“A desert scene is not used very often in ordinary production, but nevertheless you should know how to make these settings if called upon to do so. Often when a play requires a desert scene, the desert proper is painted on the backdrop and scene through cut and netted leg drop representing tropical vegetation…The sky in a tropical country is deeper blue in the North….The sky should be painted with no clouds, starting with ultramarine, then running through an Italian blue to a light emerald green into a light cream behind the lavender colored mountains that are seen in silhouette against the sky.”
Excerpt taken from “Theatrical Scene Painting: A Thorough and Complete Work of How to Sketch, Paint, and Install Theatrical Scenery” (Appleton Publishing Co., Omaha, Nebraska, 1916, 112-113)
Attached is an example from the Grand Forks Masonic Temple (Sosman and Landis Studio, 1914 installation)
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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