Theatre Design & Technology - Summer 1992 - 28

agement are names you all know. Tommy
Skelron was rhe Limon company lighting
designer and stage manager that first
summer and for several thereafter. In
larer years he would rerum on a freelance
basis for Jose or Pearl or Paul Taylor bur
we always made pre-season decisions
based on what son of plot we would
hang and how long he would be in residence.
Tom was followed for rwo seasons as
Limon company lighting designer and
srage manager by a young lady who was
developing a sound reputation with
dancers at the 92nd Srreet YMHA in
ew York, Tharon Musser. Her approach
ro the task differed from Tom's in that
she was rhoroughly organized right from
the firsr lighting rehearsal. I think she
saw the lighr in her head before she ever
wrote a cue whereas Tom had a plor that
covered his repenory bur within which
he was constandy trying new things. He
introduced me ro that word "concept," as
in, "Damn it, I haven't got the concept
nailed down yet!" Sometimes he didn't
have it ten minutes before the first performance of a new piece bur like any rrue
anist, he was never afraid ro throw out
what didn't work and ro keep searching
for that which did.
thers who illuminated those
summers-no pun inrended-included Nik Cernovirch and Bob Rauschenberg
who came wirh Merce
Cunningham. Both of them brought
wondrous light and color ro the stage.
Then there was Alwin
ikolais who
always did his own lighting except for
one piece when he let me do ir. He
looked over my shoulder but never said,
"Don't do that!" Lovely man! Lasdy, the
most influential of them all, Jean
Rosenthal, that nice litde lady, came ro
light the Graham company and inspire
all of us as we literally sat at her feer. If I
say very much about Jeanie, I shall starr
ro get maudlin so let me JUSt note that
she was the designer, Non Pareil' Writing
in a New Yorker profile in the mid-fif1:ies,
Winthrop Sargeant described Jean's
essence this way:
"Darling," Miss Rosemhal croons
sofcly inro the intercom, "please
bring sixty-five ro full. Tell George
ro let me see seven-that's a dear.
Flash five, please .... Yes honey...
ow bring one ro five and three ro
seven. Please darling, bring three ro
seven ...
"Jeanie!" the elecrricians's voice
comes over the intercom,
ll

1992 SUMMER

TD&T

overriding a confusing jumble of
noise thar indicates a crisis of some
sorr.
"I know, darling," replies Miss
Rosenthal, in the rones of a morher
reassuring a child who has had a
bad dream. "Can'r we talk abour ir
a linle later, dear? Jusr bring three
w seven and everyrhing will be all
righr." ,

rom rhe beginning, Tom and I
raughr stagecrafr and lighting
classes for dance srudems in rhe
school. Some of them found
rhar what we were doing and
reaching ro be more imponam rhan pursuing careers as performers. One summer, a rail willowy girl named Jennifer
Tipwn rurned up in the class. Somerhing
happened for her and she wem wirh ir,
ably assisted by Tom Skelwn. Ar rhe rime
he was Paul Taylor's lighring designer and
srage manager but shorrly rhereafrer
passed the srage managemem responsibilities over ro Jenny and wirhin a year the
lighring as well. ow in rhe middle of a
brilliam career, she has a Tony, has direcred Tbe Tempest ar the Gurhrie and has
been profiled in Smitbsonian Magazine.
Go Jennifer!
A year or rwo afrer Jenny's appearance,
Beverly Emmons, a dance srudenr at
Sarah Lawrence, applied for an apprentice crew position. She came well recommended and we rook her on. She was a
delight l A quick learner and a very
responsible board operaror, ASM, flywoman, sound operaror, Bev rapidly
became an indispensable member of our
producrion staff.
By rhe lare '60s, I recognized the grear
changes we had broughr abour in rhe way
we did things. For staners, we were able
w creare a ploc well in advance of rhe sixweek season which included rhe needs of
every lighring and scenic designer whose
work would be pan of rhe repenory. W/e
pushed companies-wirh gende persuasion-ro make decisions abour which
dances they would be bringing, and in
the case of new works, we wanted to
know as much about them as rhe choreographers and designers could rell us. \Y,Je
built rehearsal and work schedules for rhe
emire season and always insened inviolate crew rime between one dance group's
time on stage and rhat of another.
Our own equipmem list and comrol
systems expanded as we saw rhe needs
grow. By 1967, we were using a plot of
about 150 insrrumems comrolled bv 60
dimmers. We had six co eight board
operarors with another fivc [Q sevcn crcw
members on sound, at the rail, and in rhe

wings. We prided ourselves on being able
ro change color in all rhe specials and
side posirions (we used color wheels) in
under twO minures. Fifreen years earlier,
ir had raken ren minutes and audiences
munered. ow, we could even change
focus on rhe specials. Ir rook coordinarion, a lor of rehearsal, and a very good
srage manager ro keep ir all moving.
I was lucky ro be in a situarion where
lors of help was available from a large
group of brighr srudems. Today, if you
have the money, you hang a plor of 400
to 500 fixrures in a dimmer per channel
set-up and drive ir all wirh a lighr paJene
plus. Crews can be kepr small because
currem technology includes color changers and remore conrrol of a fixrure's
focus. I would love ro be able light some
dances with such a ser-up bur fear thar all
rhat machinery would inrimidate me,
panially by the mulriplicity of choice ir
affords, and in pan by rhe consrant fear
of rhe whole sysrem's crashing rhree
coums inro rhar big, final cue. Thar's a
lot abour ew London and my life in the
world of dance bur rhose were marvelous
years in Palmer Audirorium. I was very
forrunare ro be in rhe righr place at the
righr rime.

n 1955, I was hired as designer/
rechnical direcror ar the University
of Delaware. We staged our producrions on a very bad, very small
srage, in a very large audirorium
which is worrh a shorr descriprion.
Mirchell Hall was bui!r in 1929 as a
mulri-purpose facility: commencemenrs,
musical performance, meerings, and, oh
yes, plays. The man who provided rhe
funding asked his archirecr-who had
never done a thearre or audicorium
before-ro consulr wirh someone who
knew what a modern srage should conram.
The search led him ro Phillip Barbour,
rhe technical direcror in George Pierce
Baker's new School of Drama at Yale.
Barbour had recenrly rerumed from a
visir co Germany where he had seen
everyrhing. His recommendation was
rhar a Kllppe/ Horizant, a plaster cyclorama, be part of rhe srage. As rhis advice
was being absorbed, Pierre S. duPonr,
philanrhropist and rhe Squire of
Longwood, PA, called rhe donor asking if
he would have any use for a large Aeolian
Skinner pipe organ in his new audirorium. He was removing ir from his home
and replacing ir wirh a newer, more flexible insrrumenL The donor agreed and
rhe archirect was forced ro place all of rhe
pipes on a 16-inch-thick reinforced concrere floor builr 16 feer, six inches above

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Theatre Design & Technology - Summer 1992