Theatre Design & Technology - Summer 1987 - 48

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Letters to the Editor
continued from p. 2
Mr. Unruh's declaration that "the
drama is lived [or experienced - my
words] ... rather than presented . .. "
is a revealing allegory for the distinction between existentialism and
essentialism.
While Delbert Unruh writes that
Action Design grew up in the tWO
decades following World War II, it
might be asserted that the changes
which he describes had earlier roots.
To Mielziner wrote in The Shapes of
Our Theatres that "Early in the century, one of the most significant influences on all the arts was the
Freudian concept of the unconscious.
Exploration of man's psychological
inner world profoundly affected the
fine arts movements - from Expressionism, Surrealism to Abstract
Expressionism. "
Equally as influential (if not more
so) on all of the arts as Freud (18561939), was the existentialist thought
as explored, for example, by Kierkegaard (1813-1855) and ietzsche
(1844-1900). This is illustrated by
the work of artists such as Van Gogh,

Cezanne, and Picasso in painting,
and Dostoevski, Baudelaire, Kafka,
and Rilke in literature.
My query about the origins of Action Design, however, does not detract from my appreciation of what
Mr. Unruh is sharing with his
readers.
My only quibble, as a theatre architect, lies with the quotes from
Svoboda regarding the physical
spaces (assembly envelopel for the
performances. Mr. Unruh writes that
Action Design was conditioned by
"the economic reality of the cost of
theatrical production." He also
quotes Mr. Svoboda as saying that
"the space must be totally flexible by
simple mechanical means. It must be
cheap, not labor intensive. . .. ow
the concern is JUSt space design - and
space design of stage, auditorium,
and the whole building."
While I am empathetic with Mr.
Svoboda's concerns, my experience
tells me that what he (along with
many others) is asking for is physically contradictory. The theatre architect will face the balance between
what I call the three Cs: changeability, commitment, and complexity/

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Changeability (flexibility):
Many creative theatre users like
Svoboda request that the assembly
envelope offer a maximum degree of
flexibility. The type of flexibility in
mind often relates to the ability to
change the type or degree of encirclement in the spectator-performer
interrelationships. This can be
called the desire for flexibility, or
changeabili ty.
Commitment:
A second concern among theatre
users is the desire for the theatre to
be a committed space. Most theatre
users are interested in the assembly
envelope being well designed, with
high quality, and with architectural
characteristics which support the intended theatre design concept such
as good conditions for seeing and
hearing. Some theatre users say that
they are less interested in flexibility
or changeability than in the availability of a wonderful, workable and
efficient place in which to work.
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Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Theatre Design & Technology - Summer 1987