Theatre Design & Technology - Summer 1981 - 48

-Book Reviews

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Laser Art & Optical Transforms By T. Kallard. New York: Optosonic
Press, 1979, ISBN 0-87739-009-6, x + 170 pp., illus. + photos,
$12.50 paper.
This work, which claims to be a first-of-its-kind, is an illustrative but
curious primer of visual effects obtainable by laser beams. Although
generally effective in instructing the layman in the performance, effects and production of basic laser instruments, the work suffers from
a number of formal, grammatical and stylistic inconsistencies. This
may be forgivable given the subject, which by nature is so couched in
engineering principles, plus the author's eagerness for the matter to
be understood by the rest of us, i.e., "theatrical producers, rock performers, discotheque and laser concert impressarios (sic), graphics
designers, artists in every medium."
The work develops clearly enough. First, a brief historical perspective outlines the creative work being done commercially and experimentally by major figures and organizations around the world.
The next chapter, Lasers and Laser Light, seems a too-brief description of the elemental ingredients of this optical phenomenon.
Midway into the brief opening description, an editorial statement in
stilted grammatical style advises that technical material is now being
introduced for the non-technical reader, i.e. "one who wishes only to
use laser light in any of its numerous applications." Such a comment
seems not only to confuse the issue of who the book was written for
the first place, but also what business a neophyte has playing with
such a dangerous and complex phenomenon as laser-producing
mechanisms.
Further, a listing of basic laser safety requirements distracts the
reader even more. If one knows little of the technical production of lasers from the book, then why list the admonitions?
Laser Light Generated Images deals amply and specifically with linear "writing" and non-objective images. Simple and clear diagrams
explain the mechanics of producing such structures of light as spirograms, visual displays of sound, light caustics, optical transforms, and
laser theatre. Here too inconsistencies emerge. Is light conceived of
as waves or, as later described, as photons? Here two distinct theories seem one and are used interchangeably. Further, the chapter
ends with a photo of a laser sculpture, interesting in itself, but with no
reference or documentation regarding its construction or relation to
light or to other material in the book.
A chapter on optical transforms (a diffraction pattern caused by a
laser beam interrupted by an aperture placed between the light
source and the viewing screen) explains elementally the nature of
transforms, but with too-typical vagueness suggests "it is hoped the
presentation of many light diffraction patterns will stimulate thought
and develop an intuitive feeling by the artists and designers about the
relationship between an optical aperture and its optical transform."
An overly generous supply of examples (all blacks and white) follows
with too little explanation of how physically and diffracted patterns
were produced by the sample diffracting apertures.
A brief final section on holography clearly displays the arrangement for producing holograms, and describes various kinds. But
again, outside the brief mention of artistic application in creating hologram portraits, action holographs of dancers, and the preservation
and restoration of statuary, the use and application in the performing
arts, for instance, is left to the imagination.
In many ways the book seems to hype ideas which it never proceeds to explain in practical application. For instance, the foreword
provides a sound raison d'etre for artistic use, yet the book doesn't
follow up with concrete suggestions in performance; it merely stays
on the elemental level of description of laser methods and devices.
Further, a statement late in the work summarizes, "There are many
things we can do with holography that are possible in no other way,"
yet none of these are explained specifically. "Laser Theatre" briefly
describes kinetic sculpture, i.e. spectacles of music, sound and light
on screens, clouds in a night sky, or on generated smoke serving as a
three-dimensional screen. But beyond these examples, no specific
applications to theatre or other performing arts in the conventional
sense are considered.
The book is a brief encounter for the layman with the world of lasers, optical transforms and holography (although the technically
well-informed reader will have an easier time of it). Despite its shortcomings, the work legitimizes the subject as a new art form whose dimensions are still waiting to be discovered.

Robert Zyromski

Lake Erie College

Shakespeare: The Globe and the World by Samuel Schoenbaum.
New York: Oxford University Press and the Folger Shakespeare Library, 1980, ISBN 0-19-502646-2, 208 pp., iIIus., $9.95 paper; ISBN
0-19-502645-4, $24.95 cloth.
When the Folger Shakespeare Library mounted an exhibit to be
shown in museums in five major cities of the United States, Samuel
Schoenbaum was requested to write the narrative for a book or "catalog" for the exhibit. The result is far more than a catalog; it is a carefully written and beautifully illustrated homage to William Shakespeare, his genius and his times.
The book traces the background out of which Shakespeare came
as well as the social and political activities in England and particularly
in London during the poet's life. In addition, it includes a survey of selected plays written by Shakespeare, their stage and printed history.
In his preface, Mr. Schoenbaum states that he "has sought to defer
to the illustrations: this book exists for the [Folger] collection, not the
other way round." This basic premise has been adhered to carefully,
perhaps too carefully, for one feels at times that the author is working
very hard to move his narrative gracefully from one illustration to the
next. It is evident that much more could be said on a specific subject,
if only the proper illustrations were available for it. If the book has any
fault, it lays, therefore, in the need for more illustrations of such a nature that the writer could be freed from the limitations placed on his
obviously extensive knowledge.
This is not to indicate that Shakespeare: The Globe and the World
is not a good book. Just the reverse is true. The book is so good and
so impressive that the reader desires more. The illustrations are carefully chosen to reveal what little is known about Shakespeare himself
and that which can be shown about the world in which he lived. There
are over 350 illustrations with 150 in color. The printing is excellent
and the color reproductions beautiful. Space does not permit detailing
the wide range of the illustrative material, but it must be pointed out
that much reproduced here has not been available before, and when
available, rarely in the quality present in this volume. The book is well
indexed and has a useful "select" reading list.
Shakespeare: The Globe and the World is highly recommended as
a source book for set and costume designers, particularly the latter.
Though the paperback binding is of quality material, the book is well
worth the price of the hard binding. It is of value to both the theatre
practitioner and the layman.
W. K. Waters, Jr.

Stephen F. Austin State University

A Dance on the High Wire By Jed Harris. New York: Crown Publishers, Inc., 1979, ISBN: 0-517-539217, 187 pp., illus., $10.00 cloth.
A Dance on the High Wire is the book which the witty and the debonair Jed Harris wrote as a follow-up to his book Watchman, What of
the Night? It has a tantalizing quality: it is engrossing, yet one wishes
he had given more space to the plays he produced rather than the
women he seduced, professors he humbled, and gamblers and restaurant owners he knew. His vituperative wit is always amusing, so
even sections of the book with subject matter of no particular import
are fun to read, and the pages are sprinkled with comments such as,
"The theatre is just about the only place in the world that you are not
asked your race, your religion, your antecedents. There are only two
questions: Can you sing? Can you dance?" The strongest sections of
the book deal with Harris' productions of Uncle Vanya, The Front
Page, and his phenomenally successful 1926 production of Broadway. There are interesting sketches of John and Ethel Barrymore,
Edna Ferber, Thornton Wilder and other notable actors, playwrights
and directors.
Beneath the wit, there is a real despair, not only about the world of
theatre, but the world in general. Harris' description of life in the
theatre exemplifies the difficulties of producing high quality plays, and
his view of life as a whole reveals a poignant sensitivity. Asked in a
flippant manner what it was like to be Jewish, he responded, "It's
really quite exhilarating. It's rather like performing on the high wire in
tight shoes."
Anyone who read Harris' earlier book, or Moss Hart's description
of him, or saw the Cavett interviews just before his death will not be
surprised that the illustrations consist of six photographs of Jed Harris.

Yvonne Shafer

The Ohio State University

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Theatre Design & Technology - Summer 1981