Theatre Design & Technology - Dec 1970 - 21

The introduction by Professor F. V. Hunt
provides much interesting historical information, in particular he relates Sabine's accidental involvement in acoustics and how he
became consultant for Symphony Hall, Boston. While this hall remains one of the most
respected concert halls acoustically, in the
I ight of these papers and the more recent
studies and structures, it seems providential
that Sabine should have struck upon the
right features to stress in the design. Perhaps today we are confused by the overabundance of detail ed information that seems
to lack improved basic organizing principles.
Although minimized, enough redundancy
exists among the papers to facilitate the
grasp of individual topics. The data point referred to as being in error is omitted in two
graphs (page 86, page 227). Original publication places the missing point for the
absorbing power of an audience for 1024
Hz at 0.52, significantly higher than the
smooth curve shows. This apparently resulted from the noise of a passing street
car masking the true decay time of the test
sound.
Materials, techniques of sound measurement, and calculation methods, particularly

The Development of the Playhouse
Donald C. Mullin, University of California
Press, Berkeley and Los Angeles, 1970.
197 pages, $15.00.

This is a valuable and copiously illustrated
volume. It is subtitled "A Survey of Theatre
Architecture from the Renaissance to the
Present." Within the restrictions of a "survey," the book fulfills its task: It covers all
of the important developments in Western
theatre architecture from the middle of the
15th century to the present. In his foreword, the author warns the reader that,
Theatres erected for nondramatic purposes have been
omitted entirely, because this
is a survey of playhouses, not
auditoria or stages. The word
"playhouse" is interpreted to
include buildings for dramatic
entertainment, whether this
be spoken drama, vaudeville,
opera, or dance.
However, this omission is not a serious one
and should not deter anyone interested in
the subject.
Mullin follows a logical chronology in his
discourse. The ten chapters cover significant
national- and international- developments
and change in the Renaissance, Baroque, Romantic, and Modern periods. Two chapters
are devoted to English theatre design and
practice-with its interesting amalgam of
native and foreign influences-and one chapter is alloted to the rise of theatre building

those using computers are recent improvements in acoustics, just as use of airconditioning and electronic sound support
are additional considerations since Sabine's
research. After reading the fundamentals in
their original presertation, more recent literature may be of specific usefulness.

Acoustics, Room Design, and Noise Control, by Michael Rettinger (Chemical Pub.
1968) is a fine handbook giving detailed
calculation methods and data tables for engineers and architects.

Room and Building Acoustics and Noise
Abatement, by Willi Furrer (trans. Butterworth & Company, 1964) a concise treatment of current techniques and data.

Music, Acoustics and Architecture, by
Leo Beranek (John Wiley & Sons, 1962)
the story of studies leading to the acoustical
design of Philharmonic Hall, Lincoln Center,
with detailed pictures, measurements and
comments on the foremost music halls in
the world.
R. Land
Engineering Sciences Laboratory
Harvard University

and design in the American colonies and the
United States between 1 71 6 and 1 869. The
final three chapters cover such significant
designs and innovative techniques in playhouse construction and staging methods aher
1850 as the utilization of cast iron and
steel as building materials, the use of gas
and electricity as controlled light sources,
and the transition from the wing and border
scenic investiture to modern practices involving high grids, wagon stages, hydraulic
and electric elevators, and the revolving
stage.
This final section is the least successful
of the book. Modern technology and the increasingly complex views of man and society
held by theatrical artists and practitioners
have created a diversity of approaches to the
fundamental task that is beyond description,
particularly in a survey of this sort. In all
fairness to Mullin, he does state in his
foreword that, "Comment about modern
theatre has been kept to a minimum, partly
through space limitation, and partly because
such information is readily available, even in
modest libraries." True enough, but in his
brief account he does make several critical
judgments with which some readers, including this reviewer, will take issue.
For example, Mullin states in a discussion
of Jacques Copeau's Theatre de Vieux
Colombier that,

THEATER DESIGN AND TECHNDlOGY

Copeau soon discovered that
a multi-form and changeable
architectural [scenic] unit is
more cumbersome and restrictive than ordinary scenery con-

DECEMBER,1970

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Theatre Design & Technology - Dec 1970