Theatre Design & Technology - Fall 2005 - 54

FIGURE 5
Diagram 1 from U.S.
Patent No. 924,632

the appearance of a "race." The uncovered section of the turntable is advanced or turned by the motion of the horse. Behind
the horse/s is a panorama (A7 in Chapman's Figure 1 and 3)
moving in the opposite direction of the horse. Aside from the
difference between an onstage endless belt/path and a revolving disc, this design functions much as earlier treadmill and
panorama machinery.
Burgess' design for a rotating stage device is similar to
Chapman's. His patent, U.S. Patent No. 471,126 (figure 4), was
granted on 22 March 1892 and it is interesting to note that one
of the witnesses to sign the document was David I. Towers,
who would later create and patent some significant designs for
stage apparatuses himself.
The revolving stage as patented by Burgess again functioned in a manner similar to the treadmill design, except that
instead of setting the horse on a treadmill, it located him (or
another object to be moved) on an uncovered segment of the
revolving disc located under the stage. This is shown at e and d
in Burgess' illustration and by a horse tethered at a22 in
Chapman's. Multiple horses, people or objects could be accommodated in Burgess' design simply by having more than
one revolving disc. This was slightly different from Chapman's
design, as Chapman does not use multiple discs, but instead
says that multiple horses can be accommodated on the "turn
table" he utilizes in his design (Chapman 1890, Patent No.
423,372).
Whereas Chapman's device, which utilized individual
wire harnesses to control the forward motion of the horse/s
moving on the single turntable was limited to a single speed,
different speeds could be presented using Burgess' design by
revolving the discs at different speeds. The discs could also be
slowed down or speeded up during a race scene to further enhance the verisimilitude of the scene. As in Chapman's design,
the "runners" are attached to a windlass that can be used to
control their rate of speed. (Burgess actually used two human
figures in his patent illustration, at d and e, and refers to them
as "runners" in the written description, while also allowing
that horses, bicycles, or other objects can be substituted)
Burgess intended this new design as an easier means of
presenting the "race" illusion onstage. In the patent description, he states, "The object of my invention is to provide a device by which these effects may be produced by a somewhat
simpler mechanism than has heretofore been employed by
others or me." (Knell 1892, Patent No. 471,126)
Despite these intentions, the rotating stage design never
quite caught on as the treadmill and panorama combination
had and it was this latter design that would be utilized in later
(and greater) racing plays. These plays, however, required another creative leap.
Having mastered the basics of perceived forward motion
on stage in the staged horserace either by utilizing a revolving
stage or by combining treadmills, panoramas, and fencing
combined with other suitable objects for the horses to run
"past", the producers of hippodrama next sought to increase
the spectacular impact of the staged horserace in a different
way. For this, they needed new machinery. The Country Fair
TD & T

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