Theatre Design & Technology - Spring 2011 - 62

Billy Erkin and Wendy WaszutBarrett position new netting.

Net is attached with glue, drop
by drop.

Wendy touching up the tree
tops.

The scope of gluing new
netting onto a tree tops cut
drop.

The McAlester Scottish Rite is nearing the
end of an intensive restoration project. For the
past two summers, I have led small groups of
volunteers who have painstakingly repaired
this incomparable 1929 backdrop collection.
As the owner of Bella Scena, a Minnesotabased backdrop restoration company, I have
led numerous crews to restore over 400
painted drops in Masonic scenery collections
in Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota, Grand
Forks, North Dakota, and Santa Fe, New Mexico,
among others. The volunteer crews of mostly
retired Masons work with unusual enthusiasm
and energy as they preserve this fraternal
heritage for future members.
In January 2009, I traveled to McAlester,
Oklahoma, to complete an on-site evaluation of
the Scottish Rite backdrop collection there. Considering the extreme temperature swings and
high humidity common in Oklahoma, the majority of the backdrops were in remarkable shape
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for being eighty years old. My presentation to the
Masons consisted of a history of their scenery, a
prioritized list for its restoration, and procedural
explanations of the repair procedure.

historiCal signifiCanCE
The inclusion of spectacle into fraternal ceremonies transformed their degree work into
fully staged theatrical productions and helped
catapult the Scottish Rite of freemasonry to the
forefront of the American fraternal movement.
Members were captivated by its unique ritual
experiences. Mid-nineteenth-century fraternal
legislation mandated the use of stage scenery
for the indispensable degrees.1 Although Scottish Rite stages initially appeared in the Northern Masonic Jurisdiction2, it was in the Southern
Jurisdiction's rapidly expanding western region
where theatrical interpretations flourished.
Across the western frontier, increasingly impressive edifices were constructed with large
spring 2011

theatre spaces. Such was the case in 1929, when
the Valley of McAlester built the largest fraternal stage in the nation, measuring 80 x 100 feet
with 125 line sets.
Sumptuously ornamented in an Egyptian
theme, this 1000-seat auditorium includes a 60
x 60 foot proscenium arch. An exceptional collection of 112 drops (forty-two leg drops, fortytwo cut drops and twenty-eight backdrops)
constitutes one of the last works of fraternal
stage design and scenic art produced by Thomas Gibbs Moses (1856-1932). He was seventythree at the time.3 A prolific scenic artist and
president of Sosman & Landis Studio of Chicago,
his scenic art appeared in theatres, amusement
parks, world fairs, churches, and various fraternal stages throughout the country from 1873 to
1932. Starting with the Little Rock Scottish Rite
in 1896, Moses's Masonic work included fiftyfive Scottish Rite Temples, seven Shrines, fourteen Commanderies, and nine Grottos.4

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Theatre Design & Technology - Spring 2011