Theatre Design & Technology - Feb 1972 - 32

tions which would be meaningful only to a
contemporary theatre practitioner in England.
The mid-section of this book dealing with
the technology of stage lighting, however,
is readable, informative, comprehensive, and
a valuable reference tool for the theatre
artist and architect.
The final sub-set of The Art of Stage
Lighting is a subjective summary of the
author's particular approach to lighting design; and while it is interesting, particularly
in his crusade for more extensive experimentation in the field of "colour music,"
its value is greater perhaps in assessing the
totality of the author's life than in providing
any fresh new insights into the methodology
or practice of stage lighting.

Theatre fur Morgen
Heinrich
Job and Roland Ostertag.
Kramer Verlag, Stuttgart: 1970. 60 pp.,
'07 illus. (German text.)
This unusually compact book is divided
into two parts, the first of which explains
the philosophy of theatre held by the authors and how this might generate a more
concrete design program. The second part,
however, is more specifically devoted to the
design drawings of a Seminar Group at the
Technical University of Stuttgart, in response
to an architectural competition arranged by
the magazine Theater Heute (Theatre Today). For interested readers, the full text
of the competition conditions are printed on
pages 13-14.
The authors wish to erase the "artificial
boundary" between program formulation
and design realization in the theatre and
identify several trends in contemporary theatre which must be considered:
1. The stark division of audience and actors
at present in many auditoria. Do we
overcome this by more flexible plan
forms such as the amphitheatre or the·
atre in·the-round? Do we discard the

proscenium?
2. The relation between the theatre and
the "real world" is changing, as exemplified by the tendencies toward politi·
cal polarization and audience participation.
3. Must we really destroy the "bourgeois
theatre"? Whereas the director alone
used to shape the Quality of the end
product, will he be replaced by teamwork, collective leadership and the abo·
lition of job descriptions? Do I hear
the
actors' and musicians' llnions
groaning?

There is no doubt that it is useful to focus
on three elements of the theatre (equipment, artists, and the audience) and to keep
all three in balance. It is therefore a minor
criticism of this book that it tends to gloss

Chapter 14 contains a useful comparison
of "Equipment in Common Use" in England, America, and on the Continent; which
in conjunction with the Glossary should
assist the reader in realizing the internatior;Jal scope of progress made in the last
decade or so in lighting technology. Although not flawless, this is a major work in
the field of stage lighting and should be in
the library of every school or individual with
an abiding interest in understanding and
furthering the art.

Bruce W. McMullan
Dartmouth College

over the audience problem. In true utopian
tradition, the "intuition" of the architect
about future audiences is given full rein,
while in fact some solid analysis of present
audiences would add a touch of realism and
pract ica Iity.
Turning to the design drawings themselves, the integration of performing arts
facilities into a downtown area is recognized for the major problem that it is. The
schemes by Messrs. Gross and Krieg handle this in an imaginative manner, while
Pannitschka goes the whole hog by creating
a high-density city of tomorrow in which
theatre is a focal element. In the manner
of the English Archigram Group, he suggests a clip-on, conveyor-belt city where
the placing of commerce, housing and transportation would all focus upon a performing
arts centre, in use around the clock. One is
reminded of that quotable quote; one of the
many in this book (P. 7):
In order to be alive, the city must allow
itself to be swallowed by the lively theatre.

The format and contents of this book will
appeal especially to architecture buffs, what
with no less than 107 clear black and
white illustrations of plans, sections, and
elevations. Some of the analytical sketches
are real gems of economy, and there is a
welcome absence of fluff and foliage so
often used to package weak ideas. The
German text should be no hindrance, with
all those self-explanatory illustrations.
This book then is frankly utopian; it does
not aim to present finished products but
rather to report on a thought and work
process in evolving the theatre of tomorrow.
If readers approach it in this spirit and make
some adjustment for European practice, they
will find many stimulating ideas which merit
practical application.
Wallace van Zyl
University of Waterloo. Ontario

THEATER DESIGN AND TECHNOLOGY

FEBRUARY, 1972

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Theatre Design & Technology - Feb 1972