I start today’s installment with a portion of John R. Rothgeb’s quote from yesterday: “Today the ad curtain is occasionally used in revivals of melodramas so that the audience can hiss at the villain, smile at the scenery, and feed self-satisfied with the sophistication of the 1980s.”
Various entertainment venues kept this type of entertainment alive in the 1980s whether it was commercial, academic, or community theatre. It attracts audiences because it is fun to be part of a communal activity. There is something delightful about viewing this type of production where you can cheer for the hero and hiss at the villain. Think about the popularity of sporting events and being part of a community who cheers together.
One longstanding example and educational training ground for theatre technicians and performers was the University of Minnesota Centennial Showboat. This was an academic venue that drew in thousands of repeat audience members every summer, creating a high visibility for the theatre department in our region.
For me, the combination of painting Showboat drops, Lance Brockman’s scene painting class, and the scenery collections provided an ideal training ground. Brockman not only understood the need to preserve this particular heritage, but also its value as an instructional tool. Learning historical scenic art techniques is much more than a mere examination of the past, it is applicable to many contemporary design and paint projects.
While attending the University, I had the opportunity to replicate historical sketches, enlarge sections of these compositions onto 5’ x 5’ flats with dry pigment, and then create full-scale scenery for a production. It was an invaluable experience that taught me how to “see.” This meant understanding how designs and compositions needed to be created when viewed from a distance. It provided me with an artistic foundation, similar to any drawing class or drafting lab. It was a necessary tool in my kit of techniques. Information that I learned while designing and painting Showboat drops was applicable to eight-story billboards for Times Square in New York, a theme park in Japan, local film productions, commercial murals, and many other projects during my career.
The U of MN Showboat also provided an opportunity to understand historical stage machinery. Where else could one study the creation and use of a roll drop? This is important knowledge as there remain many roll drops in venues scattered throughout the country. They are found in church social halls, Masonic lodges, Grange Halls, SOKOL theaters and other small public performance spaces. Their owners are often at a loss when a rope breaks or a scene is damaged.
Hands-on experience is essential in the preservation of theatrical heritage. There are theatre practitioners and scholars throughout the world who understand the necessity for this type of training, especially the exploration of past production techniques. For example, Chris Van Goethem has created a scale model of an 18th century theatre (1:4). He understands that physically manipulating stage machinery is essential for students to understand the complexity and purpose of the equipment. Similarly, Jerome Maeckelbergh’s research with under-stage machinery at the Bourla Theatre and his scale tmodel (1:10) demonstrate the incredible sophistication of the machinery and possibilities for contemporary use.
In many areas, however, there seems to have been a loss of knowledge; at some point many forgot how technologically advanced theatrical productions were during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, as well as the trade techniques that created these complex stage settings. Painted scenery did not simply go up and down. Brockman and many others understand the need to preserve our heritage, but their voices are often silenced. Without either the U of MN Centennial Showboat or the historical scenery collections I would not be the artist or designer that I am today. Unfortunately, the Showboat is no available for theatre students at the University of Minnesota’s Department of Theatre Arts and Dance for many reasons that I do not understand.
A wave of desolation washes over me when I contemplate the amount of scenery and skill that has disappeared since Rothgeb wrote the above passage. It is even more painful when I consider the recent loss of the Showboat and the destruction of the 1924 Thomas G. Moses collection at the Minnesota Masonic Heritage Center. This is one of my incentives to write everyday as I continue to explore the life and times of Thomas G. Moses. It not only provides a rich context for his work, but also reminds people of our past and a theatrical heritage that should not be forgotten.
To be continued…
