Travels of a Scenic Artist and Scholar. Twin City Scenic Co. Scenery in Virginia, Minnesota
For well over a year I have posted a historic stage setting every day to my Facebook group “Dry Pigment.” This post is then shared with other groups for digital dissemination, but not here. I often group stage compositions on a theme, posting one version after another over the course of a week. In the past I have covered landscapes, seascapes, palaces, dungeons, hell scenes, cathedrals, and much more. The images are often from scenery evaluations that I completed over the past few decades while traveling throughout the United States of America.
While I take a break from the life and time of Thomas G. Moses until November 11, 2019, I am going to share my Dry Pigment FB Group posts. It helps illustrated the scenic aesthetic that I have been writing about for over three years.
I primarily post daily pictures of historic backdrops each day for my fellow scenic artists, many of whom were not exposed to this history during , or friends who are completely unfamiliar with this form of American popular entertainment. I always hope that this small and consistent gesture will help others with their future projects and research.
Today’s Dry Pigment post depicts an asbestos curtain produced by a the Twin City Scenic Co. of Minneapolis, Minnesota, for the opera house in Virginia, Minnesota.
Scene by the Twin City Scenic Co.Scene by the Twin City Scenic Co.Scene by the Twin City Scenic Co.Scene by the Twin City Scenic Co.Scene by the Twin City Scenic Co.Scene by the Twin City Scenic Co.Peep hole for actors. Scene by the Twin City Scenic Co.Standard stencil to identify manufacturing studio. Scene by the Twin City Scenic Co.
Have a great day! – Wendy
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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