futilely anachronistic -at its worst) not another convention, but a lantern of Diogenes, -showing up shams. - -Go back to the beginning. One candle rightly used, as in Robert Edmond -Jones’ lighting of the den scene in _Redemption_, is both drama and -beauty. Imagine Wallace Stevens’ _Carlos Among the Candles_ shown upon -the stage by the candle light of the strange room-world which is the -play’s universe. Here is a complete wedding of drama and the mobile -beauty of light itself, a light we can readily achieve. From these -candles to the sun of Shakespeare’s comedies, the storms of his _Lear_ -or the mists and fogs of _The Tempest_ is a far cry. He begged the -question, in extraordinary verse, and acted the words and emotions of -his plays in the plain light of day, which is bound to be beautiful, -even when it is not illusive of the moon. - -Right here lies the crux of the problem of installing lights in -the little theatre. A dual approach is required, as in any art: -the creator’s vision of what he wishes to do, and the technician’s -knowledge of how to go about it. The greater responsibility rests -on the first function, for we must settle whether we are to try to -reproduce nature or attain a correlative beauty. To me the beauty of a -stage sunset has rarely been the beauty of a real sunset; it has been -the beauty of rosy light. If anything, the unreality of the sunset has -stood in the way of my appreciation of the reality of red. The beauty -of red was accidental, and not the artist’s intention. It could not -have been avoided, for it is germane to sunset, but the fact remains -that the artist achieved something other than he set out to achieve. It -would have been better to go in for red and attain it than to go in for -sunset and attain red. If blue light intimates the moon, well and good. -It is beautiful itself, and does not awaken marvel at the cleverness -with which we have contrived an effect. Whereas a nicely operated -moonrise, or a jiggling procession of stereoptican clouds leaves us -gaping while the tragedy hobbles, unattended, to it close. - -When the theatre forsook the sunlight, it faced the question of light -solely as illumination. By various means,--torches and tapers, gas, -“limes” and electricity,--it has made its art visible indoors and -at night. The introduction of electric light into the theatre has -made possible an illumination so dependable and controllable that of -late years attention has been turned to other phases of the lighting -problem. Thanks must be given for most of the advance thus far to the -effort of the illusion-theatre to imitate the light of nature. My -belief is that the greater advance lies ahead, in the study of light on -the stage as an art medium _per se_. - -Two important things the stage worker of the modern theatre -contributed, through his rough approximations of realistic effect, two -things that will serve, whatever our aim in lighting. He saw that the -light at some seasons, in some weathers, and at some times of day, -is less bright than at others, and that it fades at dusk. He devised -means, therefore, of varying its intensity. Second, he perceived -that at sunset light is one color, at noon another, and by full moon -another. He gave us dyes and color screens, and with them and his -dimmers brought to the stage the important element of control. - -Other advances, through other agencies in the theatre, tend to -subtilize the function of light, carrying it beyond primary -illumination. Second, perhaps, comes the scene designer, who demands -that the light, in addition to illuminating the players and stating the -time of day or year, shall contribute values to his design as picture. -It shall be made to cast shadows where dark masses are wanted in his -composition. It shall highlight other features of the scene; it shall -reinforce the painter’s work with color; it shall give plasticity to -the builder’s work with its highlight and shadow. - -Next, the dramatist and producer make their demands--the light -shall reinforce the mood and meanings of the play. By its intensity -or dimness, it gives “atmosphere”; by its color it has a direct -psychological and physiological effect on the spectator, sensitizing -him to values in the play he might not perceive were it enacted in -light of another sort. Dramatist, director and designer, in the -lighting of a play, if nowhere else, should be so much at one that it -is easy to understand Gordon Craig’s wish that one man should combine -the functions of all three. - -Light, in the theatre, then: (1) illuminates the stage and actors; -(2) states hour, season, and weather, through suggestion of the light -effects in nature; (3) helps paint the scene (stage picture) by -manipulation of masses of light and shadow and by heightening color -values; (4) lends relief to the actors and to the plastic elements of -the scene; and (5) helps act the play, by symbolizing its meanings and -reinforcing its psychology. - -To achieve these five functions of stage light, five different kinds -or sources of light are not, of course, needed. One light may combine -several, or all, of these functions. In Joseph Urban’s lighting and -setting of the last act of _Tristan and Isolde_ some years ago at the -Boston Opera House, a beam of late afternoon sunlight struck across the -stage to the figure of Tristan lying beneath a great oak tree. Slowly, -as the day waned, the sun patch crept from the figure, until, at his -death, it had left him in cool shadow. Thus, a light that illuminated, -that told the time of day, that gave the figure of the singer and the -bole of the great tree high relief by striking from only one side, also -aided symbolically and psychologically in the interpretation of the -drama. Thus to make light function in many ways is to use it with a -sense of its ductility and subtlety as a medium of theatre art. In it -we have the only single agency in the theatre that can work with all -the other agencies, binding them together--that can reveal with the -dramatist, paint with the designer, and act with the actors. - -The machinery by which this medium is brought to the stage and through -which its wonders are wrought commands a deep respect. Tradition -has already laid its heavy hand here, and innovation in lighting -equipment moves slowly. It is almost wholly within the last five years -in the United States that lighting units of marked novelty have been -introduced. - -Of first importance is the machinery of control, the switchboard and -dimmers. The customary place for the board in American theatres is at -one side of the proscenium arch, either on the stage floor level, or -on a perch raised some nine or ten feet above the stage floor. The -manifest disadvantage of this location is that the operator cannot -see the whole of the stage, and must depend for his cues upon a stage -manager. It has, therefore, become the practice in many European -theatres to place the operator in a pit directly in front of the -stage, shielded from the auditorium and facing the actors. From here -he can watch the action and see the effects of his lights constantly. -Telephone connections with lamp operators at the back of the stage -enable him to keep them under his control. - -The construction of the board and mounting of the switches are strictly -prescribed by boards of fire underwriters in various cities, and need -not be detailed here. The important consideration at this point is -that, so far as possible, each light unit on the stage shall be subject -to central control from a vantage point from which the stage can be -seen; that each unit shall be subject to _separate_ control; that -groups of like units, classed by location or color, shall be subject to -group control, apart from other groups; and that the stage light, as a -whole, shall be controllable apart from the house lights. - -That is, assuming, for purposes of illustration, the arrangement of -lights common to most theatres, the white lights of the first border -shall be controlled by a switch apart from that controlling the white -lights of the second border or the third or the fourth. So, likewise, -for each color circuit of each border, separately. Then there should -be a white border main switch, controlling the white lights of all the -borders, and a blue border main, etc. Above these, there should be a -border main switch controlling all the border lights simultaneously. -And thus with each division of the stage lights. Over all, one stage -main switch should control all the lights of the stage. The auditorium -lights, with their own switches, should be controlled from the same -board as the stage lights. - -The outstanding item of expense in building a good switchboard is the -cost of dimmers, the resistance devices by which the intensity of the -light is controlled. They vary in capacity with their wattage and -type. But the dimmers, more than any other part of the control system, -contribute to the flexibility of the machine. In a modern theatre they -are indispensable. - -So far as possible, there should be a dimmer for each switch on the -board, controlling each light unit separately. With “master” levers, -related light units can be ganged and controlled simultaneously. When -only a limited number of dimmers can be afforded, it is possible so to -construct the switchboard that circuits to be dimmed can be “shunted” -through the dimmers, while circuits that need not be dimmed remain -on constant. A very ingenious board of this type was designed by Mr. -Bassett Jones for the Artists’ Guild Theatre in St. Louis. This board -has eight dimmers which can be used for any eight light units on the -stage, giving it a far greater flexibility than it would have if only -a particular eight could be dimmed. It is, however, rather complicated, -with its dual system of constant and dimmer plugs and connectors, so -that only great familiarity with it makes it quick in action. - -In addition to the switchboard type of dimmer, there are also smaller -dimmers made for use with nitrogen lamp spots and floods. Where -these are used I believe they should be set by the main switchboard, -rather than on the lamp itself. Attached to the lamp they require an -additional operator and break up the centralization of control. - -The actual stage lights fall into two classes--stationary and movable. -The stationary or fixed equipment has remained, on the whole, highly -conventional. It consists, primarily, of the footlights, a trough of -lights set along the floor at the front edge of the stage, throwing -light upward upon the actors and the scene, and the border lights, -hanging troughs, adjustable in height, throwing their light downward. -The first of these border lights, often known as the concert border, -hangs immediately behind the curtain or proscenium drapery, and the -others are hung at intervals of seven feet from center to center. -The footlights and borders are usually wired in three circuits, each -circuit being filled with lamps of a different color, customarily -white, red or amber, and blue. - -Of late, these customary units have been put on trial and found -wanting. They serve principally, and almost exclusively, the first -function of stage light--illumination--and are found, on the modern -stage, not to serve it well. Footlights, especially, have come under -the ban, though the campaign against them has been waged a little -indiscriminately. When footlights alone are used in a realistic scene, -they are bad. If the light from the floor dominates, the under surfaces -of the face--chin, nose-tip, eyelids--are unnaturally and disagreeably -accentuated. If the light from below and above is balanced, the result, -though more natural, is perhaps as bad, for the lighting is flat, and -there is no relief in the features or figures of the players. For -plays and scenes of a heroic or fantastic sort, treated decoratively, -rather than literally, lighting entirely from above gives interesting -and picturesque results. It shadows the features heavily, and lends a -sculptured, massive quality to the face. More and more, this overhead -lighting has come to be used, and with some producers has been made a -fetish. - -The very quality that makes this sort of lighting interesting in scenes -of a certain kind exhibits its strongest disadvantage in naturalistic -lighting. In the average room, during the daytime, light pours in -through windows, striking faces at face level. The light comes mostly -from one side of the room, or if there are windows on more than one -side, and the light comes in several directions, it comes in varying -degrees. The sun does not shine in two directions at once. That is -to say, though light may come from more than one direction, and be -reflected multitudinously by walls and ceiling and, in less degree, the -floor, the balance of intensity is always in favor of one direction. -And this direction is not up or down, but in a line approaching a right -angle to the erect figure. - -Something of the same sort is usually true out-of-doors. Only at noon -do we have literally overhead lighting. Even then, the beam of light -is so broad as to envelop the figure on all sides, and is so variously -reflected by the dome of the sky, by trees, rocks, water, houses, that -there is, in addition to the direct downward light, a considerable -“general” diffused illumination. At most hours of the day, the rays of -the sun fall upon the earth and its people at a long angle. The factor -that gives relief and prevents a dull flatness in the light of nature -is the dominance of east over west in the morning and of west over -east in the afternoon. Night illumination indoors, though usually from -fixtures above head-level, is reflected by all the walls of the room -and by all the objects in it. - -A soft, diffused face-level lighting is thus warranted in almost -all circumstances. The hard glare of foots and borders, used -unrestrictedly, does not supply this need most happily. Used -moderately, footlights have a distinct function, until better means of -moderating the crude shadows cast from above shall have been devised. - -An effort to throw light upon the stage at an angle less perpendicular -than that of footlight and border has been made at the Little Theatre -in New York. Here, certain sections of the ceiling panelling can be -lowered and light thrown upon the stage by diffused spot lamps at an -angle of 45°. In Mr. Belasco’s theatre, lights have been installed -in the face of the balcony, achieving the same result even more -satisfactorily. I believe that, in good time, beautifully designed -lighting units will be frankly set or hung in the auditorium of the -theatre. - -The footlight equipment of most theatres is, as it has long been, -unmodified, consisting merely of rows of incandescent lamps of -low standard (usually forty watts). The border lights have seen -more innovation during the past few years, especially the first (or -concert) border, most used in lighting interior scenes. Originally, -these border lights were intended to light not only the stage, but -also the hanging strips of canvas (known as borders) formerly used -to suggest a ceiling in interior scenes, and still used to represent -foliage and to misrepresent the blue sky in exterior scenes. With the -use of flat ceilings for interiors comes a demand for a light that -illuminates the scene rather than the ceiling. This is best supplied -by the X-Ray border, made up of a smaller number of lamps than the old -border but of higher standard, each lamp being 150 or 250 watts. Each -lamp is set in a separate compartment, separated from its neighbor, -and each lamp is backed by an X-Ray reflector of mirrored glass with -whorled corrugations, diffusing the light evenly over a large area. -Each compartment may be fitted with a color screen of gelatine or dyed -glass. Often, too, spot lamps, large and small, are mounted on this -border to accentuate the light on certain areas of the stage. - -The other borders, used mostly for exterior scenes, must serve to -flood stage and scene with light. The old type of border does not -serve adequately, even in the type of scene for which it was designed. -The use of sky borders has largely given way to the high cyclorama of -canvas or plaster, leaving the sky prospect open to the eye as far -as the sight line reaches. The overhead lighting must be powerful -enough to flood stage and sky with light. It is becoming more and more -common to reinforce the ordinary border-light equipment with hanging -thousand-watt lamps in specially constructed steel hoods. In the Arts -and Crafts Theatre, in Detroit, Sam Hume installed his entire overhead -equipment of such hanging lamps, and did away with the old border light -altogether. In the average theatre, however, these lamps are more in -the nature of movable lamps than of permanent equipment, and will be -further spoken of below. - -[Illustration: The Neighborhood Playhouse, New York. This building -is one of the most satisfying examples of recent theatre design in -America, being free from overdecoration and admirably fitted to its -purpose technically. Harry Creighton Ingalls and F. B. Hoffman Jr., -Associate Architects.] - -[Illustration: Auditorium of the Artists’ Guild Theatre, St. Louis. -This little auditorium is made useful for both dramatic productions and -art exhibitions by means of an ingenious device for tilting the floor, -described on page 29. Above is the view toward the balcony, below the -view toward the stage. Laurence Ewald, Architect.] - -The footlights and border lights, and, occasionally, vertical strips -inside the proscenium frame at the sides, constitute the whole of the -stage-lighting equipment that is more or less a part of the structure. -They “go with the building.” Everything else is movable and falls into -the second classification of lighting units. But, in the structure -of the stage, provision must be made for the use of such additional -lights. Outlets in the form of “stage pockets” are set at regular -intervals in the stage floor; into these pockets, spot and flood -lamps may be plugged. The pockets are set in the stage floor in two -lines running up and down stage, a short distance behind the proscenium -opening, at either side of it. There are usually from four to six such -pockets on each side of the stage. Sometimes there is one at the back -of the stage, and one or more in the fly-gallery. Occasionally, also, -in houses served by alternating current, there are pockets served by -a small house generator, supplying direct current for the use of arc -lamps. In some theatres, also, there are pockets connected with storage -batteries, intended to supply an emergency service or for use with -lighting units of a voltage other than the usual 110 volts. The pockets -must, of course, be carefully insulated, and covered with a hinged iron -lid set flush with the floor. - -The movable lights are of two general types: flood lights, for general -diffused illumination, and lens lights, for concentrated, direct -“spotting.” Under the first heading may be classed all special lights -known, in stage parlance, as strips, floods, or bunches. Strips are -small troughs, fitted with from three to ten sockets, and are used -in lighting off-stage “backings,” set-pieces of scenery, and small -areas where a special accent of color or intensity is wanted. Bunches, -now largely obsolete, are hoods set on extension standards, fitted -with ten or twelve sockets each. These have been replaced by flood -lamps, burning 500 and 1,000-watt nitrogen-filled mazda bulbs. The -hoods of these flood lamps have diverging sides or are fitted with a -reflector behind the light, and have grooves at the front of the hood -for carrying color-frames. Formerly such lamps were equipped with arc -lights, but the nitrogen lamp has wholly displaced the arc in flood -lighting. Its advantages are that it does not require an attendant to -“feed” the light, that it can be dimmed, giving it range of intensity -to make up for decreased brilliance, and that it can be burned on -either direct or alternating current, without the annoying buzz of an -arc light burning alternating current. - -Spot lamps are mounted in closed iron hoods, emitting light from only -one end through a lens. The hoods, like those of flood lamps, are set -on extension standards, and can be tipped up or down and turned from -side to side. Arc spots are still in general use, as the thousand-watt -lamp is not sufficiently brilliant for use on large stages or for long -throws. In little theatres, however, the thousand-watt spot is bright -enough and has all the advantages over the arc that apply to the newer -type of flood lamp. For such small stages, the principal consideration -always should be centralized control, and it cannot be got with the arc -light. As incandescent, gas-filled bulbs of still higher standard are -developed, the arc spot will cease to be used, even in large theatres. - -There is also a small variant of the spot light, known as a “baby” -spotlight, burning a lamp of 150 or 250 watts. Used with care, this is -one of the most valuable stage lights we have for producing delicate -variations in light volume and color in particular areas of the stage. -These small lights may also be dimmed. - - * * * * * - -I have referred above to hanging hoods with thousand-watt lamps -for general illumination. Where these are not made a part of the -permanent lighting equipment of the theatre, they may be introduced -for special scenes and effects, being hung where desired, and massed -in such numbers and of such colors as needed. The hoods are equipped -with chains by which they may be hung upon pipe battens and tipped -as desired. They are plugged, like other movable lights, into floor -pockets or fly-gallery pockets. - -The color of light on the stage is obtained in three ways. Where lamps -of low standard (twenty-five or forty watts) are used, as in the foots -or borders, they may be coated with dyes, put up for the purpose, made -with a collodion base. The burning lamp is dipped into the liquid and -left alight until the dye coat has thoroughly dried and hardened. -Bulbs of high standard, however, cannot be dyed, as the dye does not -stand up under the intense heat generated by a lamp of one hundred or -more watts. As a matter of fact, few of the commercial dyes are wholly -satisfactory, even with smaller bulbs. The blues especially deteriorate -under heat, either fading or cracking, or burning to a purple or black. - -The rays of larger lamps, burned either in flood or spotlight hoods, -are colored with gelatine mediums, held before the light in frames -of proper size. The gelatine colors also fade under heat, and, being -very fragile, crack and tear, and must be frequently renewed. For -durability, the best color medium is a sheet of glass with the color -blown in. Unfortunately such glass is very costly, cannot be had in a -large range of colors, and is usually not as translucent as might be -wished. - -Mr. Munroe Pevear of Boston has made interesting experiments with -mediums of dyed glass. He manufactures his own dyes, and claims for -them a much longer life than the commercial variety enjoys. His mediums -are highly translucent, and are, of course, far more durable than the -gelatine mediums. He makes them, however, in only the three primary -colors, for his development of color screens has been ancillary to -experiments of a larger intent--the development of a synthetic lighting -system. - -The principle of his color system is simply the principle of the prism -inverted. The prism breaks white light up into its primaries. Mr. -Pevear unites the primaries to make white. By combining his red, green, -and blue light in varying degrees of each, he is able to obtain any -color in the spectrum. To pale out his lights to tints, he includes in -his border and footlight equipment a fourth circuit of white lights. -To my knowledge, only one theatre has been equipped by Mr. Pevear--the -Toy Theatre of Boston, now the Copley. But in the short-lived tenancy -of the house by the Toy Theatre Company there was never a whole-hearted -effort to test Mr. Pevear’s equipment. Experiments with synthetic -lighting have been conducted at various times and places by Sam Hume, -Norman Geddes, the present writer, and others. The results more than -reward the effort of such experiment, and I commend a study of its -possibilities to all workers in little theatres. - -In addition to the typical theatrical lighting units, other units, not -designed primarily for theatrical use, are being adopted. Foremost -among these are the reflectors of the X-Ray type. These are made in a -number of sizes and shapes, but are of two types, the whorled reflector -and the parabolic reflector. The first type gives a diffused light and -the second a concentrated beam. The X-Ray flood lamps, manufactured -for lighting the exteriors of buildings and for illuminating night -construction jobs, are coming to be used on the stage. They can be -focused, have a higher efficiency than a lens light burning the same -number of watts, and produce a more pleasant spot than the sharply -defined light-area of the conventional spot light, projecting a -brilliant ray, most intense at the center and fading toward the edges -of the field. There are a number of firms manufacturing lights of this -type, and they are now generally used for lighting outdoor pageants. -They are quite as valuable in the indoor theatre as on the pageant -field. - -I have used frequently, instead of baby spots of the regular type, -automobile windshield spots, burning a six-volt lamp. These cost -perhaps one-tenth as much as the regular type, and can be used on -a special circuit supplied with current either through a small -step-down transformer or from a storage battery, kept continually -charged by running current into it from a strip of carbon lights -wired in series-multiple. These windshield spots are usually equipped -with a swivel and trunnion mounting, so that they can be turned in -any direction, are focusable, and have a clamp by which they can -be fastened to pieces of scenery or upright pipe standards in the -proscenium entrance. - -Besides a goodly number of well-distributed stage pockets into which -movable lamps may be plugged, there should be points of vantage from -which lights may be cast, perches and bridges elevated above the level -of the stage. Most useful is a bridge across the stage, just inside -and above the proscenium. From this bridge, special flood and spot -lamps may be manipulated. Often perches are built out from the wall -at either side of the proscenium from which spots may be thrown down -to the stage. Occasionally these are movable structures with several -levels and can be wheeled to various points off stage. The fly-gallery, -also, is used for spot lighting. When a false proscenium is used, the -overhead bridge and side perches are sometimes built into the structure. - -In planning the lighting equipment for a small stage, all thought of -the usual theatre installation can be set aside. Border lights of the -old type are not useful enough to warrant the expenditure of the money -they cost. Footlights, too, though useful when no better means of front -lighting can be devised, can well be replaced by face-level lights -from the auditorium, concealed by wall traps or by the balcony rail, -or hidden in decorative coverings suspended, chandelier-like, from the -ceiling. The essentials for a flexible, adaptable lighting system are -centralization and delicacy of control, numerous and well-situated -current outlets, and as wide a variety as possible of movable lamps for -flooding and spotting. There should be enough circuits to allow the -use of a three- or four-color system, along the lines of the synthetic -system of Mr. Pevear, described above. Along with this there must be -facilities for throwing light from above the stage from bridges and -movable platforms. The only permanently installed piece of lighting -equipment that is absolutely necessary is the X-Ray border at the front -of the stage for the lighting of interior scenes. - -With a carefully planned switchboard and dimmer-bank, and numerous -pockets or current outlets, for the initial equipment, there is -hardly any limit to the development of the little theatre’s lighting -facilities, for if it must begin with only a few lighting units, it -can acquire more from time to time, and with each acquisition build up -its means of achieving beauty. And in this direction the most vital -contributions to the craft of the theatre are yet to be made. - -[Illustration: Figure 9--The permanent “scene” of the _Théâtre du -Vieux Colombier_. See page 74. (From _Album du Vieux Colombier_ by -Fauconnet.)] - - - - -CHAPTER VI. - -STAGE MACHINERY AND SETTINGS - - -I have made mention earlier of the ingenuity so often demanded of -the little theatre stage director. The limitations of his stage -often compel him to an inventiveness different only in scale from -that displayed by the great German technicians of the theatre. No -Harvard student who ever shifted scenery for the Dramatic Club in -Brattle Hall can outgrow his enthusiasm for the feats achieved on -that absurd stage. At the Artists’ Guild in St. Louis, it gave us -unbounded glee to set the massive chamber of _The Queen’s Enemies_ on -the cramped stage there. To be confronted with deficiencies of one -sort or another--mechanical or fiscal--which must be overcome, is -unquestionably a spur to ambition. To struggle with material barriers, -space, time, physical means, and accomplish results in spite of them; -to wring beauty out of meagre cheesecloth and tinsel when there is no -money for silk and gold galloon, is a victory of sorts; and without the -fighting and winning of such battles as these, half our little theatres -might never have been, and much of their best work might not have been -done.[5] Practically all modern stage machinery has been devised to -heighten effects of nature, and therein it differs from the machinery -of the theatre of the greatest eras, which was devised to produce -effects _beyond_ nature. The Greeks and Elizabethans left Nature -strictly to herself, but had a fairly elaborate mechanical system by -which they exhibited gods, demons, ghosts, and visions. - -[5] NOTE.--I wish to qualify fundamentally my admiration for the -ingenuity of the mechanical features of the modern stage. In fact, -I do not believe they can advance the theatre one jot. They are -marvelously ingenious in denying the limitations of the stage and in -part triumphing over them. Yet I have a persistent feeling that the -recognition of the limitations and the acceptance of them is more -fundamental in the development of an art or craft than the denial of -them and the triumphing over them. Even such a triumph has its ultimate -boundaries, and when they have been reached, there is little to do but -acknowledge defeat. When matter has been twisted and beaten into the -cunningest perversions of its first form, the craftsman is still not -satisfied; for his spirit can soar to further reaches where none of the -elements can follow. This is truer of the theatre artist, perhaps, than -of any other, save the musician (who is, after all, a theatre artist). -The theatre has been, these many centuries, the theatre _because_ of -the limitations that encompass it, not in spite of them. Likewise is -the church (as a field of art) limited, and it is by merit of its -limitations that the church has been great. Utter _churchliness_ owes -little to the style of architecture of any specific church edifice. -And the transcendent theatre art of the Deutsches Theater in Berlin or -of the Art Theatre in Moscow does not hang upon the skill with which -the one has used a revolving stage or with which the other has devised -its scenery. The German theatres have to a remarkable degree increased -natural illusion in scenery and lighting; but in spite of that there -is about as much bad theatre art in Germany as good. Where greatness -is found, where the artist has most truly realized the function of the -theatre, it will be seen that his spirit has transcended utterly the -possibilities of his physical stage; and, like as not, he has made no -effort to strain the capacities of his medium, but has worked utterly -within them. One of the remarkable facts about the stage technique of -Robert Edmond Jones is that he demands nothing impossible to achieve. -His designs are easy to execute, and his scenery easy to handle. - -Here, again, is the dilemma which we faced in the discussion of the -approach to the stage lighting problem. There are limits to our -ability to reproduce on the stage the light effects of nature. But -there are practically no limits to the theatrical expressiveness of -light, regarded as a medium, _per se_. There are limits beyond which -mechanical skill or inventive genius cannot alter the obdurate confines -of the physical stage. But there are no heights to which a human -spirit, set in public upon a platform, however narrow and close-walled, -cannot rise. In view of this great spiritual fact, I would solemnly -warn any little theatre or community house that has money to spend -for modernity, not to spend it on the kind of advance stage machinery -discussed in this chapter, but to spend it on artists. - -One of the first mechanical improvements of our present-day stage was -the _drehbühne_, or revolving stage, invented by Herr Lautenschlager. -Its purpose is to move, without inordinate intermissions between acts, -scenery far heavier than men can handle. The cult for realism demanded -a greater plasticity in scenery, and consequent increase in mass -and structural complexity. The revolving stage is a great turntable -on which as many as six or seven scenes can be set at one time, and -revealed successively to an audience by revolving the table. The -scenery for the entire play is set up on the day of the performance, -and no shifting of scenes need be done during the progress of the play. - -The designing of scenery to fit the revolving stage, developed to its -highest point by Reinhardt, is so little understood in this country -that our few revolving stages are seldom used. The Century Theatre -stage in New York has a turntable, but I do not know of any instance -in which the scenery for an entire performance was set upon it. Mr. -Winthrop Ames had a revolving stage installed in his Little Theatre -in New York; but, as this stage is only thirty-five feet in diameter, -he found it inadequate for the setting of many of the scenes. Mr. -Harry Bishop, in building the Liberty and Fulton Theatres in Oakland, -California, constructed revolving stages of adequate size, but evaded -the problem of devising scenery especially for them by installing a -revolving gridiron also, so that the old-fashioned sky and foliage -borders could ride around the stage with the set to which they belong. -A little labor is saved in shifting scenes during performances, but I -doubt whether the saving equalizes the cost of installation of these -expensive devices. - -A device of similar intent is the sliding stage, a great wagon the -size of the stage opening--or, rather, two or three of them--run, as -desired, before the proscenium opening, and capable of being pushed -off, after being used, into houses at either side of the stage or -lowered to the basement, there to be reset for another scene. This -device avoids some of the limitations of the revolving stage, in that -scenes need not be made to articulate closely as they must in order -to fit the circular bounds of the turntable; but it is tremendously -costly, and requires a great stage space. - -There are other devices of like intent, such as the Asphalia stage, -built in transverse sections that can be raised and lowered on -hydraulic plungers, and Steele MacKaye’s elevator stage installed in -the old Madison Square Theatre, New York. None of these devices can -serve either the little theatre movement or the art of the theatre. -They are deadening, and divert effort from the true end of all -experiment and advance in the theatre. There is no doubt in my mind -that the sort of theatre that wants to be built is one in which the -machinery is reduced to a minimum,--efficient, controllable, but never -controlling the sort of work that must be done on the stage. In order -to have a modern, well-equipped stage, none of these innovations is -needed. - -Of far more purpose, for the modern theatre, are certain tendencies -now manifest that appear at first glance like reversions to an older -type of stage. I refer chiefly to such a stage as that built by M. -Jacques Copeau for his _Théâtre du Vieux Colombier_, which, for two -seasons, was a strange intruder among the more literal stages of New -York. Indeed, save for the use M. Copeau made of modern mechanical -flexibility, his stage was a first cousin to the Elizabethan stage, -though his arrival at its particular form was not a case of atavism but -a philosophic realization of the true limitations of the theatre. His -stage consisted of three parts: a fore-stage, reached from the rear -stage, or from the main floor of the auditorium by steps upward, or -from doors high in the walls flanking the proscenium, whence steps led -down to the stage level; second, the stage proper; and third, an upper -stage, or balcony, engirdling the main stage. This balcony and the -space below it might be variously shut off from the main portion of the -stage, by tapestries, lattices, screens, or sections of scenery, flat -or pierced with windows or doors. Steps could be variously placed to -give access to the balcony. - -Thus, without the use of strictly representative scenery, Copeau -had a stage which provided every facility for the presentation of -a play,--entrances, exits, and elevations. It gave scope to the -necessities of action and the agility of the actor. Such a construction -may be said to be as much scenic reform as reform in mechanics, except -that it largely renders the latter unnecessary. - -I should not deem it part of the purpose of this paper to mention -scenic matters at all, were it not that, very often, a certain amount -of scenery, like a certain amount of lighting equipment, “goes with -the building”. The contract for the building and its rigging often -specifies also a “garden”, “plain chamber number one”, and “fancy -parlor number three”, or the like. Whether they are thrown in or not, -without extra charge, they should be courteously but firmly refused. -They stunt the timid imagination, and somehow, perhaps because they are -“real” scenery, never get thrown away. - -For the scenic equipment of the stage I can do nothing better than -refer the reader to the permanent setting devised by Sam Hume for the -Detroit Arts and Crafts Theatre, of which he was for two seasons the -director. This setting consists of a certain number of interchangeable -units, flats, door pieces, window pieces, arches, and pylons.[6] Its -initial cost is low, far lower than that of several sets out of the -scene painter’s catalogue, and its usefulness infinitely greater. In -addition to this it has beauty. - -[6] Mr. Sheldon Cheney in his _The Art Theatre_ has fully described and -illustrated this set, showing the multiple variations it is capable of. - -It may be that the stage of the future is to be something quite -different than that we now have. As a theatre of truth supplants the -theatre of illusion, it may be found that the stage of to-day does not -answer at all. The theatre is undoubtedly in a transitional period and -artists are striving for new forms and new methods of presentation. -What directions these tendencies may take it is not the purpose of -this paper to forecast. Nor would it do to advise the adoption of a -type of stage not yet tested or of widespread use. Where there is -an experimental and creative attitude toward the theatre such types -will be evolved without any such rudimentary manual as this. Where a -manual is wanted, a stage should be built that can be used easily, -by everybody who wishes to use it, and which will give readily, in -return for effort spent upon it, a revenue of beauty. These pages will -achieve enough if they go a little way toward eliminating the usual -inept, difficult constructions that for these many years have cumbered -the way of folks, young and old, who wish to entertain themselves in -the theatre. More and more, they seek such entertainment at their own -hands. More and more, their efforts are being fostered by educational -bodies and organizations allied with the theatre. Such aid as this -pamphlet may bring them is hopefully dedicated to their service. - - - - -A SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY - - -HISTORICAL AND DESCRIPTIVE - -Martin Hammitzsch, _Der Moderne Theaterbau_ (Teil I). Berlin: E. -Wasmuth, 1905. -(This is perhaps the best book on the historical aspect, although only -the first volume has so far appeared.) - -Edwin O. Sachs and E. A. Woodward, _Modern Opera Houses and Theatres_. -3 volumes. London: B. T. Batsford. 1896-98. -(This monumental and very useful series is generally considered the -standard descriptive and technical work, but is now somewhat out of -date.) - -Edwin O. Sachs, _Stage Construction_. London: B. T. Batsford, 1898. (A -supplement to the above.) - -Manfred Semper, _Theater_. Stuttgart: Arnold Bergsträsser, 1904. -(Handbuch der Architektur, Teil 4, Halb-Band 6, Heft 5.) - -Roy C. Flickinger, _The Greek Theatre and Its Drama_. Chicago: The -University of Chicago Press, 1918. -(Contains the best summary of the conflicting views about the form of -the ancient theatre.) - -Arthur Elam Haigh, _The Attic Theatre_. Third Edition, revised. Oxford: -The Clarendon Press, 1907. -(A standard work on the Greek Theatre.) - -Brander Matthews, _A Study of the Drama_. Boston: Houghton Mifflin -Company, 1910. -(Chapter III treats of the form of the theatre in relation to the forms -of drama.) - -William Harvey Birkmire, _The Planning and Construction of American -Theatres_. New York: J. Wiley and Sons, 1896. -(Contains many plans and descriptions of the older American theatres.) - -Max Littmann, _Das Münchner Künstlertheater_. Munich: I. Werner, 1908. -(A monograph describing one of the best small theatres in Europe, fully -illustrated with plans and photographs.) - -Julius Bab, _Die Volksbühne in Berlin_. Berlin: E. Wasmuth, 1919. -(Describes and illustrates one of the best large buildings of the -“people’s theatre” type.) - -Max Littmann, _Die Königlichen Hoftheater in Stuttgart_. Darmstadt: A. -Koch, 1912. -(Describes and illustrates an excellent example of the institutional or -“court” playhouse, in a building containing two complete theatres.) - - -TECHNICAL - -Edward Bernard Kinsila, _Modern Theatre Construction_. New York: The -Moving Picture World, 1917. - -Arthur S. Meloy, _Theatres and Motion Picture Houses_. New York: -Architects’ Supply and Publishing Company, 1916. - -William Paul Gerhard, _Theatres: Their Safety from Fire and Panic, -Their Comfort and Healthfulness_. New York: Baker and Taylor, 1915. - -Arthur Edwin Krews, _Play Production in America_. New York: Henry Holt -and Company, 1916. -(Contains brief but comprehensive chapters on stage machinery, -lighting, and other technical matters.) - -_Bühnen Beleuchtung System Fortuny._ -(Describes the important Fortuny lighting system.) - - -SCENERY - -Edward Gordon Craig, _Towards a New Theatre: Forty Designs for Stage -Scenes_. New York: E. P. Dutton and Company, 1913. - -Jacques Rouché, _L’Art Théâtrale Moderne_. Paris: Edouard Cornély & -Cie., 1910. - -Sheldon Cheney, _The Art Theatre_. New York: Alfred Knopf, 1917. - -Hiram Kelly Moderwell, _The Theatre of To-Day_. New York: John Lane -Company, 1914. - -_Theatre Arts Magazine._ 1916 to date. -(Contains several hundred illustrations of stage settings, stage plans, -etc.) - - - - -THEATRE ARTS MAGAZINE - -_An Illustrated Quarterly_ - -Subscription price, $2.00 a year - -BACK NUMBERS - -containing articles, plays and sketches by - - - Gordon Craig - Lee Simonson - W. B. Yeats - Robert E. Jones - Gilbert Cannan - Stark Young - Walter Prichard Eaton - Susan Glaspell - Eugene O’Neill - Sam Hume - Arthur Hopkins - Rollo Peters - Zoe Atkins - John Drinkwater - - -PRICES--UNBOUND--POSTPAID - -Volumes I-IV (complete), $20.00; Volume II, $3.00; Volume IV, $4.00. -(Volumes I and III sold only with complete sets). All issues except -those for February and May 1917, May 1918, October 1919, January and -October 1920, can still be had singly at 75 cents. - - -SPECIAL: Volume I-IV, bound, $25.00. - -THEATRE ARTS MAGAZINE - - - - - Transcriber’s Notes: - - Variations in spelling and hyphenation are retained. - - Perceived typographical errors have been changed. - - - - -*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK ON BUILDING A THEATRE *** - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will -be renamed. - -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the -United States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. 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