Costumes are more easily created when soft old materials are dyed, and it requires but little experience to discover how the beauty and effectiveness of a play are enhanced thereby.
The proscenium arch takes its place in the illusion, when the imagination is stimulated by color decoration.
There should be an intimate co-operation between the community of little theater and craft workers.
The relation of the little theater to those who do handicraft is stated by Mr. George Somnes, Director of the Little Theater of Indianapolis, as follows:
“Too much stress cannot be laid upon the importance of all-over dyeing, batiks, and other pattern dyeing, and their application in the work of the little theater.
“Preeminently the little theater stands for the giving of the theater back to the artist, be he producer, musician, scene designer, costume designer, dancer or author. There is the endeavor to establish each little theater group as a means of community expression. The use of color in its relation to the play and lights, as scenery and in costumes, is so obvious and necessary that it needs scarcely more than mention. As experimentation is necessary and desirable, there must be at [!-- original location of illustration --] the bottom an actual foundation and knowledge upon which to experiment and build.
MINIATURE STAGECRAFT
“School plays and pageants could be improved many hundred percent if the knowledge of color and its application were made more general. Not only would children be taught that green and red go together, but they would be taught just what greens and reds form the various combinations—they could find out under what lights certain colors react best.