SCENERY AND COSTUMES
Very little need be said regarding the usual conventional sets, whether
they represent interiors or exteriors. The purpose of this chapter is
(1) to suggest simple but effective means of staging without using the
conventional sets, and (2) to lay down a few principles as to costuming.
By means of the simple devices about to be described, the amateur is
enabled to do without "box sets" and all the paraphernalia of the old
stage. The tendency nowadays is away from naturalism in setting; the aim
is rather to supply simple but beautiful backgrounds with as little
obvious effort as possible; to suggest rather than to represent. When
the word "conventional" is used it is intended to convey the meaning not
of "old" and "hackneyed", but of "simple", "suggestive." Beardsley's
drawings are conventional because attitudes and lines are
conventionalized.
In the main, there are three sorts of setting which may be used for
practically all kinds of plays. They have been successfully tried out on
numerous occasions, and few plays have been found which cannot fit at
least one of them.
1. The first and simplest of them all consists of draperies and tall
screens. The Greek classics and Shakespeare are particularly effective
with this sort of background. Where Greek plays are given, a peristyle
of wooden pillars up-stage, behind which may be hung white or tinted
curtains, is especially desirable. Any Greek, and most Latin plays, can
be produced with this setting. Often such plays are given in the open.
If the performance takes place in the daylight, there is no difficulty
as to artificial lighting; but if it is at night, then a flood-light
must cover the stage. This is placed toward the back, or else behind the
audience.
Shakespeare is seen at his best with the simple background. A sort of
cyclorama may be constructed by using curtains hung at the back of the
stage, upon which is thrown light from one place: behind the proscenium
arch, from above, or from one of the sides. Suppose that "The Comedy of
Errors" is the play to be performed. The first scene of the first act is
"_A hall in the Duke's palace_." This, of course, should be printed on
the program, but on the stage all that is needed is a suggestion or two,
like a gilded chair, and a painted white bench or two. These are not
needed in the action, but they serve to create an atmosphere. The second
scene is "_A public place_." Absolutely no "props" or furniture are
needed; indeed, their very absence indicates the "place." The first
scene of the second act is the same. The curtains around the stage must
be made in sections, in order to allow the actors to enter and exit
through them. The lines are always sufficient to indicate where a person
is coming from or going to. In the first scene of the third act, Dromio
of Syracuse says:
DRO. S. (_within_). Mome, malt-horse, capon, coxcomb, idiot, patch!
Either get thee from the door, or sit down at the hatch:
Dost thou conjure for wenches, that thou call'st for such store,
When one is one too many? Go, get thee from the door.
A house is evidently intended to be represented, but it is not necessary
that we see it: Dromio of Syracuse can speak from behind the curtain.
The convention will readily be accepted. Nor is it necessary to
differentiate the various "public places", except for the sake of
variety: perhaps a bench or two now and then will accomplish this
purpose. And when, in the first scene of the fifth act, the public place
is "_before an abbey_", still there is no need of any definite set
pieces. From time to time, doubtless some special article of furniture
or set piece of some kind will be mentioned in the text, not elsewhere,
in which case it can easily be supplied.
This "Shakespeare-without-scenery" is not the only method by which
Shakespeare can be performed, but it is the easiest and, if done with
taste, the most effective.
Let us now take rather a more difficult play, "Twelfth Night." The first
scene of the first act is "_An apartment in the Duke's palace_." The
Duke sits on a sort of throne or sofa. In Max Reinhardt's production of
this play at the Deutsches Theater in Berlin, the set consisted simply
of a semicircular lounge extending all the way across the stage. It was
covered with dark blue plush; the hangings were of the same color. A
warm yellow light directed from above flooded the stage.
Either a throne or sofa for the Duke, then, and a few other chairs for
the remaining characters, who sit down--the musicians stand--or else,
following Reinhardt, a semicircular lounge. This is all. The second
scene is "_The seacoast_." The stage is bare here. The third scene is
"_A room in Olivia's house_." Different chairs or sofas and a throne for
Olivia. The following scene is the same as scene one. The first scene of
the second act is the seacoast once more. The next is "_A street_." No
furniture. The third scene is "_A room in Olivia's house_"; evidently
not the same as that in which Olivia first appeared. The room is
probably in or near the wine cellar. A table, therefore, and three or
four chairs, will not be amiss. The next is the same as in act one,
scene one. The fifth scene of the second act is "_Olivia's garden_."
Here the stage business requires a few definitely placed shrubs and a
bench or two. The best arrangement of this scene is suggested in the
diagram:
[Illustration]
Malvolio comes down-stage Center, while the others are hiding behind one
of the benches, either Left or Right. These benches, as indicated in the
diagram, are partially concealed by shrubs. Baytrees, planted in
green-painted tubs, make especially good decorations. They can be used
on many occasions, as will be shown later. Nor, in the case of the scene
from "Twelfth Night", are they so high as to conceal the actors who are
supposed to be hidden behind them. The following scene is the same. The
second scene of the third act is the cellar room again. Following this
is "_A street_"; then "_Olivia's garden_" once more. The next new scene
is the first of the fourth act: "_A street before Olivia's garden_."
Perhaps a little variety can be introduced in the shape of a shrub or
two. The remaining scenes are repetitions of those already considered.
The suggestions above given are extremely summary, but, if acted upon,
will be seen to prove sufficient.
2. Out-of-door scenes of a more elaborate character, in plays like
Rostand's "The Romancers", often require more complicated sets; they may
still be produced with the most elementary sort of background, however.
The stage directions of this play are as follows:
SCENE: _The stage is divided by an old wall, covered with vines
and flowers._ _At the right, a corner of_ =BERGAMIN'S= _park is
seen; at the left, a corner of_ PASQUINOT'S. _On each side of
the wall, and against it, is a rustic bench._
This is set in the following manner:
[Illustration]
The background hangings may be of tan burlap or else dark green. Gaps,
covered by the folds, must be made up- and down-stage to allow the
actors to enter and leave the stage. The wall must be constructed of
solid wood, in order to support the actors, and painted to suggest
bricks. There is a rustic bench against each side of the wall. Though
they are not mentioned in these preliminary directions, there are other
rustic benches, down-stage to the extreme right and left. These are used
later in the act.
In the second act, "_the wall has disappeared_. _The benches which were
formerly against it, are removed to the extreme right and left._ [The
extra benches mentioned in the first act have of course been removed.]
_There are a few extra pots of flowers and two or three plaster statues.
To the right is a small garden table, with chairs about it._" This scene
is set as follows:
[Illustration]
The third act stage directions are: "_The scene is the same except that
the wall is being rebuilt. Bricks and sacks of plaster lie about_." A
few bricks may serve to indicate the partly finished wall.
Since the scene of this play is laid at first in parks, there ought to
be some suggestion as to this fact. Here bay- or box-trees can be used.
Perhaps three or four should be arranged more or less symmetrically at
the back of the stage, and as many to the right and left, down-stage.
One or two can be added, close to the wall. This is all that is
absolutely necessary.
The foregoing remarks have been applied largely to romantic plays, but
what is to be done in modern realistic pieces? There are two courses
open, besides the conventional one (using box sets):
The first method is to use the regular hangings as before and set a few
needful articles of furniture about the stage. This is not realistic,
but there are many realistic plays which can be produced without
correspondingly realistic settings. Of course, where windows are
referred to and used, there must be real windows, and where a character
is directed to hang a picture on a wall, there must be a wall. However,
there are many realistic plays where box sets are not required. Hermann
Sudermann's "The Far-away Princess" is a case in question. The author
has definitely suggested a certain setting for the play, but as his
suggestions are not absolutely essential they may be modified. The
directions are:
"_The veranda of an inn. The right side of the stage and half of
the background represent a framework of glass enclosing the
veranda. The left side and the other half of the background
represent the stone walls of the house. To the_ _left, in the
foreground, a door; another door in the background, at the left.
On the left, back, a buffet and serving table. Neat little
tables and small iron chairs for visitors are placed about the
veranda. On the right, in the centre, a large telescope,
standing on a tripod, is directed through an open window._ ROSA,
_dressed in the costume of the country, is arranging flowers on
the small tables_. FRAU LINDEMANN, _a handsome, stoutish woman
in the thirties, hurries in excitedly from the left_."
If the dramatist's stage directions are implicitly followed, a realistic
set will be required. The scene as set according to the diagram, has,
however, often been used:
[Illustration]
Once more, the little shrubs may be used in order to give an atmosphere
of outdoors.
Or, to take an example of a "modern-interior" play in which the same
conventionalized scenery may be used to advantage--Alfred Capus'
"Brignol and his Daughter" (published by French) is set as follows:
SCENE: _An office, fitted up with various articles of parlor
furniture--rather pretentious in appearance. To the right, a
table with letter-files, and a safe; beside the safe, a
bookshelf. At the back is the main entrance; there are other
doors, right and left, one opening upon a bed-room, the other
upon the parlor._
Here the setting is so usual, so conventional, that no _actual_ room is
required: merely the table, chairs, safe, etc., as called for. Of
course, it is not imperative that such plays should be set in this
manner: the arrangement with screens about to be described is usually
the best way. The point here to be impressed is that realistic sets are
not always required for realistic plays.
3. By the introduction of screens--not to be confused with the large
screens mentioned by Gordon Craig, however--practically any realistic
play can be produced. The diagram below will afford some idea of the
very simple principle:
[Illustration]
Three screens, about seven feet high, made in three sections, and
covered with burlap or some similar material, are all that will usually
be required on a moderately small stage. These can be set in various
ways. If an ordinary room is called for, they may be set as in the above
diagram.
"Brignol and his Daughter" may be staged by using three screens (as in
the diagram above): the opening at the back is the center door; the
doors on the right and left are the openings left between the lower ends
of the side screens and the inside of the proscenium arch. The furniture
is set in this scene as it is required in the stage directions. If the
proscenium opening is too large, then the grand drapery can be lowered
to within two or three feet of the top of the screens, and the side
screens, behind the sides of the proscenium arch, brought closer
together. Behind the screens representing the room, burlap or a suitable
substitute may be hung. To take concrete examples once more, the setting
of the first act of "A Scrap of Paper" (the adaptation by J. Palgrave
Simpson) is thus described in the text:
_Drawing-room in a French country house. Windows to the floor,
R.C._ [Right Center] _and L.C._ [Left Center], _at back, looking
out on gardens and park. The window L.C. is at first closed in
with barred Venetian shutters. The window R.C. opens on the
garden. Fireplace, C._ [Center] _between the windows, surmounted
by a mirror. On each side of the mirror is a bracket, within
reach of the hand; the one R. supporting a statuette of_ FLORA,
_the other, L., empty. Doors, R. 2 E_ [See diagram] _and L. 2 E.
Sofas R. and L. up-stage. At C. of stage is a round table, with
a lamp, and an embroidery frame, a book and other objects
scattered upon it in great disorder. Chairs R. and L. of table.
Arm chairs R.C. and L.C., downstage. The furniture is to be rich
but old-fashioned, and a little worn. Carpet down._
Five screens are here required: one at the back, behind the fireplace;
and two on each side of the stage. Only two of the three folding
sections of each are used.
[Illustration]
The fireplace must be "practical"--that is, it must have a wooden
framework. In case a mirror is desired, it can be lower than a mirror
usually is, and made of mosquito netting, to avoid reflections. A very
few pictures may be hung on the screens. The hangings at the back of the
stage--masking the bare walls--are of the same sort as have been
described before, but the color of the screens must harmonize with them.
With such a background, and by means of screens, shrubs, and a few
necessary set pieces, like the wall in the Rostand play, the author has
seen a dozen widely different plays produced by amateurs, in not one of
which was the slightest noticeable discrepancy or anything that would
shock even the theatergoer who is accustomed to the elaborate and often
unnecessary settings of David Belasco.
As may be easily imagined, the possibilities of variation upon these
simple settings are infinite. Experimentation, as always, will reveal
new fields.
* * * * *
Before closing the chapter, a word may be said of the flat background
near the curtain line. About four or five feet behind the curtain
line--_i.e._ the place where the curtain falls to the stage--hang a
drop, either of burlap, or else a white drop like that used in
stereopticon lectures. This, either played upon by lights in "the
house", or from behind the stage, forms a striking background for scenes
of pantomime, a street--as in "Twelfth Night"--a wall, a forest, almost
anything. Such a screen was most effectively used in one scene of
Reinhardt's production of "Sumurun." A still more striking effect was
achieved in a performance of "Peer Gynt" at the Lessing Theater in
Berlin. The scene was the one in which Peer Gynt is before the pyramid
in Egypt. About five feet behind the curtain line a white screen was
dropped. Diagonally across this screen was thrown a dark purple light,
while over the remaining space a saffron yellow played. That was all,
but the suggestion of the vast shadow of the pyramid and the yellow
sunlight and the yellow sands of Egypt was far more impressive than any
_representation_ of the pyramid and desert could be.
In case the effect of a distant city is desired, then another (darker
and thicker) cloth, cut to represent the outlines of buildings and the
like, can be sewed against the drop, thus producing the effect of a
silhouette.
In fine, the whole problem of staging resolves itself into this: achieve
your effects in as simple a way as possible; suggest, do not try to
represent; scenery, which ought indeed to be a delight to the eye, is
after all only background. Experiment, but never hesitate to ask the
advice of those who know the basic principles of color, line, and form,
as well as those who have technical knowledge of every branch of the art
and craft of the theater.
=Costumes.= In his introductory remarks to "The Romancers", Rostand says
that the action may take place anywhere, "provided the costumes are
pretty." This is the basis of the few brief remarks to be made here on
the subject of costumes. It must not be concluded, however, that any
costumes may be used on any occasion. A modern play must have modern
costumes--except in such plays as "The Blue Bird" and "Chantecler"--and
a "period play" must at least approximate in spirit the age in which the
action transpires. But it makes little difference whether Hamlet wears a
tenth or eleventh century Danish costume, or one of the age of
Elizabeth. It is a well-known fact that in Shakespeare's days there was
little or no regard for historical accuracy in costumes, and that even
in the historical plays the actors wore contemporary clothes. The point
to be impressed is not that we should play "Julius Caesar" in dress
clothes, but that such discrepancies as were allowed in Elizabethan days
could not have made very much difference, and that nowadays it is not
worth while to spend too much time over details. In Greek plays it is
well to use Greek costumes, because we have long been accustomed to
associate some sort of archeological detail with plays of a certain age;
and besides, Greek costumes are beautiful. But, and this is of great
importance, do not strive to be historically exact: so long as costumes
are beautiful and harmonize with the setting, and so long as they are
not absurd or too much out of harmony with the play, they are good.
There are numerous exceptions. Where a play definitely calls for a
distinct atmospheric setting--like Bennett and Knoblauch's
"Milestones"--then the utmost effort must be made to obtain correct
costumes and setting. But the reason why the first act of this play
requires historical accuracy is that the audience knows very well what
mid-Victorian clothes are like. If the play were given in the year 2500
A.D., it is safe to say that Elizabethan or Queen Anne costumes might do
just as well.
However, historical accuracy, when it can be obtained as easily as not,
is never superfluous.
[Illustration]
[Illustration: TWO VIEWS OF THE STAGE AT THE UNIVERSITY OF
NORTH DAKOTA.
(Courtesy of Frederick H. Koch).]