Performing Arts Archives, UMN – Page 2

Travels of a Scenic Artist and Scholar. The Twin City Scenic Co. Collection at the University of 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.

I return to the life and times of Thomas G. Moses tomorrow on November 11, 2019. For the past week, I have been sharing my Dry Pigment Facebook Group posts, as it helps illustrate the scenic aesthetic that I write about each day.

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 their training. I always hope that this small and consistent gesture will help others with their future projects and research.

Today’s Dry Pigment post looks at two sketches created by the Twin City Scenic Co. of Minneapolis, Minnesota, now stored at the University of Minnesota – Twin Cities. They are part of the Twin City Scenic Company collection and also part of an online database. Although the database has become increasingly difficult to navigate after changing servers recently, it is still worth checking out. Here is the link: https://umedia.lib.umn.edu/search?facet_field=collection_name_s&facets%5Bcollection_name_s%5D%5B%5D=Scenic+Collections

Same drop curtain without Masonic emblem, showing that both commercial theatre and the fraternity used the same stage settings.

Travels of a Scenic Artist and Scholar. The Collingswood Scottish Rite, July 13 and July 17, 2019.

The front of the Collingswood Scottish Rite includes the original mansion that was built on the property in the 1850s

The design for the Collingswood Scottish Rite

My visit to the Collingswood Scottish Rite on July 13, 2019

In 1991, I encountered a series of Scottish Rite scenic designs with “Camden, NJ” written on the back. This was while I was processing the Holak collection for the University of Minnesota Performing Arts Archives as part of an Undergraduate Opportunities Program grant. The Holak collection was the second of two Masonic scenery collections that I processed between 1989 and 1991. The Holak collection included a variety of designs created by “Sosman & Landis” and their eastern affiliate “New York Studios.”

By 1992, I journeyed to the East Coast for the first time, newly engaged and visiting my fiancée’s family in Delaware. Unfortunately, there never seemed to be any opportunity to track down the Camden Scottish Rite, so it sat on the back burner for a few decades until this month.

Over the years, I would think of the Camden designs every time we visited friends or family in New Jersey. Opportunity finally presented itself while I was attending the League of Historic America Theatres national conference in Philadelphia. I was on my way back to New Jersey with our eldest child’s godparents when we decided to stop by and take a look. I had not scheduled a visit or checked if the building would even be open, just hoping to catch a glimpse of the fly tower. The Collingswood Scottish Rite was only two blocks away from the Camden city line and bustling with activity when we stopped.

There were cars in the parking lot and many exiting the building – score! This meant that I might be able to venture in far enough to see the lobby, and possibly the theater. Unbelievably our arrival coincided with the break between the matinee and evening performances of “Seussical” – not by the Masons, but by a local community theater group. Although, the idea of a Masonic version of “Seussical” does make me giggle – “Oh, the Thinks You Can Think!” But I digress…

Once inside the building, I met with an enthusiastic woman who eagerly listened to my connection with Masonic theater and then introduced me to Mary, the woman in charge. She was also delighted to hear my history about Scottish Rite scenery and promptly offered us a tour of the stage, patiently waiting while I climbed up to the fly gallery. “Seussical” had not been presented in the theater due to lack of central air. Instead, it was being presented in the only air-conditioned space below- the banquet room.

Postcard depicting the auditorium and one stage setting at the Collingswood Scottish Rite.

The proscenium line at the Collingswood Scottish Rite

The fly gallery at the Collingswood Scottish Rite

After examining the toasty auditorium and stage, we wandered up to another room where some of the backdrops were stored. I would later learn that local riggers working touring shows at the Collingswood Scottish Rite demanded the removal of the historic drops. All this seems very odd and I sincerely hope that I have misunderstood the chain of events leading up to the removal of the scenery. In the end, some of the scenes were gifted to the community theater for productions. The gifted drops have been repaired and repeatedly used in local theatre productions.

Without being able to unfold any of the drops, or see a stage book, I had no way of knowing if the Holak designs were ever realized for this particular venue. The designs may have simply been for a preliminary proposals. My host suggested that I contact the Scottish Rite Secretary the next week and meet with him, specifically asking to see the stage book.

It was not until after the conference ended, that I returned to the Scottish Rite, scheduling a meeting with the Scottish Rite secretary and bringing a few LHAT friends. I enjoyed a second tour of the theater before examining the stage book and chatting with the Scottish Rite representative. Before the scenery collection was removed, each backdrop had been photographed and placed in a packet, noting the original line sets. As I slowly flipped through the packet, I recognized many of the compositions from the Holak collection.

Folded backdrops at the Collingswood Scottish Rite

A design from the Holak Collection, with “Camden, NJ” written on the back.

Photograph of the same scene in the Collingswood Scottish Rite stage book

Although the scenery collection is folded up and in storage, it still exists – for now. There is also a greater possibility that the historic backdrops may avoid a final resting place in a dumpster if there is any perceived value of the artifacts; I did my best and even left a copy of “The Santa Fe Scottish Rite Theatre: Freemasonry, Architecture and Theatre” for the Scottish Rite Valley library.

The history of the Collingswood Scottish Rite complex is quite unique and fascinating. The Masons purchased the parcel of land with the intent of leveling the existing 1850s mansion that remained on the property at the time of sale. At some point, plans changed and the mansion was not leveled, just abbreviated; the front portion was left standing to be used as Scottish Rite offices. The new theater building was then connected to the back of the old mansion.

Recently, the Scottish Rite sold its building to the city, reserving the right to maintain the offices and use the lodge room. This arrangement is becoming more common across the country, as Scottish Rite Valleys sell their buildings for pennies on the dollar and negotiate with the new owners to still meet in the space. I remain unsure as to how much the theater is used for Scottish Rite degree productions, if it is used at all. Remember that the Northern Masonic Jurisdiction has mostly transitioned from degree productions to video presentations for instruction. The Collingswood Scottish Rite auditorium hosts a variety of touring shows, including an upcoming performance by Pink Martini, my new favorite musical ensemble. The current bookings at the Collingswood Scottish Rite remain limited to spring, fall and winter due to the lack of any central air.

To be continued…

Tales from a Scenic Artist and Scholar. Part 151 – John Z. Wood and the Twin City Scenic Company Collection

Part 151: John Z. Wood and the Twin City Scenic Company Collection

John Z. Wood traveled extensively for work after the financial travesty caused by his stepson Horace C. Tuttle in 1896. After painting for the Winnipeg Theatre, Wood journey to Minneapolis, Minnesota, and painted scenery for a variety of venues. I often wondered what drew Wood to Minneapolis. It might have been the connections that another Rochester Art Club founder, Harvey Ellis, had to the area. Ellis settled in the St. Paul, Minnesota, during 1886 and worked throughout the region for seven years before returning to Rochester. Some of Ellis’ designs include the Mabel Tainter Memorial Building in Menomonie, Wisconsin, and Pillsbury Hall, at the University of Minnesota campus in Minneapolis (East Bank).

It was in Minneapolis that Wood worked for the Twin City Scenic Company. His designs for drop curtains are currently part of the Twin City Scenic Co. collection in the Performing Arts Archives at the University of Minnesota Libraries. The backs of some designs include the name Robert J. Mork, a salesman for the Twin City Scenic Co. A few of Wood’s paintings also have competitive scenic studio stamps and markings on the backs, such as the Great Western Stage Equipment Co.

John Z. Wood design with Twin City Scenic Co. stamp and “Mork,” the name of a salesman. Twin City Scenic Co. Collection (PA43), Performing Arts Archives, University of Minnesota Libraries.

John Z. Wood design with “Mork,” the name of a salesman. Twin City Scenic Co. Collection (PA43), Performing Arts Archives, University of Minnesota Libraries.

I keep referring to the scenery collections at the University of Minnesota and should explain its significance. Here is the link for the collections: https://umedia.lib.umn.edu/scenicsearch

Here is what the scenery collection search page. To do a search for John Z. Wood, type his name in the keywords box.

This is one of the examples from the scenery collection search on John Z. Wood that will pop up during a search.

If it were not for Lance Brockman’s passion to pass on historical painting techniques and acquire these collections to preserve a disappearing heritage, I would be doing something else entirely today.

From 1989-1991, I processed two scenery collections (Great Western Stage Equipment Co. collection and the Holak collection) while attending the University of Minnesota as an undergraduate student. A decade later, I help design, write the text, and assign all of the metadata for the online scenery collection database while completing my graduate work. All the while, I replicated the painting techniques for both small-scale renderings and full-scale scenery, mainly on my own time. My introduction to this material at the age of nineteen shifted my focus from performance to scenic art and design. I was immediately hooked on this aesthetic and the scenic artists who painted visual spectacle for popular entertainment venues – especially Scottish Rite theatres.

Lance Brockman was instrumental in acquiring the Twin City Scenic Collection for the University of Minnesota as an educational tool for theatre students, artists and all others interested in this theatrical heritage. Portions of the Twin City Scenic Co. collection were displayed in a museum exhibit and catalogue titled “The Twin City Scenic Collection: Popular Entertainment 1895-1929.” The exhibit ran from April 5 – June 14, 1987 and was curated by Brockman at the University Art Museum, located in Northrup Auditorium on the east bank of the Minneapolis campus. Ironically, this was the year that I started my college career, so I never saw the exhibit!

The catalogue that accompanied the show was dedicated to John R. Rothgeb. He had passed away in December of 1986, just four months prior to the opening of the exhibit. Rothgeb was a theatre professor at the University of Texas (Austin) who first linked the significance of Scottish Rite collections with theatre history. He contacted many Scottish Rite Valleys throughout the country inquiring about their scenery collections. Rothgeb’s scholarly contributions are monumental and worth study in their own right. Much of his research is located in the Harry Ransom Center at the University of Texas, Austin. He was particularly interested in Thomas G. Moses and the Sosman & Landis Studio. This was one of major reasons that prompted my trip to Texas last fall after the Scottish Rite photo shoot in Santa Fe, New Mexico.

The Twin City Scenic exhibit catalogue was dedicated to Rothgeb. Brockman wrote, “He will be missed, but the groundwork that he established will provide the necessary foundation ultimately to preserve for future generations both an integral link with nineteenth-century heritage of American theatre and an understanding of “the romantic tradition of painted scenery.”

As part of the dedication page, Brockman included two paragraphs from Rothgeb’s unfinished essay. It is well worth including in its entirety here, as his sentiment is even more significant at this particular point in time:

“The late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries in American are rich in theatrical history, but little remains of the romantic tradition of painted scenery. As each year passed, there are fewer who can recall the beauty and delight evoked by a finely executed painted drop. For the very nature of scenery implies its fugitive quality. One interesting aspect of this painterly tradition, the ad curtain is nearly gone and forgotten, for even those who remember seeing them in theatres have their memories dimmed. Theatrical history today tends to look upon turn-of-the-century through the eyes of the reformers of the “new Stagecraft” such as Hiram Moderwell: “We now rarely see and old-fashioned ‘drop’ scene, and have almost forgotten how absurd it looks.” [H. Moderwell, “Theatre of Today” (New York: John Lane Company, 1914), 21]. 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. The theatre of 1880, however, was vital almost beyond our imagination, consisting of perhaps 2,000 working theatres across the country with an audience made up of nearly every citizen. As a part of the scenic tradition of this period, the phenomenon of the ad curtain interestingly illustrates the commercial course of our cultural evolution. – John R. Rothgeb.”

To be continued…

Tales from a Scenic Artist and Scholar. Part 147 – The Search for John Z. Wood

There is that certain feeling that I get when looking for something that I have misplaced. I can see it so clearly in my mind’s eye, repeatedly going back to the same spot over and over again. Eventually I locate the lost object, often in the exact same location where I knew it had to be!

I experience this same feeling while doing research, whether it be on scenic artists or Masonic scenery. There are certain places and times that I keep returning to, expecting something to finally appear. It was this same intuition that worked well for me at Fort Scott, Kansas, when we were removing the historical scenery collection for transport. It was one of the reasons why I crawled on my hands and knees through the filth digging in the crack between the wall and floor that was twenty feet above the stage. I am usually successful if I follow my instinct, whether it is research or painting. This persistent search resulted in the discovery of Thomas G. Moses’ personal artifacts. I knew that something was up there waiting to be found, so I just kept looking.

Last month, I finally tracked down a scenic artist that I have been searching for since receiving an Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program grant to process the Great Western Stage Equipment Company collection for the Performing Arts archives. At this same time, I was introduced to the Twin City Scenic Company collection and the art of John Z. Wood. I immediately was under the spell of Wood’s paintings and enthralled with his designs and painting techniques. Since then, I have spent thousands of hours of my own time searching telephone directories, census documents, and fine art books to track him down. I wrote letters to historical societies and museums, made onsite visits to peruse various archives, and even traveled across the country to view fine art.

Wood’s paintings were unique and very different from all of the other scenic art designs from the other historical scenery collections. There was a greater depth to his compositions and the color palette was much richer. Wood’s paintings also incorporated an interesting finish, giving each painting a slight sheen. This suggested that he was using either a different binder, applying a final warm glaze, or sealing his final product. However, it was his foliage painting that absolutely captivated me as a nineteen-year-old artist and a technique that allowed me to identify even unsigned his art works. There was a lacey quality to the foliage painting that I had never seen in any other fine art piece – except once at a thrift store. I immediately bought that battered print because it reminded me of his work. It now hangs on a wall where it is one of the first images I see every morning.

Detail of John Z. Wood foliage painting. John Z. Wood design for a drop curtain. Performing Arts Archives, University of Minnesota Libraries, Twin City Scenic Company collection (PA43).

Wood’s paintings were very romantic. He painted large soft areas of warm color and then allowed individual leaves to magically emerged from these welcoming masses. For me, this was absolute magic. As artists, we always talk about developing our own individual style. I desperately wanted to develop a style like John Z. Wood.

Over the years, I kept going back to many of the same places to continue my research and was able to track down a few bits and pieces of Wood’s fine art pieces. However, his personal life or professional appointments remained shrouded in mystery. His fine art primarily hung on walls at residences along the east coast and I had to wonder what had brought him to work in the Midwest at the Twin City Scenic Company in Minneapolis. Why leave an obviously successful career in fine art for the theatre career much later in life?

John Z. Wood design for a drop curtain. Performing Arts Archives, University of Minnesota Libraries, Twin City Scenic Company collection (PA43).

In 2001, I tracked down another Wood painting at a private residence in New Jersey. Fortunately, I had the opportunity to make a side trip to see the painting while visiting close friends in the area. Melissa Semmes-Thorne and made a special trip to Chatham, New Jersey.

Mrs. Glover in front of her John Z. Wood painting in Chatham, New Jersey.

There, Mrs. Glover offered us a cold drink and explained everything she knew about the artwork and the artist – which was virtually nothing. My heart sank when she started the conversation with, “Well, I actually know very little about him.” She had no idea that Wood also designed for the theatre and my trip seemed to be a waste. Mrs. Chatham could only explain that her father purchased the painting from the actual artist, known to be a very famous painter in the region. That was really my only clue – he lived in the area – at some point. So Wood was a resident of New Jersey or New York? Based on her story, he was also still living when her father bought the painting around the turn of the century.

Since that trip, I have discovered very little additional information – until last month. The continuous scanning and uploading of historic documents have changed everything for my research. In many ways, Wood’s story paralleled that of Thomas G. Moses, just ten years earlier as he was born in 1846. He was a prolific fine artist and had connections with Minnesota artists.

To be continued…

Tales from a Scenic Artist and Scholar. Part 106 – The Moline Scottish Rite and the Holak Collection

It is exciting to identify the work of individual scenic artists. Looking for specific colors, brush strokes and other identifying marks is similar to a treasure hunt. Charcoal lines, pounce marks, and lining work can all provide clues.

Unlike the Fort Scott collection, most Scottish Rite installations were the work of multiple artists. However, all of the drops still needed to blend together as a unified whole once the collection were assembled on site. This is similar to choral singing when you don’t want any one voice to stand out too much. However, even when a single studio solely produced a collection there could be variations. Sometimes the work of an individual artist will become apparent upon close inspection. Even if the identities of these artists are unknown, we can still identify their artworks in a collective whole.

One discovery at the Moline Scottish Rite would bring my back to my first days as a scenic artistic and scholar while processing the Holak collection for the Performing Arts Archives at he University of Minnesota Libraries. Primary made up of Sosman & Landis designs, the Holak collection was the third of four scenery design collections acquired by Professor Emeritus C. Lance Brockman. Again, here is the link to the scenery collection database: https://umedia.lib.umn.edu/scenicsearch. My work at the archives as a student, research assistant, employee, and returning scholar would prove invaluable throughout the course of my career.

In 2000-2001, I assigned every word of metadata for each artifact in the scenery collection database containing the three collections: Twin City Scenic Company, Holak (Sosman & Landis and New York Studios), and the Great Western Stage Equipment Company. My duties involved determining five key words that best identified each of the 3000+ images in the online collection. At the same time, I was also assigning the subject, media, stage term and masonic degree for each image. Crosschecking my entries provided an opportunity to compare and contrast all three collections over and over again. At the time, I also requested the addition of another category that would identify the specific artist, or “creator,” of many designs. Only a few of the artworks were signed or linked to a specific scenic artist. This meant that I had to do a final inspection of all three collections to look for stylistic similarities that could link unsigned works with signed works. Remember, many of the artists worked at multiple studios, so all three collections had to be examined simultaneously.

In 2012, I returned to the archives as a volunteer and did metadata entry for a new acquisition -the Northwestern Studio collection. This work was completed over one term while I taught scene painting class at the Department of Theatre Arts and Dance. For me, it was another way to give back to my alma mater, but there was also a personal reason that I wanted to help process this collection; it was to familiarize myself with this new acquisition. There is something to be said about individually handling each artwork or document as you become intimately familiar with not only each artifact, but also the scope of the entire collection.

In addition to working with incoming acquisitions, I also completed a series of technical studies over the years to fully understand the compositional layout, color palettes, and painting techniques. Whether as an undergraduate student, graduate student, or professional, it was always a form of practice to improve my own painting skills. It also allowed me an intimate familiarity with some of the works – such as the gates of the city for the 15th degree.

University of Minnesota Performing Arts Archives, PA49, box 2, MSSCH027.

Twenty-eight years after first replicating this small design from the Holak collection, I encountered a similar painting style at the Moline Scottish Rite Cathedral during March 2017. I was photographing various painting techniques and noticed the unique painting of blocks for the Gothic Cathedral setting. The painting technique was almost identical to those rendered by the designer for the city gates. I copied this design as a nineteen-year-old because I was enthralled with the pink stonework.

University of Minnesota Performing Arts Archives, PA49, box 2, MSSCH026.

Moline Scottish Rite Cathedral scenery, 1930. Photograph by Wendy Waszut-Barrett, 2017.

It was very different from everything else that I had encountered in either the Holak or Great Western Stage Equipment Company collections at the time. Portions of the light base coat remained visible in the final composition, providing a texture for each stone. This base also forms some of the grouting before the addition of sparse lining.

As I photographed the painted details during the Moline evaluation, I finally understood what I had missed when originally replicating the pink stones. My own brush strokes were too formulaic. It made me think of the approach to painting foliage. There needed to be an organic feel when painting each stone – like the placement of leaves on a vine. I tucked this bit of information away for future painting projects. There is always something to learn from these historical collections.

Replica of Holak Sketch from Performing Arts Archives by Wendy Waszut-Barrett, 1990.

To be continued…