Copyright © 2025 by Wendy Waszut-Barrett
Summer and fall were quite busy this year, hence the great pause in my blog posts. I juggled several historic scenery projects, including two at Scottish Rite theaters in California – Long Beach and Oakland.
The next several posts will examine these culturally significant collections, the scenic studios that contracted the work, and the individual artists who painted the drops. By now, I have written hundreds of pages that trace the artistic provenance for scenic art at both the Long Beach and Oakland Scottish Rite Theaters. In addition to compiling condition reports and replacements appraisals, I discussed unique strategies for collections care management.
There are many reading this post who may be unfamiliar with Scottish Rite Theaters and Masonic Scenery. Every couple of years, I provide additional context in a blog post, explaining how Freemasonry intersects with both American theatre and popular entertainment. Today is the day to revisit this topic.
Understanding the basic structure of Freemasonry is imperative in exploring the evolution of Scottish Rite theatre spaces and degree productions. Freemasonry is divided by degrees. Think of a series of educational steps, or grades, in primary and secondary schools. The first three degrees – Entered Apprentice, Fellowcraft, and Master Mason – are completed in a Blue Lodge, also referred to as the Symbolic Lodge. Having completed the third degree, a Master Mason can join variety of Masonic orders and appendant bodies. The Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite of Freemasonry is one way for a Master Mason to continue his education, from the 4th to 32nd degrees.
Scottish Rite degrees expand on a subject introduced in the Blue Lodge – the narrative surrounding the construction of King Solomon’s Temple and the assassination of his Master Architect. There are four Scottish Rite Bodies that have control over the twenty-nine degrees.
Scottish Rite Freemasons began to theatrically interpret their degree work by the mid-nineteenth century. From the beginning, degree productions were intended as an educational tool. Only five degrees are considered indispensable, meaning that they should be fully conferred, or theatrically staged with appropriate costumes and paraphernalia. These Indispensable degrees, also referred to as Obligatory Degrees, include the 4th, 14th, 18th, 30th and 32nd degrees. In 2003, I presented a paper entitled “Theatrical Interpretations of the Indispensable Degrees” at the Scottish Rite Research Society’s Membership Meeting, House of the Temple, Washington, D. C. It was later republished in “Heredom” (2004).
By the early twentieth century Scottish Rite theater spaces rivaled many major metropolitan theaters. Scottish Rite building associations spent thousands of dollars to outfit their stages with state-of-the art lighting systems and effects. Painted illusion created for Masonic productions mirrored that used in professional performance venues and by national touring companies across the United States.
Much of the earliest degree work occurred in the northern states. In the early nineteenth-century, the Scottish Rite was divided into two independently governed jurisdictions. They are known as the Northern Masonic Jurisdiction and the Southern Jurisdiction. An 1827 territorial agreement created two Scottish Rite jurisdictions divided along geographical demarcations. The Northern Masonic Jurisdiction included the area east of the Mississippi River and north of the Ohio River, including Delaware. The Southern Jurisdiction controlled the rest of the United States and its territories, including Minnesota. Although geographically diminutive, the Northern Jurisdiction initially contained many affluent members and industrialized cities. It also contained most of North America’s theatrical centers (Boston, New York, Baltimore, Philadelphia). The early agreement between the two jurisdictions provided the northern states with the greatest potential for gain through the established intellectual, social and financial networks necessary to propagate the Scottish Rite.
Propagation of the Scottish Rite through two distinct and geographically defined authorities also allowed a greater potential for diversity in degree work as the absence of written ritual permitted the degree work to assume a multitude of regional discrepancies. American ritual revisionists and itinerant lecturers further invented variants through their own regional creations, as did fraternal supply companies. The jurisdictional division resulted in competition between lodges, members and degree work. Masonic agents and lecturers facilitated this competition as lodges were organized, and ritual was distributed across the country. Each jurisdiction attempted to standardize degree work and re-assert their authoritative power. The Northern Masonic Jurisdiction was the first to introduce theatrical interpretations of degree work, marketing it as a superior ritual experience. At the time, two rival Supreme Councils battled for control of the Northern Jurisdiction, whereas the Southern Jurisdiction remained unified under the leadership of Grand Commander Albert Pike.
Prior to leading the Southern Jurisdiction, Pike had revised the Scottish Rite ritual as part of a revision committee; self-publishing and personally distributing the first one hundred copies of his Magnum Opus, or Great Work. His text not only unified the degree system but also had a transformative effect on all future degree work in the United States. Pike provided detailed information for various degree settings, labeling them as “apartments,” inadvertently laying the groundwork for future degree productions. The Northern Jurisdiction soon revised their own ritual, mirroring the format and content of Pike’s work. Charles T. McClenachan added illustrations to his own publication.
With this visual reference, scenic artists had direction and resources for Scottish Rite scenery.
Northern Jurisdiction Scottish Rite Valleys began to stage elaborate productions, some including moving panoramas with fantastic sea voyages past Malta, Rhodes, Cyprus, and Joppa. Initially, degree productions used a standard drop-and-wing format associated with nineteenth-century American theatre. Situated in the east of the lodge room, roll drops suggested the appropriate scene, while wings masked the side areas of the stage. Scottish Rite stages began to construct fly lofts so that the drops could be raised instead of rolled. Painted illusion for late-nineteenth century Scottish Rite stages now included back drops cut drops and leg drops, each element raised and lowered with operating lines accessible from the fly floor. As the scenes were permanently installed on dedicated line sets, the counterweights were perfectly balanced, so there was no need for rope locks.
Pike controlled Southern Jurisdiction degree work from 1859 until his passing in 1891. He was adamantly opposed the theatrical interpretation of Scottish Rite degrees, stating the following in his 1882 Allocution:
The Rite in this Jurisdiction is a Rite of instruction, and not of scenic pomp and stage-show. I cannot conceive of a more useless occupation than the arranging and performing of degrees, neither the effect nor the purpose of which is to make men wiser or better, but which are acted as melodramas, to gratify an aesthetic taste and please the imagination, like the pageantry of cardinals and orioles.
During Pike’s administration very few Southern Jurisdiction Scottish Rite Bodies experimented with the theatrical staging of degree work. It was not until after Pike’s passing that Scottish Rite Valleys throughout the Southern Jurisdiction raced to construct proper theaters in their buildings. The earliest scenery collection delivered to a Southern Jurisdiction Scottish Rite stage was in Little Rock, Arkansas, in 1896. As membership continued to increase, not only were stages enlarged, but entire buildings were replaced with massive structures boasting state-of-the-art theaters. Used scenery collections were re-sold to other Scottish Rite Valleys. For example, scenery and stage machinery from the Little Rock Scottish Rite was refurbished and divided between Pasadena, California, and Miami, Florida. The Little Rock scenery is still in use at the Pasadena Scottish Rite.
The history surrounding the theatrical interpretation of Scottish Rite degrees was the topic of my doctoral dissertation: Scenic Shifts Upon the Scottish Rite Stage: Designing for Masonic Theatre, 1859-1929 (Wendy Waszut-Barrett, PhD diss., University of Minnesota, 2009).
Here is the abstract so you have a little more to go on:
Nineteenth-century secret societies often shared a similar ceremonial format yet offered distinct themes and subject matter – frequently revising their ritual to attract potential candidates. This dissertation proposes that the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite of Freemasonry captivated members and offered a unique fraternal experience when they completely and successfully staged their fraternal ceremonies, moving portions of their ritual from the lodge room floor to the elevated stage. Exploring Scottish Rite degree productions as fraternal imitations of mass-produced optical entertainments, this study argues that American Victorian theatre and nineteenth-century spectacle provided the vehicle that catapulted the Scottish Rite to the forefront of the American fraternal movement. The extant scenery collections currently housed in many Scottish Rite theatres depict an aesthetic shift in the field of scenic art from an itinerant to a studio style, providing a primary source for both theatre scholars and practitioners to explore historical painting techniques and color palettes otherwise unavailable. The commercial theatre typically discarded or repainted scenic backdrops at a production’s close, leaving only secondary source material in the form of playbills and theatre reviews to illustrate theatre aesthetics. Through the analysis of extant fraternal backdrop collections, historical scene designs, Scottish Rite ritual, Masonic legislative proceedings, fraternal supply catalogs, personal manuscripts, and archival documents, this dissertation examines the multifaceted fraternal, theatrical, social and economic ideologies facilitating the theatrical interpretation of Scottish Rite degrees between 1859 and 1929. The significance of this study lies in the present availability of complete backdrops collections and their perilous condition. Furthermore, it recognizes the imperative need to preserve our theatrical and fraternal heritage through documenting the origin and importance of Scottish Rite scenery, understanding the availability of historical scenic art, and preventing the further deterioration of this primary resource.
My passion for this topic has never diminished; if anything, it has intensified over the years with each new discovery. Research that began in libraries and rare book rooms shifted to online searches and digital databases. I began collecting both fraternal and theatrical memorabilia to illustrate this history, even acquiring an entire Scottish Rite scenery collection. Other artifacts in my personal collection include studio designs, source materials, business records, and a wide range of supplemental materials. All the while, I documented, appraised, repaired, and replicated historic distemper scenery at venues across the country.
Unless you have stepped onto a Scottish Rite stage and looked up at the dozens of historic backdrops, you have no idea about the scope of painted illusion for the stage; the thousands of scenes that were painted in scenic studios and shipped across the country. In many cases, Scottish Rite stages are time capsules, complete with original stage machinery and lighting systems. However, in the blink of an eye these remarkable stagehouses can become irreparably altered, gutted, or razed. I don’t know how many will survive the next five years, let alone a decade. The anticipated sale of the Santa Fe Scottish Rite in 2014 was what prompted visual artist , Jo Whaley to start photographing the historic stage scenery. In the summer of 2016, Jo and I photographed the treasure chamber scene.
The image accompanied our book proposal. It was published by the Museum of New Mexico Press in 2018, The Santa Fe Scottish Rite Temple: Freemasonry, Architecture, and Theatre .
Jo and I functioned as both co-editors and contributors. I was one of three contributing authors, working with Rick Hendricks and Khristaan Villela. Jo handled all the visual imagery. We included a portfolio section that featured each scene as it would have appeared in 1912, complete with historic costumes and properties.
I wrote the descriptions for each degree, describing in two or three sentences what was happening on stage. Instead of documenting each scene as still image, Jo activated the space, suggesting motion even though the figures were trapped in time. We wanted to capture the essence of production that transformed thousands of Masons for more than a century. The book was well received and we received the Ralph Emerson Twitchell Award from the Historical Society of New Mexico in 2019.
The very nature of theatre scenery is ephemeral, never intending to last beyond the production or a season. Touring productions and stock scenery collections were the exception, but even those installations were not intended to last more than a decade. In 1894, Sosman & Landis guaranteed that their scenery would last for twelve years. A little more than a decade, and yet examples of their work remain, despite some being almost 150 years old. Remnants of historic scenery collections are scattered all over the country, tucked away in opera houses, social halls and other performance venues.
Scottish Rite Theatres are different, they remain suspended in the same theatre in which they were installed, some even hanging from original operating lines. One can step upon a Scottish Rite stage and share the same space that performers and stagehands experienced over a century ago. Everything is locked in time yet still used for contemporary performances.
From the late-nineteenth- to mid-twentieth century, theatrical suppliers marketed Masonic scenery as unique, yet most scenic designs depicted common subject matter already utilized by many theaters. Standard stock scenes, such as woodlands, landscapes, ocean shores, babbling brooks, ancient ruins, palatial courtyards, Gothic interiors and Egyptian tombs graced both private and public stages alike. Only a few of the scenes designed for fraternal stages include objects and emblems inserted into scenic backdrops, set pieces and properties. This means that a variety of shows can still be staged in a Scottish Rite Theatre. Aida, Pirates of Penzance, Into the Woods, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, are just a few examples that have used Scottish Rite scenery collections over the years.
When architects, historical societies, investors, and other stakeholders examine historic theaters for renovation, they carefully research layout, color palettes, and painted details. Their focus becomes locked on building facades, plasterwork, entrances, lobbies, and auditoriums. Stagehouses are often ignored. Instead of exploring the historical and cultural significance of backstage areas, stage systems and distemper stage scenes are deemed out-of-date and/or replaceable. Far too frequently, the stage of a restored theatre is gutted and replaced with new systems and technology, removing all evidence of an industry that shaped the American experience for generations. Even extant stage scenery, painted by significant local, regional, and nationally-recognized artists, are perceived as replaceable or disposable. In many cases, these large-scale distemper artworks cannot survive the removal and transportation to a new location.
Sosman & Landis, of Chicago produced the largest number of Scottish Rite scenery collections in North America. The firm’s first employee and final president, Thomas G. Moses was personally responsible for the design and delivery of Masonic scenery for 55 Scottish Rite Theatre, 7 Shrine Auditoriums, 14 Commanderies (York Rite) and 9 Grottos (Mystic Order of the Veiled Prophets of the Enchanted Realm).
Moses was repeatedly called back to repaint stage settings for numerous Masonic Temples, even after a period of twenty-five years. These Masonic venues included Little Rock, Arkansas, Fort Scott, Kansas, McAlester, Oklahoma, and Salt Lake City, Utah. Moses brokered and refurbished used Masonic scenery collections across the country, a practice implemented by Sosman & Landis under Moses’ leadership during the early twentieth century. Sosman & Landis scenery is in jeopardy at Scottish Rite theaters across the country. A few weeks ago, I created a 7-min. video that tries to convey what Joe Sosman & Perry Landis were able to accomplish and the state of many historic scenery collections. Now is the time to get out your camera and ask to see the scenery. Click HERE to watch the video. I recognize that not everything can be saved, but it can be documented.
To be continued…
One thought on “Travels of a Scenic Artist and Scholar: Scottish Rite Theatre in California”