Theatre Design & Technology - Winter 1983 - 17

refrigerant. Liquid is drawn off, pushed
by the 20070 gas volume in the container,
and is routed to t he bladders via plastic
tubing. 'vVhen the liquid R-12 hits the
collapsed bladders, which are near body
temperature, it expands rapidly into a
gas, filling the "muscles" almost instantly. Gas could not be delivered fast
enough LO achieve the effect anywhere
near this quickly.
John apier, the designer, originally
wanted the effect in 10 seconds. Huggins
finally gave it LO him in two seconds flat.
The tricks are where LO draw off the
liquid, and maintaining 30 psi in the

This device is the heart of the system
which enabled Cats' "Growltiger" to

develop muscles in a mailer ojseconds.
The welded aluminum reservoir was
filled to 80% capacity with R-12 refrigerant. The cannister-shaped solenoid
was actuated by a radio signalled receiver in the black box.

rhird Biennial Scenography Exposition

Dr. John Rothgeb, Purchase Prize CoJrdinator for the Third Biennial Scenography Exposition, has announced that, at pres~nt, twelve companies have agreed to furnish
Purchase Prizes for the 1984 Scenography
Exposition. Both Rothgeb and Stephen G.
Hild, Exposition Coordinator, have expressed certainty that as the event approaches
~ven more will be added to the list. Those
:urrently included are:
Dazian of Dallas
Electro Controls
Great American Market
Kliegl Brothers Lighting
Little Stage Lighting Company
Mutual Hardware
Norcostco
Peter Albrecht
R. L. Grosh & Sons
Rosco Laboratories, Inc.
Strand Century Lighting
Texas Scenic

The Purchase Prizes, instigated in 1982
'or the Second Biennial Scenography Ex-

hose LO keep the valve actuated.
Two days prior to opening, Huggins
was sitting in rehearsal, effects finished,
when Napier called him over to see if he
could do something about a couple of
"train" effects that had not turned out.
Huggins said no; there was no time, no
LOols, no materials. He sat down and
thought, "You blew it-here's your
chance to pull something out of the fire."
So, with a borrowed pad and pencil, he
started sketching some ideas. Byopening, he had designed and built some
flash pots, a "steam whistle," and
thrown in some fog to complete the picture apier had in mind.
A reputation for reliability, creativity, safety, and last minute solutions
makes Huggins a talent who is much in
demand. He receives calls on a daily
basis asking, "How do we do this?"
He went to London this past summer to
meet with Napier concerning Andrew
Lloyd Webber's next musical. And if
he gets an occasional moment he relaxes by moto-cross racing and hot-air
ballooning. There are few dull moments
for Richard Huggins.
D

Michael Rourke is a free-lance lighting
designer and teaches lighting at Indiana
University.

position, are cash prizes offered to various
participants selected to be included in the
J uried Section of the exhibit. The designers
have the option of stating in advance that
they will only accept a prize of a specified
amount or that they would be unwilling to
accept any prizes. The prizes usually range
from 5;300.00 to $1,000.00. The winners of
the prizes are to be announced at the final
banquet of the national conference.
The selected pieces will tour with the rest
of the exhibit and be sem to the Purchase
Prize Donor upon its completion. Hild announced that extensive plans are being made
for this year's Exposition. "We feel that the
Exposition is now large enough and inclusive enough that one of the major Touring
Services will be imerested in handling it. \\'e
are already making plans to have the entire
Exposition in ew York City during the
Twemy-fifth Anniversary Celebration of
USITT. The Board of Directors has also
asked that we stan planning ways to use
parts of the 1984 and the 1986 Expositions
as a foundation for the United States Emry
in the next International Exposition, to be
held in Prague, Czechoslovakia, in 1987."

Gilbert Hemsley
cantin lied from page 2.
As a lighting designer, he did over thinyfive operas for the ew York City Opera,
and was Beverly Sills' production supervisor
since 1981. His broadway credits include
Sligar Babies, Colelfe and YOllr Arms Too
Shorl to Box with God. His last productions were Public Television's The Skin of
0111' Teeth, originated at The Old Globe Theatre in San Diego this past spring, and Porgy
and Bess at Radio City Music Hall.
He may well be best remembered for his
singular success combining talents as an
artist with those of a teacher-notably with
the University of Wisconsin's graduate theatre program. For the past twelve years, he
worked from backstage command posts at
professional productions, staffed with dedicated Wisconsin students who assumed everincreasing responsibility for the productions
he designed. In that relatively shon period,
he has left a substantial network of working
practitioners at all levels of theatre and TV:
what educational theatre has preached,
Hemsley practiced-to his very considerable credit.
Allendees at conventions will remember
his influence on US and foreign slUdent delegates to the 1975 OISTT Conference and
Prague Quadrienalle-and his hilarious,
self-effacing presentation on the Chinese
tour at a 1980 ATA convention, or his absorbing discovery and presentation (by accommodation) of an entire palette of filter
hues-all blues, developed before a USITT
audience.
He was a professional to emulate.
-Ned A. Bowman
Any person or company wishing more
information on offering a Purchase Prize
should contact:
John Rothbeg
Purchase Prize Coordinator
Theatre Depanment
University of Texas
Austin, Texas 78712
(512) 471-7544
or
Stephen G. Hild
Exposition Coordinator
George Thomas Howard & Assoc.
7046 Hollywood Blvd. #711
Hollywood, California 90028
(213) 462-2343
The judges for this year's Juried Section
were: Michael Feingold, Critic, Village
Voice; Bill Gile, Director; Jennifer Tipton,
Lighting Designer' Roger Morgan, Lighting
Designer; Willard Bellman, Designer, Educator, Author; and the League of New York
Theatre Producers (a committee from this
organization made up one vote).
The judging was held December 1-4 in a
theatre donated by the League of ew York
Theatre Producers.

USITT/Winler 1983/Thcatrc Design & Technology

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