Theatre Design & Technology - Fall 1976 - 37

other a part of the plane cut out and curved up further stunned my visual sense of space.
Alan Adelman
I was not surprised to see the English exhibit do so
well at the awards ceremony in Prague, in relation to its
conceptual approach. In the midst of the many cluttered
and intricate designs, the National Theatre approach in
simplicity of form and prominence of the actor was a
relief and proved to be quite unique. There was never the
feeling of competition between the space and the performer. Indeed, the design was incomplete until the figure
established itself.
Leon I. Brauner
Timothy O'Brien and Tazeena Firth designed a stylistically intriguing set of designs for As You Like It. The very
controlled (maroon/red/brown/deep violet) color palette
combined with a relatively soft Charles I costume shape
and detail helped create costumes that bordered on the
Romantic and the restrictive. The tight rendering style
gave the designs a controlled appearance.
Gary Gaiser
An English model, the design of Timothy O'Brien and
Tazeena Firth for Gorki's Summerfolk, presented the
viewer with an inescapably sunny atmosphere of open
verdant forest glades, appropriate for this satire of the
visitors swarming to a summer home in the country.
HUNGARY
Gary Gaiser
For the production of Romeo and Juliet, costume
designs were brought to life with fine draftsmanship, a
bold use of color and a sense of texture. Mirroring what
the show will look like, Nelli Vago, an outstanding representative of the modern school of costume designing
in Hungary, prepared plates that were uniquely right
for each character; they could fit no other in their little
details, their nervous energy, their strength, and their
Renaissance warmth.
Leon I. Brauner
In general the Hungarian costume designers seemed
most exciting. The work of Judit Schaeffer, Nelli Vago,
Marta Janoskuti and Bocz Istvan Kipeczi was beautiful.
Schaeffer's designs for Night After the Last are strong
character statements without a lot of unessential detail.
Dynamic use of color and line work to cre(jte articulate
characterization. Several of the finished costumes were
on display. These costumes were proof of an extraordinary awa reness of how to make the basic elements of good
design work in the development of good character costume! All of the Hungarian costume designers relied upon
large panels with a number of costumed figures rendered
together. This technique allowed them to show the various interrelationships of the characters. The costumed
figures were carefully placed, some standing, others

USITT

Design Model, Agnes Gyarmathy, Hungary. Photo by
John Rothgeb.
crouching, sitting, always with a mind toward characterization. The costume plates revealed a strong sense of the
play's mood and message. Detail was kept to a minimum.
These were very successful character designs.

ITALY
John Rothgeb
It is strange to me why so little attention was given
to the exhibit from the nation where scenography was
born. The interest in this group of designs was not in the
work of Demiani for the Salzburger Festspiele but in the
contrasts between a sculptured iron Hamlet model of
Emanuele Luzzati and a set of exquisite master drawings
in the 18th century tradition by an artist whose name I
never learned. Italy, it seems to me, is very near to the
heart of the essence of the scenic art as they bring the
artist to the theatre from painting, sculpture and architecture. These artists enter theatre full of vision from
both the traditional and avant-garde groups and do not
suffer from the dehumanization of the mechanical-technical world of 1975.
One cannot omit de Chirico's design for The Man
and the Environment. His fresh surreal world underscores
the place of the master artist in the Italian theatre.
JAPAN
Don Stowell
Sigeo Kawamori's designs for The Train Named Time
were foam rubber costumes. Made of quarter-inch thick
sheets, the finished pieces were quite sculptural and
archaic-looking.
Kaoru Kanamori won first prize costume award,
probably for his extensive exhibit of some 120 sequences
from a production. The plates have some wonderful ideas,
and show the whole progression. This exhibit would
make a lovely publication because it makes sense. His
designs for Jesus Christ Superstar are interesting, also.
His total design for costume and makeup, with some traditional Japanese makeups changed and simplified, is
effective. He uses just a little bit of pasting for some
nice textural statements.

THEATRE DESIGN AND TECHNOLOGY

FALL,1976

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