Theatre Design & Technology - Oct 1973 - 33

metals, whose use increases constantly. There are so many
new materials in every field that the person using them
must have a solid basic training in order to keep up with
and use the new materials, be they in wardrobe, sets, or
props. The electricians must now know electronics also.
He must be able to repair the board (read computer) at
7 o'clock for the show at 8:30.
Please note that this article is called, "A Way In.''
Those with sensitivity for future needs in education have
started and are starting programs to fill them. This demand
is for a program, directed to the "new" student who needs
this special kind of education, particularly at the state
schools where he can afford it. A new program is needed
for the "new" student, to attract him in the first place and
to keep him in school by not insisting on academic requirements in his first two years. Such a program will provide him with the skills and insights so that he can grow
and go on to finish the requirements for a higher degree
and earn his way while doing so, or find meaningful employment at the end of two years. The results of the
survey show that there is employment and that there will
be more.
It has been said that, "It is easier to move a graveyard
than to change the curriculum." There is no doubt but
that this project is highly appropriate for the "new"
student and for the community, as we perceive the growth
of leisure time, the expansion of the arts and the slow
change in education to serve them. Can we not hope that
a bold experiment in higher education will include th is
program?
Wallace Smith, past president of AETA, has called
upon us to be accountable.
We must be able to show that theatre is doing something
for people that traditional subjects, other subjects, and
innovations in general are not doing, or we cannot demand
public money, public time, and the public's children for
support of our enterprises. 5

We believe that this proposed program fulfills this
laudable goal as it is unique in the following aspects: it
will provide upward mobility, socially and financially, for
the "high risk" student whom it will motivate to come to
college and finish at least two years of practical training.
It will reverse and expand the usual college curriculum.
The technical training provided will be much more concentrated and thorough than that of the four year academically oriented program offering a major in theatre.
If the student finishes his college education in another
discipline or if he works in a completely different area, he
will have skills to offer which will make him more than
welcome in the many amateur theatre groups our expanding leisure time is producing. 6
In this new approach, productions will stimulate reading and research. An understanding of the historical and
social background of the work in progress will be achieved
through discussions with the collaborating artists involved,

THEATRE DESIGN AND TECHNOLOGY

and by individual research as the student progresses. The
works presented will be chosen with this in mind. The
student will be reading relevently. After two years of work
centered in the shops, studios, and stages preparing productions, it is hoped that the student will find motivation
to complete the four-years leading to a baccalaureate
degree. He will have learned to communicate more clearly,
to use many new skills and to organize time and material
under the rigorous training and discipline required.
To summarize: participation in production engenders
even more than the satisfaction of accomplish ing an end;
it also gives the worker the feeling of being a part of a creative whole that no other experience can duplicate.
Throughout history, the creative artist has been the first
to break social and racial barriers, for in the arts disciplined talent is the most important requisite for success.
This program will set a new pattern for serving those
whose need is great. Its graduates will be able to fill the
position created by the "cultural explosion" as leisure
time increases for working Americans. Society as a whole
will benefit as productive citizens emerge, and art will be
served.
NOTES
I

For those interested in a complete list of comments received with
the returns, this information is being made available from USITT.
Write to Margaret U. Ezekiel, Cleveland State University, Theatre
Arts Building, 1983 Euclid Avenue, Cleveland, Oh io 44115.

2Carpenters and painters
General technicians and stage managers
Electricians and electronic technicians
Costumers-seamstresses
Administrative personnel
Other
3Summerhill is a well known experimental school at Leiston,
Suffolk, England. For additional information please see A. S.
Neill, Summerhill: A Radical Approach to Child Rearing, New
York. Hart, 1960.
4Herbert London, "University Without Walls," Saturday Review
of Literature, Education, Vol. LV, October 1972, pp. 62-65.
5Wallace Smith, "From the President", AETA Theatre News,
Volume IV-3 (September, 1971).
6The Ohio Community Theatre Association had, as of September
15, 1972, 104 member groups, which represent only a part of the
amateur groups in Ohio.

APPENDIX
A. Number of questionnaires sent.

1625

B. Number of colleges that did not reply

1167

C. Number of colleges that did not meet the
minimum criteria

976

D. 458 Colleges did reply. Among these, the
following met minimum criteria.

186

E. Colleges that do not now employ nonfaculty technicians, have never employed
them, and have never considered employing
them

132

F. In E, the following number of colleges do
not meet the minimum criteria

OCTOBER, 1973

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Theatre Design & Technology - Oct 1973