One of the most interesting Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite of Freemasonry stage sets that I have ever encountered is in my home town of Minneapolis, Minnesota. It is for the thirty-first degree and was designed by the Twin City Scenic Company for the Minneapolis Scottish Rite.
The Minneapolis Scottish Rite building was once church. When they transformed the space for Masonic uses, the altar became the stage. There is also use a lodge space for ceremonials that is used for certain degrees and is referred to as the Red Room (named for the color of the carpet). This beautiful space used to be the area that I converted into a paint studio whenever I had a large project and is now the home of Lodge No. 19.
Like the theatre space. there is a horseshoe balcony surrounds three sides of the auditorium. The central floor in both rooms do not have fixed seating in the center. In the Red Room there is a small recessed area for the stage. There used to be a roll drop that hung above this area, depicting the rebuilding of King Solomon’s Temple.
The Egyptian setting scenery by Twin Cities Scenic Co. for the Lodge room transforms the entire space. Flats (scenic walls) are place against the walls under the balcony. A scrim ceiling obscures the ceiling, yet members seated in the balcony areas are able to view the activities on the floor below.
The pictures below are depicted with a photographic flash so you could see some of the colors and painted details.
