I am the guest speaker at the Minnesota Masonic Heritage Center tonight for the Forest Lake Lodge stated meeting! It is a wonderful opportunity to talk about my artistic and intellectual contributions during the planning and construction stages of this fraternal complex.
This new complex includes a 425-seat jewel box theatre, currently awaiting the Scottish Rite scenery collection from the Fort Scott, Kansas. I supervised the removal and transportation of this historic collection eleven month ago and consists of 92 drops. This 1924 collection was created by Thomas Gibbs Moses (at the age of 68) and will one day hang from dedicated line sets that were designed by Dan Culhane at SECOA for the theatre consulting firm of Schuler Shook.
Detail images of this stunning collection will frequently appear on this page in the upcoming months!
Author: waszut_barrett@me.com
Wendy Rae Waszut-Barrett, PhD, is an author, artist, and historian, specializing in painted settings for opera houses, vaudeville theaters, social halls, cinemas, and other entertainment venues. For over thirty years, her passion has remained the preservation of theatrical heritage, restoration of historic backdrops, and the training of scenic artists in lost painting techniques. In addition to evaluating, restoring, and replicating historic scenes, Waszut-Barrett also writes about forgotten scenic art techniques and theatre manufacturers. Recent publications include the The Santa Fe Scottish Rite Temple: Freemasonry, Architecture and Theatre (Museum of New Mexico Press, 2018), as well as articles for Theatre Historical Society of America’s Marquee, InitiativeTheatre Museum Berlin’s Die Vierte Wand, and various Masonic publications such as Scottish Rite Journal, Heredom and Plumbline. Dr. Waszut-Barrett is the founder and president of Historic Stage Services, LLC, a company specializing in historic stages and how to make them work for today’s needs. Although her primary focus remains on the past, she continues to work as a contemporary scene designer for theatre and opera.
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