Theatre Design & Technology - Feb 1973 - 27

playwright. It was done with minimal props and set-pieces,
splended costumes by Caley Summers, and projections.

of this complex show, makes it quite clear that using

theatre we were to work in. I realized several things: the
first was that the Robert S. Marx had an advanced thrust
with good seating arrangements. I t is steep-tiered, the
rows surrounding the thrust on three sides. Its backstage
service functions, unfortunately, are very limited. Also, it
is very limited in lighting positions.
My first instinct was, since it is an episodic play, that
we should use a minimum of physical scenery and a
maximum of projections. That way we could use a lap-

projections is not easy, not simple. Not to mention that
he was really not very interested in the character of

dissolve, moving from scene to scene. Well, Word loved
that because it gave him such freedom as a director. It

Caravaggio, when the project was first mentioned to him.

helped him to cut down running time, as we lost almost
no time in changes. And he loves projections just as much

"Projections again!" someone may mutter. "Haven't
we had all the stories we need on projection? What's so
new about using slides? Anyone can photograph a
Caravaggio and throw it on a screen!"
Jo Mielziner, discussing his approach to the problems

As he recalls: "When I read the script, it was subject
matter with which I was not familiar. In fact, I've never
been a great Caravaggio enthusiast! But Michael Straight's
research on and concern for Caravaggio did Iiberate my
mind to realize that the man was a terribly interesting
character. There is more to his paintings than I had originally thought l It's a very long script. A romantic,
dramatic, biographic melodrama, in multiple scenes. Some
of them are very powerful. In Cincinnati, it ran nearly
three hours. If properly cut, it could be a very successful
play.
Word Baker came to me, after he decided to do it. He
asked me to tell him what I thought of the project. I
studied the architects' drawings and the photos of the

as I do!
But I suddenly realized that we were also dealing with
a theatre in which no more than five per cent of the seven
hundred plus spectators see the actors against a vertical
background. Owing to the steepness of the seat rows,
ninety five percent see the performers against the stage
floor. Looking around the theatre, I couldn't find any
decent structural elements to project upon. No suitable
walls, or the like.
So I thought the best solution wou Id be to tell the
story visually - anticipate each scene at its outset - by
projecting straight down on the floor rather than on a
background - although I finally used one as well. Word was

Jo Mielziner's ingenious blending of projections and stage-lighting with the actors in movement
gave Caravaggio a new stage dimension.
~

THEATRE DESIGN AND TECHNOLOGY

FEBRUARY. 1973

Photos courtesy Kliegl Bros. Inc.

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