Theatre Design & Technology - Spring 2002 - 63

LoreLegends in
&

history

A conversation with
Peter Sargent

by Richard D. Stephens

Recently, I was reviewing my list of legendary stories and was
struck by the fact that so many of the tales that constitute the lore of our
Institute center on or around our national conference. Upon further reflection, however, I suppose I shouldn't find this too surprising. Ever
since the founders waded through the hip-deep snow to that first fateful
meeting at the old Julliard campus in 1961, the conference has been the
annual highlight of Institute activities. Like the highland clans of old, we
gather each spring to renew treasured friendships, welcome new members
into the clan, and mark the passing of those no longer with us. We swap
tales of the past year's adventures and celebrate the survival of another
season. And best of all, we exchange information and discoveries on new
and better ways of creating the magic of theatre with our fellow wizards.
Of all of the Institute's activities on behalf of its members, the annual
conference is the Institute's Big Show. Now, at first glace, it might seem that
the presentational format and ephemeral nature of a conference would
so closely resemble the process of live performance art as to be indistinguishable. Putting together one more large production shouldn't be that
big of a deal, right? Unfortunately, it was this perception that often proved
to be the snake in the tall grass waiting to bite us on the ankle.
Several such serpentine pitfalls have already been chronicled in this
series. Starting with our first conference, we learned the harsh lesson
that unpredictable weather could drastically affect attendance. In our last
installment Dr. Rubin told of the unexpected bill for air conditioning the
entire Time Life building that arrived on the heels of the second conference in the spring of 1962 . We have heard stories of cost overruns on
the bar bill at a reception in '72, and of unsold tickets to Disney World in '84,
both of which strained the Institute's finances. Over the years this long learn62

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ing process of how to conduct the business of our conferences proved to be
exhilarating, perilous, nerve-wracking and, ultimately, expensive. With each
instance we took our lumps and learned our lessons. But none of our
collective experience and savvy prepared us for the surprise that awaited
us following the successful 1973 conference in St. Louis.
To tell this story, we called upon long-time member and former Secretary of the Institute, Peter Sargent. Peter first heard of the Institute
while attending graduate school at Yale in the spring of 1961. He soon
became an Institute member, participating whenever and wherever the
opportunity presented itself over the next decade. In 1962 he took the
United Scenic Artists' lighting associate exam, the first time it was given,
and received his membership card-number 18. His exam committee
consisted of Peggy Clark Kelly, Tom Skelton and Jeanie Rosenthal. After
teaching and freelancing, he traveled west in 1966 to become part of a
group that would found the St. Louis Repertory Theatre. The following
year, he was asked to set up the theatre conservatory at Webster University. So it was that Peter found himself in St. Louis in 1972/73. And, like
so many of our members before and since, Peter answered the Institute's
call and volunteered to chair a conference. But, of course, we should sit
back and let him spin the tale...
Interviewer: 1972 in San Francisco...
PS: That conference went very well. I had gotten to know Chuck Williams
through TTFL (the Theatre, Television and Film Lighting Committee
of the Illuminating Engineering Society). That one was at the Mark
Hopkins Hotel. That was a wonderful visit to San Francisco. I can
still remember one segment of an upper lobby level where the first

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