Two Views of the Stage at Tufts College, showing plenty of Open Space for the Storing and Shifting of Scenery.
(Courtesy of L. R. Lewis).
CHAPTER VII
THE STAGE
A great deal more attention is being directed—in this country, at least—to the improvement of the physical requirements of the stage than heretofore. During the past few years, numerous writers[10] have made a systematic study of theaters abroad and at home, and revealed the fact that on the whole our theaters, both before and behind the curtain, are antiquated, ill-equipped, and fall far short of the infinite possibilities which have been made realized in certain cities of Germany and Russia.
[ [10] Hiram Kelly Moderwell, in his "The Theatre of To-day" (Lane), and Sheldon Cheney, in his "The Modern Movement in the Theatre" (Kennerley), have rendered signal service in this field. The first book contains a thoroughly systematic account of practically all the new theatrical experiments.
Revolutionary experiments in lighting, as well as in the disposition of stage settings, have, during the past ten or twelve years, opened up fields formerly undreamed of.
It is not the purpose of this chapter to describe at great length these innovations; the reader is referred to the books of Moderwell and Cheney mentioned in the footnote above. A few elementary suggestions, however, which may be used by skilled and intelligent amateurs, will prove suggestive to the average director and stage manager.