I have to break from my studies to share a fabulous quote from 1927. This is an excerpt from an article on Gates and Morange:
“It is encouraging to know that of the hundred of unschooled novices cluttering the stage with mediocre and indifferent results, a few arrive at a realization of the limitations of their unschooled efforts and awake to the fact that there is no easy way or “royal road” to escape the hard work and drudgery that a substantial knowledge of art and ability to create requires. Those few progress when they realize on what foundation the scenic artist built, whose work has stood the test of time and whose fame has endured.”
“The Scenic Artist” Volume 1, No. 8, December 1927, page 8.
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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