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THEOPEN-AIR THEATRE

BYSHELDON CHENEY

NEW YORKMITCHELL KENNERLEY

MCMXVIII


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COPYRIGHT IQiS BYMITCHELL KENNERLEY

? 9 I c]

PRINTED IN AMERICA


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PREFACE

MYobject in writing this volume has beenthree-fold: first, to offer, for that in-reasin

large public which is inter-stedin every significant development of the drama,

a comprehensive view of the open-air theatre move-entwith relation to both the historical background

and the remarkable current revival; second, to pro-idethe architect with a first-aid compendium of in-ormati

about old and modern open-air theatres,bringing together material which, if it has existed atall in print, has been scattered through a hundredbooks and magazine articles ; and third, to give thoseconcerned with open-air production a birdseye viewof the drama of the open in all ages and all lands,and by comparison, to help them to an understand-ng

of the peculiar characteristics and particularproblems of production out-of-doors.

The scope of the volume is limited. No attemptis made to treat of theatres of the half-enclosedtype, which are in effect the ordinary architecturaltheatre with the auditorium roof lifted. There isno intention, moreover, to put forth the volume as


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PREFACE

an exhaustive treatise. Doubtless there are manyopen-airtheatres that have not come to the writer'snotice,and certain others offer so little of interestthat descriptionsould merely be tedious. But itis thought that every playhousewhich is reallyim-ortan

either for its productionsor for its uniquestructural form, has been described. I have workedwith full realization that this firstbook on the sub-ect

must be hardly more than a sketch. It is of-eredas a preliminaryessay in a field which I hope

will attract new students,and which doubtless willfind its exhaustive historian in due time.

If I continuallyefer to the artificialitiesof theindoor stage, it is not because I disbelieve in the in-oor

theatre. Indeed, my faith in the ultimate re-eneratioof that over-commercialized institution is

very strong. But I believe that there has been muchfollowingof false gods among the so-called "ar-ists"of the regularplayhouse;and in the open-air

theatre I see one of the finestcorrectives for its over-sophisticationnd artificiality.

Somany people have given generous aid in thecompilationof this book, that it is impossibleto

make detailed acknowledgment. To the many whohave provided information about their privatethea-res,

or about the theatres of institutions with which

theyare affiliated,extend againmy cordial thanks.vi


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PREFACE

A specialebt is owing to Professor Thomas H.Dickinson of the Universityof Wisconsin, not onlyfor information about the playhouseat Madison butfor material gleaned from his admirable essay onopen-airtheatres in The Playbook of June, 1913.To Mr. Leroy Truman Goble and to Mr. SamHume I am gratefulfor material about open-airpro-uction

in Europe, which otherwise would have es-apedme. To Miss Mabel Lincoln Edwards I owe

thanks for similar aid in connection with certainAmerican theatres. The chapterson historic thea-res

are based on material drawn from a multitudeof sources ; but specialacknowledgment must be madeto A. E. Haigh's exhaustive volume, The Attic The-tre.

For information about the Italian villa thea-resI am especiallyndebted to Professor Henry

Vincent Hubbard, whose descriptionsnd plans inthe January, 1914, number of Landscape Architec-ure

have been freely drawn upon. For photo-raphsof the Italian theatres specialthanks are

due to H. Inigo Triggs and to Mrs. Aubrey Le-Blond; and for picturesof the classic theatres,toProfessor Allen Marquand. The introductorychapterwas publishedin part in Craftsman Maga-ine,

and the chapter on garden theatres originallyappeared in Country Life in America. The editorshave kindlygivenpermissionto reprint.vii


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PREFACEThe book was written almost entirelyduringthe

year 1915, and was announced for publicationn thefollowingyear. But difficultiesin the way of ob-ainin

photographs, and other delays,have pre-entedearlier appearance. I have taken advantage

of this circumstance to add descriptionsf severaltheatres which were completed after the main por-ionof the text had been written.

S. C.

Vlll


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CONTENTS

CHAPTER.

PAGE

I. THE OPEN-AIR THEATRE MOVEMENT

II. THE OLD GREEK AND ROMAN THEATRES 13

III. THE MODERN GREEK THEATRES 30

IV. THE MEDIEVAL RELIGIOUS THEATRE AND ITSSURVIVALS 51

V. THE NATURE THEATRE 64

VI. THE GARDEN THEATRE 87

VII. THE DRAMA OF THE OPEN in

APPENDIX

I. THE PLANNING AND CONSTRUCTION OF OPEN-

AIR THEATRES 135

II. VlTRUVIUS ON THE CONSTRUCTION OF GREEK

AND ROMAN THEATRES

INDEX 185


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LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

1. A CORNER OF THE ARENA GOLDONI Frontispiece(BY COURTESY OF GORDON CRAIG) PAGE

2. THE CRANBROOK GREEK THEATRE 6

3. THE BOHEMIAN GROVE THEATRE 8(PHOTOGRAPH BY GABRIEL MOULIN)

4. THE GARDEN THEATRE AT VILLA GORI 10(FROM H. INIGO TRIGGS' The Art of GardenDesign in Italy)

5. THE THEATRE OF DIONYSUS AT ATHENS 14(PHOTOGRAPH BY ALINARI)

6. A RESTORATION OF THE GREEK THEATRE ATEGESTA 18

7. THE GREEK THEATRE AT EPIDAURUS 20(BY COURTESY OF PROFESSOR ALLEN MARQUAND)

8. RUINS OF THE THEATRE AT SYRACUSE 22(PHOTOGRAPH BY ALINARI)

9. SKETCH PLANS OF GREEK AND ROMAN THEA-RES

2310. RUINS OF THE ROMAN THEATRE AT TAORMINA

(PHOTOGRAPH BY ALINARI) 2411. a. A RESTORATION OF THE ROMAN THEATRE AT

ORANGE 26(BY COURTESY OF RlCHARD SlLVESTER)

xi


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LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONSPAGE

b. THE ROMAN THEATRE AT ORANGE, PRESENTSTATE

(Bv COURTESY OF Fogue)12. THE SMALLER THEATRE AT POMPEII 28

(PHOTOGRAPH BY ALINARI)13. a. THE HEARST GREEK THEATRE AT BERKELEY 32

b. ARCHITECT'S DRAWING FOR HEARST GREEKTHEATRE

(BY COURTESY OF JOHN GALEN HOWARD,ARCHITECT)

14. THE GREEK THEATRE AT POINT LOMA 36(PHOTOGRAPHS COPYRIGHT BY KATHERINETINGLEY)

15. THE CRANBROOK GREEK THEATRE 3816. a. THE POMONA GREEK THEATRE 42(PHOTOGRAPH BY PIERCE AND WILLARD)

b. THE BAKERSFIELD GREEK THEATRE(BY COURTESY OF LEWIS P. HoBART, AR-HITECT)

17. PLAN OF THE ARENA GOLDONI 44(BY COURTESY OF GORDON CRAIG)1 8. THE ARENA GOLDONI AS SEEN FROM THE

STAGE 46(BY COURTESY OF GORDON CRAIG)

19. THE GREEK THEATRE AT BRADFIELD 4820. THE PASSION PLAY THEATRE AT VALEN-IENNES

1-4(FROM CHARLES H. CAFFIN'S The Apprecia-ionof the Drama) xii


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THE ROSEMARY THEATRE, AT HUNTINGTON, LONG ISLAND,NEW YORK.


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21. CONTEMPORARY SKETCH OF AN ELIZABETHANTHEATRE 58

(FROM CHARLES H. CAFFIN'S The Apprecia-ionof the Drama)

22. THE PASSION PLAY THEATRE AT OBER-AM-MERGAU 6O

23. THE HARZ MOUNTAIN THEATRE 6624. THE NATURE THEATRE AT HERTENSTEIN 6825. THE KLAMPENBORG WOODS THEATRE 7026. THE VASSAR COLLEGE THEATRE 74

(BY COURTESY OF LoRING UNDERWOOD, AR-HITECT)

27. THE DELL THEATRE 7628. THE NATURE THEATRE AT MACOMB 78

(BY COURTESY OF WALTER P. MORGAN)29. THE PETERBOROUGH PAGEANT THEATRE 8030. a. THE BANKSIDE THEATRE 84

(BY COURTESY OF PROFESSOR FREDERICKH. KOCH)

b. THE MOUNT TAMALPAIS THEATRE(PHOTOGRAPH BY GABRIEL MOULIN)

31. GARDEN THEATRE AT MONTECITO 90(BY COURTESY OF HENRY E. BoTHIN)

32. GARDEN THEATRE AT VILLA MARLIA 94(BY COURTESY OF HENRY VlNCENT HUB-BARD)

33. a. THE WATER THEATRE AT VERSAILLES 96b. THE AMPHITHEATRE IN THE BOBOLI GAR-ENS

"""Xlll


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34. THE TREILLAGE THEATRE AT MANNHEIM 98(PHOTOGRAPH BY B. TILLMANN-MATTER)

35. a. THE BROOKSIDE THEATRE 102(PHOTOGRAPH BY NEW YORK HERALDSERVICE)

b. THE GARDEN TERRACE THEATRE(BY COURTESY OF DR. G. H. DURAND)

36. THEATRE IN THE LAZIENSKI GARDENS, WAR-AW104

37. THE ROSEMARY THEATRE 106(BY COURTESY OF ROLAND R. CoNKLIN)

38. GARDEN THEATRE AT MONTECITO no(BY COURTESY OF MRS. WlLLIAM MlLLERGRAHAM)

39. A PRODUCTION IN THE BOHEMIAN GROVETHEATRE 122

(PHOTOGRAPH BY GABRIEL MOULIN)40. A PRODUCTION AT THE POINT LOMA GREEK

THEATRE 128(PHOTOGRAPH COPYRIGHT BY KATHERINETINGLE Y)

41. RUINS OF THE THEATRE AT FIESOLE 138(PHOTOGRAPH BY ALINARI)

42. DIAGRAM OF RELATIONS BETWEEN AUDITORIUMAND STAGE 140

43. PLAN OF THE HEARST GREEK THEATRE 142(BY COURTESY OF JOHN GALEN HOWARD,ARCHITECT)

xiv


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44. PLAN OF THE CRANBROOK GREEK THEATRE 144(Bv COURTESY OF Modern Building)

45. PLAN OF THE BUTTERICK MEMORIAL THEATRE 146(BY COURTESY OF FRANK A. WAUGH, ARCHI-ECT)

46. THE THEATRE AT PRIENE 152(BY COURTESY OF PROFESSOR ALLEN MAR-QUAND)

47. COMPARATIVE PLANS OF ITALIAN GARDENTHEATRES 156

48. CHAIRS OF HONOR IN THE THEATRE OF DIONY-US160

(PHOTOGRAPH BY ENGLISH PHOTO COMPANY)49. DESIGN FOR A PAGEANT STAGE 164

(BY COURTESY OF HERMANN RoSSE)50. PLAN OF THE ROMAN THEATRE ACCORDING TO

VITRUVIUS 174(BY COURTESY OF THE HARVARD UNIVERSITYPRESS)

51. PLAN OF THE GREEK THEATRE ACCORDING TOVITRUVIUS 180

(BY COURTESY OF THE HARVARD UNIVERSITYPRESS)

XV


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2 THE OPEN-AIR THEATRE

renaissance of the art of the theatre,and is waitingexpectantlyor the new artists

who will express theirage as characteristicallys the Greeks have ex-ressed

theirs and Shakespeare his, one may reada new meaning into the recent revival of interestin the al fresco drama. For not since the theatreof the late Elizabethan decadence was roofed overhave there been so many productionsin the openand so many outdoor theatres as there are to-day.

For the average theatregoer,who thinks of theoutdoor dramatic production as an extra-normalaffair,it comes as a surpriseto find that the open-air theatre has existed more than two thousandyears, whereas the historyof the indoor playhouseis a matter of a mere three or four centuries. In-eed,

the story of the birth of dramatic art, and ofthat art's growth through its greatest eras, is ex-lusivelythe story of the open-airtheatre.

In Greece the drama was born in the dances aboutan altar,during the festivals in honor of the godDionysus; it grew on the platforms erected at theside of the "orchestra," or dancing-circle,t firstinthe market-place perhaps, and later at the foot ofa hillside that formed a natural auditorium; andfinallythe art of ^Eschylus and Sophocles andEuripides flowered in the beautiful architecturaltheatres of Athens, at first of wood, and then de-


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THE MOVEMENT 3

velopinginto stone bowls, immense in size and beau-ifulin proportionand in decoration. The Romans,

stumbling on the heels of the Greeks in all mattersof art, solidified-the classic theatre building,gaininga certain sense of intimacy,perhaps,but losingsome-hing

of the open beauty and natural grace of theGreek structures ; and theytook the firststep towardthe indoor playhouse when they roofed the stage.As the darkness of the Middle Ages settled overEurope, dramatic art became merely the degradedplaythingof travellingands of actors ; and perhapsbecause their vulgar and often obscene performancescould not stand the clear lightof day, the greatopen-airtheatres lapsed into decay and the classictype of playhouse fell into a disuse which lasted tothe present renaissance.

The drama was reborn in the tenth and eleventhcenturies within the church, but as soon as it becamemore than a mere incident of religiousservice itagainsoughtthe out-of-doors. At firstthe MysteryPlays were acted on the church steps, and then onplatforms in the churchyard. Then the guildsde-elopethe pageant-cars, on which they had beenwont to present tableaus in the religiousrocessions,into elaborate platform stages on which the moreelaborate Miracle Plays were acted, with realisticrepresentationsof Hell, Paradise, and other Biblical


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localities. Finallythe platformin an inn courtyardand the popular "bear-ring"established the typeof playhousefor the earlyElizabethan period,andwhen the geniusof Marlowe and Shakespeare blos-omed,

the theatre stage and pitstillwere open tothe sky, though the galleriesere roofed. In thelater Elizabethan decadence the house was com-letely

covered over and the drama entered uponthat period in which it became most polished butmost artificialand farthest removed from the people.

For nearly three centuries following there wasonly one notable revival of the open-airplayhouse.On the estates of the Italian nobles of the lateRenaissance period,there came into being the gar-en

theatres,exquisitelittle bits of formal design,in perfectaccord with the noble villa gardens, andforming ideal settingsor the lovelypastoraldramaof that time; and from these certain copies weremade in the gardens of France and Holland andGermany. But interestings the Italian "teatrodi verdura" may be, it was far less significanthanis the present world-wide revival of the drama ofthe open; for the men and women who to-day aretaking the drama out-of-doors are inspired withsomethingof the spirithat brought forth the classicopen-airtheatre and the pre-Elizabethanreligioustheatre; and the present age must inevitablyake


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THE MOVEMENT 5its placeas one of the world's three great periodsof outdoor dramatic production.

The current revival is a spontaneous growth,arisingon the one hand from a rediscoveryof thevalue of the out-of-doors as a corrective to an over-citifiedand artificiallife,and on the other, from anew spiritof dramatic experiment, and protestagainstthe over-sophisticatedndoor stage. Thismovement has brought into being countless dramaticfestivals and pageants, and a remarkable increasein the number of al frescotheatres of every type.So to-dayone finds the old Roman theatre at Orange,France, cleared of ruins,that a famous Parisiancompany may annually revive classic plays there;and in faraway California a new and beautifulGreek theatre has been built,not as an archaeologi-al

curiosity,ut to satisfy very pressingneed forsuch an open-airstructure. In that same Californiaa unique forest theatre has developed a new dramaform in the Grove Plays of the Bohemian Club,while on the other side of the continent the Peter-orough

Pageant Theatre and the Meriden PageantStagepromise to create equallyvital originalforms.In Europe, too, unique phases of dramatic art arebeingcreated at the "nature" theatres at Thale, atHertenstein,and in the Klampenborg Woods nearCopenhagen. And in many parts of the world the


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garden theatre is again bringingthe poeticdramato its proper settingof green trees and open sky.It is a poor month now that does not bring to thedevotee of open-airdrama news of another theatreeither planned or actuallybuilt,or word of the es-ablishmen

of another annual outdoor play-festivalThe significancend value of all this activityaybe found in two directions. In the firstplacethere

are important dramatic or artistic aspects. Ingeneralthere is a distinct value in anythingthat actsas an antidote to the artificialnarrowing and stereo-yping

of dramatic art as seen in the "regular"theatres. Because the open-airproductionis moreoften an experimentin new forms, or a revival ofa classic,han a play that conforms to the set indoorstage conventions,it has a broadening effect on boththe actors and the audience. In the open-airtheatres of America there have been presenteddramas from the Sanskrit, from the French, fromthe German, from the Norwegian, and even fromthe Japanese; and there have been revivals ofMystery Plays and Miracle Plays and of playsbyevery notable English dramatist from Shakespeareand Jonson to Bernard Shaw and Stephen Phillips.As an educative force, and as a corrective of thecrystallizingnfluence of the commercial theatre,these productions can hardly be overvalued. But


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THE CRANBROOK GREEK THEATRE. AN EXAMPLE OF THE FIRST,

OR ARCHITECTURAL, TYPE OF OPEN-AIR THEATRE.

[MARCUS R. BURROWES, ARCHITECT]


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of the indoor theatre. As a matter of fact it is,byforce of example, and by training dramatic artiststo the simplicityand directness of the open, helpingthe indoor drama to rid itself of those deadeningconventions and those artificial trappings that haveso long burdened dramatic art

Eleanora Duse has said: "To save the theatre,the theatre must be destroyed; the actors andactresses must all die of the plague. They poisonthe air, they make art impossible. . . . We shouldreturn to the Greeks, play in the open air; the dramadies of stalls and boxes and evening dress, and peo-lewho come to digesttheir dinner." Madame Duseprobably had no idea of banishing all drama to theopen. Perhaps she did see that a very vital andlovely sort of drama might be developed out-of-doors. But what she very certainlyfelt was this:that no current form of dramatic activitycan bevital until the playwrights,the actors, the stage ar-ists

and the audiences, leaving behind all the trick-riesand artificialitiesof the modern stage, go out

into the open and learn the simplicity,he direct-ess,and the joyousness of dramatic production un-erthe sun and stars.

The growth of the open-air theatre movement isquite as remarkable in its social as in its dramaticaspects. In the first place there are what may be


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FHE BOHEMIAN GROVE THEATRE. AN EXAMPLE OF THE " NATURETHEATRE" TYPE.

[PHOTOGRAPH BY GABRIEL MOULIN]


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THE MOVEMENT 9called the hygienicand economic effects of any greatmovement to the out-of-doors. Nature is the greatrevivifier,nd the mere callingof masses of peopleaway from the roofed-in placeshas its salutaryef-ect.

Men always have taken their sports into theopen; and the outdoor dramatic production,like agame, sends men and women back to their cities re-reshed

in mind and body. Then there is the socialsolidifyingf the community that comes, first fromassociation in a common artistic purpose, and onlyslightlyess so from the mere fact of recreation incrowds. The outdoor production usually bringsgreat numbers of people to the stage, and the con-tant

association in rehearsal creates a very real bondof interest;there is moreover no such gulf betweenplayers and audience as exists in the indoor thea-re.

Indeed, the present outdoor productionachieves something of that pervading communalspirithich existed in Greece when the actors weresimply the leaders in the revels,speaking for theirfollowers; and which existed again in the MiddleAges when the churchmen were the playersand theiraudience the congregation,actor and spectator feel-ng

in the production a common sense of worshipand reverence. Looking back at the long series ofpageants and masques produced by American com-unities

in the last decade, sometimes in open-air


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io THE OPEN-AIR THEATRE

theatres and sometimes in improvised woodland set-ings,one wonders if they have not done more to

create a healthy civic sense than all the books everwritten about the duties of the citizen. Another so-ial

aspect of the open-airtheatre is to be found inthe perfect equality of the seating arrangements.Here if anywhere is the purely democratic play-ouse,

for there are no boxes from which to exhibitjewelsand costlygowns, and there is no division intoorchestra,balcony and gallery.

And above all these others there is the intangiblespiritualaspect, a subtle, almost religiouseffect oneach individual,which collectivelyust make for so-ial

betterment. For man is never else so near Godas when certain sorts of dramatic beauty are re-ealed

to him under the open sky.

For convenience of discussion,all open-air thea-res,ancient and modern, may be divided roughly

into three classes,according to their structural char-cteristiFirst there are the purely architectural

theatres,usuallyof classic type, large stone or con-retestructures, with massive stage backgrounds. Inthis group are all the old Greek and Roman theatres,and of modern buildingssuch notable examples asthe Arena Goldoni at Florence and the Hearst GreekTheatre at Berkeley. Closelyallied to this type is


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THE THEATRE AT VILLA GORI, ITALY. AN EXAMPLE OF THETHIRD, OR GARDEN THEATRE, TYPE.


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while the theatres at Mannheim, Germany, and Mt.Kisco, New York, may be considered as typical mod-rn

adaptations.Each type has its distinctive virtues and its dis-inctive

limitations, which really determine theforms of outdoor production. As these are mat-ers

of prime importance to theatre-designer andproducer alike, the type, rather than historic se-uence,

is made the basis of this book's division intochapters. Thus the chapter on the old Greekand Roman theatres is followed not by thaton the mediaeval religious theatre, but by "ModernGreek Theatres." The average reader, less inter-sted

in the history of theatre-building than in whatcan be done and is being done in a certain sort ofplayhouse, will thus find all the theatres of one typetreated in one group, with a discussion of each play-ouse

from the viewpoint of structural characteris-ics,and from that of actual achievement in dra-aticproduction.


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CHAPTER II

THE OLD GREEK AND ROMAN THEATRES

THE Greeks did not designedly take theirdrama out-of-doors; it was born there andgrew there naturally. The drama was in-imateinterbound with religious celebration, and

it would have seemed little short of sacrilege to takesuch a communal expression into the artificial andartificializingtmosphere of indoors. From begin-ing

to end, from the time when it was merely arude circle surrounded by temporary woodenbenches to the time when it was a magnificent stonestructure, the classic theatre was open to the sky.^When the revellers at the festivals of Dionysus

permitted one of their fellow-participants in thesongs and dances to be singled out as leader, andallowed him to take the chief part in their impro-ised

dialogues, the Greek drama became a livingthing. At first this leader mounted upon the sacri-icial

table, beside the altar around which*the revel-ershad danced, and from that vantage-point ban-iedwith those who now became his "chorus" ; and

13


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i4 THE OPEN-AIR THEATRE

the mere onlookers brought up benches all round thedancing-circle.As the parts to be played by theactor multiplied,a tent, or "skene," was built forhim at one side of the circle,where he could retireto make the necessary changes of costume; and thenhis platform was moved to the side of the tent, andwhile the chorus continued to dance about the cen-ral

altar,the audience was pushed away from oneside,occupying now only three-fourths, or less,ofthe territoryabout the dancing-place.

In this arrangement may be seen the rough mouldinto which every later typicallyreek theatre wascast. First,and most typical,as the "orchestra"forming a full circle,with the altar of Dionysus inthe centre, about which the chorus danced; second,the auditorium with its rows of seats surroundingperhaps two-thirds of the outer circumference ofthe orchestra; and third, the tent and platform onthe third side,prototype of all the stage buildingsfor many centuries to follow. Not until the gloryof Greece faded before the grandeur of Rome didthe orchestra become the half-circle of the later clas-ic

and the modern theatre; and only then was theauditorium cut down so that it also was semi-cir-ular

in shape, so that all the spectators faced thestage rather than the orchestra./

In Athens, always the true home of Greek drama,


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THE THEATRE OF DIONYSUS AT ATHENS. THIS IS THE MOST

IMPORTANT OF ALL THEATRES IN HISTORY. ON THIS SITE

DRAMATIC ART WAS FIRST DEVELOPED OUT OF THE GREEK

RELIGIOUS FESTIVALS, AND HERE THE GENIUS OF AESCHYLUS,SOPHOCLES AND EURIPIDES FLOWERED. THE PRESENT RUINS DATE

FROM ONE OF THE ROMAN RECONSTRUCTIONS, WHEN THE THEA-REHAD LOST MANY OF THE ORIGINAL GREEK CHARACTERISTICS.


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OLD GREEK AND ROMAN 15the temporary structures built annually at the timeof the Dionysia sufficed for the productions for anumber of years. Perhaps it was in 499 B.C., whenthe temporary wooden benches collapsed,bringingdeath and injuryto many of the audience, that thefirstsubstantial theatre was begun. Even then theseats and stage buildings were only of wood; butearthen foundations underlay the benches, and the"skene" was probably of more solid constructionand greater beauty than the yearlytemporary erec-ions

had been.Although there still is some controversy amongarchaeologistsver the matter, it seems fairlywell

established that the Athenian theatre in which thegenius of .^Eschylus,ophocles and Euripides flow-red

in the fifth century B.C. was of wooden con-truction.Passing over the gradual modificationswhich the wooden theatres doubtless underwent, in

this century which witnessed so many changes in thedrama, one may more profitablyurn to the stonestructures, of which sufficient ruins remain to affordthe basis of a reconstruction, even though thetragicdrama had alreadyperceptiblyeclined at thetime they were built.

The first stone theatre in Athens " and the mostfamous of all classic theatres " was constructed onthe site of its wooden predecessors, in the enclosure


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1 6 THE OPEN-AIR THEATRE

dedicated to the god Dionysus, on the south sideof the Acropolis. The orchestra was a perfectcir-le

with an altar in the centre. During the purelyGreek period the orchestra floor was formed ofearth tamped hard and smooth, the marble pave-ent

which exists to-day being a Roman addition.It was here that the chorus danced and sang, andtherefore the interest of the spectators centred hererather than on the stage.

The Athenian auditorium, as usual throughoutGreece, was shaped in a hollow of a hillside,n thiscase violatingthe well-recognizedrule that a thea-re

should never face the south. This auditoriumwas formed of seventy-eightiers of seats, of Peiraiclimestone except where carved from the solid rockof the Acropolis. The lower tiers were in the shapeof a semi-circle with its ends prolonged in straightlines,like an inverted U; but as the outline of thetheatre was irregular,he upper tiers were not sym-etrical.

At Athens, as generallyelsewhere, thefront row of seats consisted of marble chairs forpriestsand other dignitaries,he elaborately-carvedcentral one being reserved for the Priest of Diony-us.

The main body of the auditorium was divided iby fourteen passage-ways up and down, making thir-een

wedge-shaped blocks of seats; and laterally,about half way up, by a wide passage-way, or udi-|


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was merely a high wall, forming a background forthe action of chorus and players,all which he be-ieves

took place in the circular orchestra. His viewis graduallyfindingwide acceptance among schol-rs.

The opposite theory is that a stage platformwas constructed between the wall and the orchestra,terminated at each side by the projectingside walls,or "paraskenia." This platform, called the "lo-geion," or speaking-place,is supposed to have beenoccupied by the actors, who thus were lifted abovethe chorus in the orchestra. If this theory is cor-ect,

doubtless temporary flightsf stairs were builtfrom the logeion to the orchestra to permit the nec-ssaryaction between players and chorus. It has

been suggested that the front wall of this platformwas panelled,with doors giving access to the stage-buildingfrom the orchestra.In the typicallyGreek theatres the high wall be-ind

the stage and at the ends, was ornamented witha singleset of columns, a feature which later wasdeveloped by the Romans into an elaborate two- orthree-storied system of columns, entablatures andpediments. In both the Greek and the Romantypes the rear stage wall usuallyas piercedby threeor five doorways ; and by a generally-understoodon-ention,

entrance from each particulardoor indi-atedthat the actor was to be imagined as coming


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A CONJECTURAL RESTORATION OF THE GREEK THEATRE AT EGESTA.THE FORM OF THE AUDITORIUM IS PROBABLY CORRECT, BUT

THERE IS LITTLE EVIDENCE TO INDICATE THAT THE STAGE BUILD-NGS

ARE AUTHENTIC.

[FROM j. H. STRACK'S "DAS ALTGRIECHISCHE THEATERGEBAUDE"]


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OLD GREEK AND ROMAN 19from a certain place: when a figure"ame on thestage through the door at the right,it was knownthat he came from the immediate neighborhood,whereas one coming through the door at the leftwas clearlya traveller from a distance,and so on.These conventions arose from the situation of thetheatre of Dionysus with relation to the city,thecountry roads, the harbor, and other topographicfeatures.

The proper height of the stage platform in aGreek theatre is given by the Roman architectVitruvius * as from ten to twelve feet,and the depthas ten feet. But there is no exact evidence in re-ard

to that at Athens, and the stages of otherGreek and Greek-Roman theatres vary from eightto thirteen feet in height and similarlyin depth.The existingremains of the stage at Athens, withthe sculpturedfront-wall,throw no lighton the sub-ect,

as they date from the time of one of the Ro-anreconstructions.

In the Greek theatre the auditorium and skenewere in effect two separate buildings,and the spacebetween was used as a gateway, giving entrance tothe orchestra and auditorium. In the later Greekperiod, and especiallys the Roman influence was

* Vitruvius7 rules for the construction of Greek and Romantheatres are quoted in translation in an appendix of this volume.


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felt,the stage was brought nearer to the auditorium,and the gateways became doors. Then finally,nRoman times, the auditorium wall and the stage wallmerged into each other, and the entrance became avaulted passage-way.

The ruins of the theatre at Epidaurus in someparticularsre more interestingthan those of theAthenian structure. The auditorium is almost in-act,

and the orchestra ring is perfectlyindicated,as are the foundations of the stage -buildings.Theauditorium, unlike that of the Theatre of Dionysus,is perfectlysymmetrical,resultingin a more gracefulgeneral appearance. The topmost circle of seatshas a diameter of four hundred and fifteen feet,thetotal seatingcapacityabout equallingthat of the au-itorium

at Athens. In addition to the row of seatsof honor at the bottom of the auditorium, there aretwo rows on the level of the diazoma, two-thirds ofthe distance to the top.

While the other known theatres followed closelythe type already described, there are certain not-ble

variations. At Priene the row of seats ofhonor is formed as a continuous bench, with fivethrones set in at various points; and similar thronesare found at the theatre of Oropus. At Priene thealtar, which elsewhere almost invariablystands atthe exact centre of the orchestra, is instead on the


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THE THEATRE AT EPIDAURUS. THIS IS THE BEST PRESERVED OF

THE GREEK THEATRES. IT SHOWS THE COMPLETE ORCHESTRA

CIRCLE, AND THE STAGE SET BACK FROM THE AUDITORIUM IN

TYPICAL GREEK STYLE.


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formance. But after the first separation of theactor-leader from the worshipping chorus, the dramaspeedilydeveloped along less ceremonial and morehuman lines. In 535 B.C., shortly after tragedyhad been officiallyecognized and put under stateauthority,the first dramatic contest was institutedat Athens. Soon came ^Eschylus,winning the vic-oryin 472, and after him Sophoclesand Euripides.By the middle of the following century the dramahad declined again,and the golden period had gone.The playsof this time were simple,straightforward,emotion-compelling dramas, which needed little orno background to help them hold the interest of theaudience. We are told that as early as the time ofSophocles scenery was used to cover up the barearchitectural stage-wall. But if paintedscenery wasused at all,it was very simple,and the only aim wasto suggest the proper setting;in other words therewas no attempt at realism. There was never anychange of scene in the Greek theatre, and the set-ing

of the action always was understood to be out-of-doors. Until the Roman period there never wasa stage curtain,entrances and exits all being made infull sightof the audience.

In addition to dramatic productions the Greektheatres were used for religiousexercises at theDionysian festivals,for politicaleetings,for the


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RUINS OF THE GREEK-ROMAN THEATRE AT SYRACUSE.

FOR ITS IMMENSE SIZE.

NOTABLE


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OLD GREEK AND ROMAN 23dithyrambicchoral contests, and by the rhapsodistsand harp-players. The annual cock-fightas heldhere, and all sorts of vaudeville performers ap-eared

at times. In the Roman periodthe Atheniantheatre was even desecrated by gladiatorialcon-ests,

which were hotly protested by certain of theGreeks ; and there is evidence indicatinghat at one

/AUDITORIUM \

Comparative sketch plans of Greek and Roman theatres, showingchange in relation between auditorium and stage.

time the lower part of the theatre was made water-ight,in order that the orchestra might be con-ertedinto a lake for mimic sea-fights.

The Roman theatre differed from the Greekmainly in two particulars. As the chorus no longerwas of greater importance than the actors, the or-hestra

was cut down from a full circle to a semi-ircle,and the stage buildings were pushed up

againstthe auditorium, forming a singlebuildingofthe whole composition. These changes were neces-


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sary because the spectators, who in the Greek thea-resoften faced away from, rather than toward, the

stage, and stillwere content if they could see the or-hestraclearly,ow must face the stage, to which

all the action hereafter was to be confined. The sec-ndgreat change was in the wall behind the stage,

which was greatlyheightened and elaboratelydec-ratedwith rows of columns, one above the other.

The stage platform was at firstmade high, in orderto givethe spectators on the uppermost tiers of seatsas good a view of the action as possible,and it wasnarrow so

that those looking up at it might alwayssee the actors in full;but later the desire to stagegorgeous spectaclesade greater depth necessary,with a consequent lesseningof the height. Vitruviusrecommends that the height of the platform in aRoman theatre be not over five feet. The inventionof vaultingallowed the Roman theatres to be builton level spaces, the auditorium bowl being held upby series of walls and arches, instead of beingshaped in the hollow of a hillside.

The only survivingclassic theatre in Rome, theTheatre of Marcellus, has been so changed in latertimes that it does not illustrate the characteristics ofthe type as well as several others. Those atOrange, in Southern France, and at Aspendus, inAsia Minor, are the best-preservedf the typically


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RUINS OF THE ROMAN THEATRE AT TAORMINA


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beyond belief. The Romans invented means ofstretchinghuge awnings over certain of their thea-res,

to protect the audiences from the hot southernsun; and the smaller theatre at Pompeii was perma-ently

roofed at some time in its history,s is provedby a tablet recentlyfound, which commemorates thegiving of the roof by a wealthy citizen.Throughout the development of the Roman the-tre

there is a noticeable tendency away from theGreek openness and simplicity,oward enclosure andtoward elaboration of detail. The change corre-ponds

very closelyto the transformation of thedramatic production itself. The Latin dramatistsat best were successful imitators of the Greeks.Then as time went on, more stress was put on thescenery and less on the play, and finallyspectacledisplaced drama almost entirely.Then when thepeople were not drawn away from the theatre tothe circus or arena, gladiatorialontests and sensa-ional

vaudeville performances were brought to thetheatre stage " making its degradation complete.

Closelyrelated to the theatre of the Greeks andRomans was the "Odeon" or "Odeum," a smallerstructure which usuallywas near the theatre,or evenconnected with it by a portico. The Odeons arereferred to by classic writers as places for concertsand for rehearsals of plays,and doubtless dramatic


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ABOVE IS A MEASURED RECONSTRUCTION OF THE ROMAN THEATRE

AT ORANGE, FRANCE, SHOWING THE TYPICAL ROOFED STAGE, WITHITS ELABORATE BACKGROUND OF ARCHITECTURAL ORNAMENT.

BELOW. THE THEATRE AT ORANOF AS TT F.XTSTS TODAV.


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OLD GREEK AND ROMAN 27productions were occasionallystaged in them.Some authorities insist that the Odeon of HerodesAtticus, adjoining the Theatre of Dionysus atAthens, was roofed, thus affordinga placeof shelterin case the production at the theatre itself was inter-upted

by rain; but others point out the impossibilityof roofing such a structure before Roman times,suggestingthat the cedar roof mentioned by a con-emporary

writer refers to the stage-root commonin all Roman theatres. However that may be, theOdeon and allied forms of assembly-placeoffer manysuggestionsfor the modern builder of open-airthe-tres.

Thus the form of the little Odeon at theImperial Villa at Pausilypon is more suited to themodern drama of the open than is that of the nearbytheatre. The tiers of seats are in shape consider-bly

less than a half-circle,nd the stage shows veryinterestingvariations from the traditional arrange-ent.This Odeon also has a notable feature in the

large imperialbox at the top of the auditorium.The little"Ekklesiasterion" at Priene, although hav-ng

littleto do with dramatic matters, is of interestto the student of the ancient theatre, as the audi-orium

is not circular,each tier of seats formingthree sides of a square.

Other buildings common to Greek or Romancities,hich are in some measure allied to the the-


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atre in form, are the stadion, the amphitheatre orarena, and the circus. Such notable examples as thePanathenaic Stadion at Athens, the OlympianStadion, and the Colosseum and Circus Maximus atRome, are interestingarchitecturallynd as a re-lection

of the life and tastes of the peoples;but theyhad little influence on the form of the theatre ordramatic art. The Panathenaic Stadion recentlywas magnificentlyebuilt,and at least one revival ofa classic play has been giventhere. Similarlytherehave been modern productions in the half-ruinedamphitheatresat Nimes and Aries, in France.After the drama and the theatre alike had beenabandoned to the vulgar,in the years of the Romandecadence, it seems not to have occurred to any onethat the great structures might again be utilizedlegitimately,ntil in 1869 Felix Ripert and AntonyReal planned classical productions in the RomanTheatre at Orange. The stage had been clearedof ruins some years before by French archaeologists,and enough of the originaltiers of seats remainedto accommodate an average modern audience. Thefirstproductions were so successful that others fol-owed

at intervals of a few years until 1899, duein part to the efforts of the poet, Frederic Mistral,leader among the exponents of open-air drama inFrance. Since the latter date the Comedie Fran-


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THE SMALLER THEATRE AT POMPEII. THIS IS ONE OF THE MOSTGRACEFULLY DESIGNED AND MOST INTIMATE OF ANCIENT THEATRES.


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CHAPTER III

THE MODERN GREEK THEATRES

OF modern open-air theatres, all that arecharacterized by rising semi-circular tiersof seats, with raised stages and high rear

stage-walls, are indiscriminately termed "Greek"theatres, whether modelled on Greek or on Romanforms. It is easy to differentiate this classic typeof structure from both the nature theatre and thegarden theatre; for the latter two are built of na-ure's

materials, of trees and shrubs and hedges,whereas the Greek theatre is architectural in everysense.

It is curious that the majority of modern Greektheatres are to be found grouped in a single statethat is on the opposite side of the world from Greece.In California there are four so-called Greek the-tres,

and others are building. In the rest of theUnited States there are only two structures that ap-roach

the type, and in Europe practically all of themodern open-air playhouses are of the nature-theatre type. The reason is not far to seek. In

30


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THE MODERN GREEK 31California the climate is such that an open-airstruc-ure

affords the maximum of usefulness, so that aroofless playhouse is not considered merely a tem-orary

or experimental matter, but rather a perma-entand very practicalit of artistic equipment. In

most parts of California there is a rainless seasonof at least four months, and four or five monthsmore of each year are so generallyfair that theoutdoor producer is practicallyassured of perfectweather conditions. So the state has bred a raceof outdoor people, lovers of nature and all thatthe open offers,and it is not surprisingthat theyhave taken their drama, like so many of their otheractivities,ut under the sun and stars.

The most notable of the purelyarchitectural play-ousesis the Hearst Greek Theatre at the Univer-ity

of California, in Berkeley. This structure isnot, as has so often been said, an example of per-ect

fidelityo ancient type. On the contrary, it isa curious mingling of Greek and Roman forms. Itis also very wisely modified to conform to the besttraditions of modern dramatic art, although thereis no provisionfor modern realistic scenery or otherephemeral and inartistic phases of contemporarystaging. The general form of the building isRoman in that the auditorium outline forms onlyslightlyore than a semi-circle,and the orchestra


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circle is cut down to very small dimensions ; and thelow, wide steps of the lower auditorium are typicalof such purely Roman structures as the little theatreat Pompeii. But the absolute separation of the"skene," or stage-building,from the auditorium, ispurely Greek; and the stage -wall is decorated in theGreek fashion with a single series of columns in-tead

of the over-elaborate Roman system of doubleor triplerows.

The orchestra circle is six feet below the stagelevel; and above it on the auditorium side aretwelve broad steps, each six inches above the other,on which sixteen hundred chairs are placed at timesof performance. Above them, and on the level ofthe stage floor, is the diazoma, a wide aisle witha wall at the back, which separates the "pit" of thetheatre from the upper auditorium. There arenineteen tiers of seats in the upper portion, risingat a sharp angle almost to the height of the top ofthe stage-wall. The upper section is divided intoten "wedges" by eleven aisles up-and-down. It hasa seating capacity of more than four thousand, sothat with the chairs on the steps below the diazomaand those which are often placed in the orchestracircle,a total of six thousand or more people canbe accommodated. At university assemblies andlectures nearly ten thousand people occasionally


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THE HEARST GREEK THEATRE AT BERKELEY. ABOVE, THE THEA-JTRE is SEEN IN ITS PRESENT CONDITION. BELOW is THE ARCHI-ITECT'S DRAWING OF THE STRUCTURE AS IT WILL APPEAR WHEN

COMPLETED.

[JOHN GALEN HOWARD, ARCHITECT]


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THE MODERN GREEK 33

gather,some being allowed to stand at the entrancesand above the highest tier of seats, and additionalchairs being placed on the immense stage.

The stage buildinghas a cement floor one hundredand thirty-threeeet long by twenty-eightfeet deep.At the back and at each end there rises a massivewall, more than fortyfeet high, ornamented with abeautiful design of Doric columns and classic cor-ice.

This wall is broken only by five doorways,for the actors' entrances and exits,three at the backand one at each side. The total effect of the"skene," with its spaciousness and almost severebeauty,is singularlyimpressive.

At present the theatre is built entirelyof concreteand cement. In time, however, the donor plans tofinish the structure in marble. The architect'ssketch of the finished buildingshows a further deco-ationof the stage-wallwith bas-relief statues, theaddition of walls at the sides of the stage building,and the addition of a porticoat the top of the audi-orium

" a feature common in the finer Romantheatres. The theatre is so beautiful at present,and seems so complete,that one who has not seenthe ultimate plan never guesses that the structure isnot finished. And yet the plan indicates a subtlerarchitectural beauty and a pervading sense of gran-eur

that will be notable additions.


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The Hearst Greek Theatre was not built as anarchaeologicalcuriosity.It was the outgrowth ofa very definite need. For a decade before its con-truction

an annual student play had been producedin the natural amphitheatre which the classic struc-ure

now fills,nd all the student activities had out-rownthe facilities at hand. The theatre was

opened in 1903, when a three-days'dramatic festi-alwas held, with the dedicatory exercises and the

productionin Greek of Aristophanes' "The Birds"on the first day, a production of "Twelfth Night"under the direction of Ben Greet on the second, anda productionof Racine's "Phedre" in French on thethird. Since that time there has been a notableseries of professional and amateur productions,every season adding to the list of masterpieces thathave been presented and to the list of noted actorswho have appeared.

Perhaps the most nearlyperfectproductionshavebeen the revivals by Margaret Anglin of Sophocles'"Antigone" and uElectra." Miss Anglin acceptedfranklythe conventions which the immensity of thestage and the lack of a curtain imposed; she tri-mphed

by fittinghe play to the stage, instead ofattempting futilelyo bring the setting into con-ormity

with what is commonly considered modernstage art. When Maude Adams produced uAs You


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been also a number of French and German plays,dramatic festivals,students' class plays, and produc-ions

by outside amateur and semi-professionalcom-anies.Altogether the range of material presented

has been remarkably wide, and the theatre propor-ionatelyvaluable in teaching the university com-unity

and the public how much more there is todramatic art than the types of play seen in the com-ercial

theatres.The first of the California theatres of the Greek

or architectural type was built under the directionof Madame Katherine Tingley in the grounds of theInternational Theosophical Headquarters at PointLoma, in 1901. Following, perhaps, an old tradi-ion

that the ancient Greek theatres were purposelybuilt with an outlook over the sea, the auditoriumwas hollowed out of a hillside facing the openocean. There are eleven semi-circular tiers of seats,accommodating twenty-five hundred people, andfrom these the spectators look across the stage, withits floor of tessellated pavement, to a chaste little

temple in pure Greek architecture, and beyond thatto the deep blue sky and the deep blue waters of thePacific. The stage stands at the head of a precipL.tous canyon, through which a path winds up, allow-ng

the players to reach the temple unseen by theaudience. Although the theatre does not conform


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THE GREEK THEATRE AT POINT LOMA, CALIFORNIA. THE LOWERVIEW SUGGESTS THE BEAUTY OF THE OUTLOOK OVER THE PACIFIC.

[PHOTOGRAPHS COPYRIGHT BY KATHERINE TINGLEY!


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THE MODERN GREEK 37

to Greek ideas of theatre-building,it achieves to aremarkable degree the beauty that is customarilyconsidered Greek. Certainly no theatre in ancientGreece ever had a greater loveliness, or a moreidyllicbackground. As one comes to it on its preci-ice

above the sea, it seems to nestle like somegleaming white jewel in a setting fashioned withperfect artistry.

The plays at the theatre, too, have been perme-tedby the Greek spirit. One of the earliest

dramas presented was the "Eumenides" of ^Eschy-lus, which Madame Tingley had earlier revived inNew York. Recently the productions have beenless dependent upon the texts of the Greek authors,being in effect modern compositions informed withthe antique spirit. Indeed, there has grown up herewhat is in some sense a new art form, a sort ofdecorative drama that is more dependent upon thevisual beauty of costumes, natural setting,groupingand dancing, and upon incidental poetry, than uponsustained emotional appeal. Madame Tingley per-onally

directs the productions in the theatre; andshe is carrying out her ideal of dramatic art byclothing the action in physical beauty, and at thesame time shaping the development of the storyso that the whole will prove in some measure aspiritual revelation. Several critics have testified


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to the symbolic effectiveness and unique decorative

qualityof "The Aromaof Athens," the first produc-ion

at which the general public was admitted. Andevery one who has been in the theatre has remarkedon the idyllicbeauty of the stage and background.

At Cranbrook, the country estate of Mr. GeorgeG. Booth, near Detroit, Michigan, one of the mostbeautiful of modern Greek theatres has been built.The structure is unique in several ways. The lowauditorium is set well back from the stage, leavingan unusually large orchestra. The raised stage isflanked by two temple-likestructures, which may beused for dressing-rooms or for the musicians. Atthe rear of the stage, the wall joining the two build-ngs

is pierced by three wide entrances. At timesof performances, if the play demands an intimateatmosphere, the openings are curtained and the pro-ucer

can then obtain those subtler effects which arecharacteristic of the small garden theatre stage. Atwill,however, the curtains can be removed, and theaudience then looks through the openings, acrossa long formal pool, to a second stage building atthe rear. On this larger stage the director can pro-uce

the more extensive, pageant-like scenes, whichdepend for their effectiveness upon moving masses ofactors, changing colors, and distant processionals.

When the Cranbrook Theatre was dedicated, in


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THE GREEK THEATRE AT CRANBROOK, MICHIGAN. THIS VIEWSHOWS THE UNIQUE INNER STAGE, WITH ITS POOL AND LOGGIA.


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structural detail. In the first place,it is built on theflat,instead of being hollowed out

of a hillside,aswas the Greek fashion; and the "skene" and audi-orium

are joined in a single building. The audi-orium,too, forms only a semi-circle, and is set

close to the stage, as was the custom in the Roman

theatres. The three tiers of seats and the terraceabove accommodate only a few hundred spectators,although an upper auditorium could easilybe added.The structure is in effect a miniature Roman theatre,occupying an almost unique position among modernopen-air structures. What it loses in the sense ofmajesty, through its smallness, it gains in the senseof intimacy. One can hardly imagine a morecharming setting for poetic drama, and especiallyfor those amateur performances that so often aretoo slight to dominate the large Greek theatre orindoor theatre stages, and yet are very effective intheir proper atmosphere on a miniature stage andbefore a miniature auditorium. The openings inthe stage-wall at the back, designed by the architectto be filled by shrubs and hedges, form the onlydrawback of the theatre, interferingseriouslywiththe acoustics. The mistake is corrected to someextent by hanging heavy curtains during the timesof performance. This little theatre is owned by


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THE MODERN GREEK 41the city,and is used by schools, musical organiza-ions,

and amateur dramatic societies.The open-air theatre at Pomona College, Clare-

mont, California, is an interestinghybrid form inwhich the auditorium is of the classic architecturaltype, but with a stage background of the nature the-tre

type. The auditorium is modelled after that ofthe Hearst Greek Theatre at Berkeley, having thesame arrangement of sunken orchestra-circle, lowsteps for chairs, diazoma on the level of the stagefloor, and more sharply rising tiers of seats above.The one noticeable difference is that tunnel entrancesare brought through under the seats, after the man-er

of the old Roman arenas. The stage front isa concrete wall, but for the floor the ground hassimply been levelled,and there is no rear stage-wall.The background is simply a park-likelandscape withlawn, trees and shrubs. For pageants and masquesthe advantages of this natural background over thearchitectural one at the Hearst Greek Theatre areevident; but for the more dramatic sorts of play,that demand concentration of attention, and forthe various lectures, academic exercises, concerts,and similar activities for which a college theatre iscontinually utilized, the structure at Berkeley isincomparably better.

The Pomona theatre would seem to be perfectly


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fitted to that sort of dramatic masque which Amer-canslike Thomas Wood Stevens, Kenneth Sawyer

Goodman and Joseph Lindon Smith have done somuch to develop, a form that demands a flexiblebackground of great natural beauty, to which therigid architectural wall of the Greek "skene" istotally unsuited. But anything approaching inten-ive

drama, and anything demanding close attentionto the spoken word and sequence of incident, wouldlose half its effectiveness on the Pomona stage, be-ause

there is no sense of intimacy, and the eye is

continually invited to wander from the fore-stage tothe beautiful bits of landscape at the back. A studyof this theatre greatly strengthens the impressionthat no open-air playhouse can adequately houseboth the very dramatic play and the pageant, bothGreek tragedy and American masque; the buildersmust choose the general kind of production to begiven, and then build for that.*

For Garfield Park, Chicago, a theatre has beenplanned specificallyfor pageant-like productions,

* Since this book was written I have visited Forest Park Theatreat St. Louis, which also combines a nature stage with an architec-ural

auditorium. The stage seems well-equipped for pageantproduction and other spectacular entertainment. But as I lookedat the playhouse, the truth that struck me most forcibly was this:if a theatre is to be in any degree architectural, a real architectshould prepare the design. The auditorium at Forest Park appearsto have been laid out by an engineer " or perhaps by a plumber.It is a thing of concrete steps and iron piping " utterly devoid ofarchitectural beauty, and altogether disillusioning. Photographs


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ABOVE, THE STAGE OF THE GREEK THEATRE AT POMONA, CALIFOR-IA.

HERE AN AUDITORIUM OF THE CLASSIC ARCHITECTURAL

TYPE IS COMBINED WITH A NATURE-THEATRE STAGE. BELOW,

JTHE GREEK THEATRE AT BAKERSFIELD, CALIFORNIA. THIS IS AFREE ADAPTATION OF ROMAN RATHER THAN GREEK FORMS.

[LEWIS p. HOBART, ARCHITECT]


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THE MODERN GREEK 43and like the Pomona theatre it is to have no rearstage-wall. But here the stage is framed by highpillars,wo on each side, giving a formal touch andserving to concentrate sight lines on the centre ofthe stage. These pillars,too, shield lights to beused during performances at night.

Another theatre of great size, but in pure classicstyle,is to be built in one of the parks at LosAngeles, California. The plans call for the im-ediate

building of an auditorium seating ten thou-andspectators, with provision for an eventual addi-ionto seat thirty thousand more. The "skene"

will be similar to that of the Hearst Greek Theatreand will be decorated with Ionic columns, but thestage floor will be two hundred feet long and fiftyfeet deep.

Of the modern open-air theatres of purely archi-ecturaldesign in Europe, by far the most interestingis the Arena Goldoni at Florence, Italy. This is acurious combination of the Roman theatre and thearena types. It is like half of an arena with araised stage opposite the seats. The stage is openat the front, but is roofed. The level floor belowthe stage, the arena itself in a narrower sense, isof the open-air theatre at Anoka, Minnesota, indicate a similarlack of decorative values. If a theatre is to depart at all fromthe pure nature-theatre type, the designer should be competentto add that legitimate attractiveness with which the architect issupposed to endow all his creations.


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A ENTRANCE HALLB ANTEROOMC ARENAD SCALJNATAE LOGGIAP GALLERYG CARPENTERS ROOMSH WOODCARVERS ROOMSI OFFICEJ LIBRARY

STORE BOOMS" ""

M PHOTOGR* ROOMN STA(3eO MECHANICS SHOPP CGYRTYARDQ PASSAGESHOSTAGE DOOR.S STVDIOT COVRTU PRINTING OFFICEVWXY" OTHER

^ ROOMS OVXJl ^, *

Plan of the Arena Goldoni, showing the unique arrangement ofstage, "arena," and auditorium. This is one of the few buildingsin which an open-air theatre is combined with studios, workshopsand offices a type that American "experimental theatre" groupscan study to advantage.


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ous than dignified,or there are well-founded storiesof official intervention at certain of the gatherings.Recently the Arena has passed into the hands ofGordon Craig and his associates, and it is here thatthe School for the Art of the Theatre, of whichCraig dreamed so lovingly and which he plannedso long, has finallybeen established. Nowherecould there be found an atmosphere more inspiringfor the work of dramatic experimenters than inthis charming open-air structure that still retainssomething of the cloistered silence of convent days.Similar theatres built during the nineteenth cen-uryexist elsewhere in Italy,but whatever may havebeen the development of dramatic art that calledthem into being, none of them except the ArenaGoldoni is now notable for its activities.

The only modern European theatre that followscloselythe Greek traditions is that at Bradfield inEngland. Here the auditorium forms considerablymore than a half-circle,and the orchestra pit is acomplete circle with an altar in the centre, after theGreek fashion. The stage building is an ingeniousarrangement of Greek motives, but in a form thathas no parallel in the classic theatres. The stageis in effect a covered porch, with the conventionalfive doorways for entrances and exits. While thebuilding loses much of the dignity and spacious-


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A CORNER OF THE ARENA GOLDONI, AT FLORENCE, ITALY, AS SEENFROM THE STAGE.


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THE MODERN GREEK 47

ness of the classic theatres, this recessed porch woulddoubtless serve to frame the action and to concen-rate

the interest of the audience better than themore open Greek stage. The whole theatre is sur-ounded

by masses of foliage, which not only in-reasethe sense of shelter but add greatly to the

beauty of the place.The finest productions at the theatre have been

the classic revivals by Granville Barker, who haspointed the way to so many innovations in theEnglish theatre. Each year the students of Brad-field College produce in the original tongue one ofthe masterpieces of Greek drama ; and the five per-ormances

of each, given during a week in June, areattended by people from all parts of England. Theauditorium, which is of concrete, seats two thou-and,

but only about fourteen hundred spectatorshave a clear view of the stage. Tickets are notsold for the poorer seats " a fact that may be com-ended

to the usual commercial managers forthoughtful consideration. The Bradfield theatre issometimes known as the "Chalk-cliff Theatre," be-ause

it was hollowed out of an old chalk-pit.At Beziers, in France, there is a so-called "arena-

theatre," built in imitation partly of the Greek the-treand partly of the Roman amphitheatre, which

is larger than any other modern out-door playhouse


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(barring such temporary arrangements as the St.Louis pageant theatre). But the structure is onlyof wood, and it has been given up chieflyto spectacleand opera, with elaborate and atrocious imitationsof indoor-stage settings.

Of modern structures modelled after the ancientstadion, circus and amphitheatre (or arena), thereare many, such as the bull-ringsof Spain and theathletic stadia throughout the world; but thesebuildings have very little to do with dramatic art.At the Harvard Stadium in Cambridge notable pro-uctions

have been staged, as well as in the YaleBowl and at the stadion of the College of the Cityof New York. But while the spectacular effectswere fine,the acoustic properties of the structuresare so poor that a great deal of the true dramaticelement was lost. In the stadion at Tacoma, Wash-ngton,

an annual dramatic festival is held, but verywisely the production is made rather a pageant thana play.

Of the contemporary Italian outdoor theatres,or "arenas" as they are often termed, practicallyall are negligibleboth architecturallynd as con-ributing

to dramatic art. Many are simply indoortheatres with the auditorium roofs lifted,with stagesthat are given over to every sophisticated devicethat modern "scenic artists" and modern chorus-


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THE ORCHESTRA AND STAGE OF THE GREEK THEATREAT BRADFIELD, ENGLAND.


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5o THE OPEN-AIR THEATRE

that is built against a background of large massesof actors, here find their finest expression.

Because the theatre of classic form is thus better

fitted than any other to house certain sorts of drama,and because no finer form of open-air assembly hallhas ever been invented for lectures and concerts

and meetings, doubtless the Greek or Roman play-ousewill continue to increase in numbers on univer-ity

campuses and in public parks, both in Americaand in the rest of the world.


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CHAPTER IV

THE MEDIAEVAL RELIGIOUS THEATRE AND ITS

SURVIVALS

AFTER the decay of the Roman theatre, theWestern world was barren of dramaticactivity for many centuries. The rebirth

of the drama came in the elaboration of an incidentof the church service, probably in the tenth oreleventh century. The middle of the thirteenth cen-ury

saw this activity still purely liturgical in char-cter;but the following fifty years witnessed the

development of the Mystery Play, which quicklymade its way out of the church into the open; andby the middle of the fourteenth century the separa-ion

of the dramatic production from the churchservice was complete, and outdoor drama was firmlyestablished as an independent expression of religiousfeeling.

The first productions out-of-doors probably weregiven on the church steps. Although the auditoriumwas not all the audience might have desired, no fineroutdoor stage could be imagined for religious plays.

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The towering church fagade as background doubt-essintensified the dignity and spiritualeffectiveness

of the production; the music drifting out to theaudience from the church itself must have beenstrangely appealing; and doubtless God was themore convincing when he came on the stage throughthe church doors. Probably it was the form of thisstage on the church steps that served as a model forthe platforms later erected against houses or in theopen square, with the people crowding around onthree sides.

The Mystery Play, following closelythe scripturalstories acceptable to the church, soon gave way tothe Miracle Play, into which crept gradually apocry-hal

stories and legends of the saints, and whichwas characterized more often by a very broadhuman feelingthan by religiousfervor. From thetime when the Mystery Play left the church stepsto the time when the Miracle stage became a settype, there is little direct evidence regarding thedetailed form of the mediaeval theatre. Doubtlessit went through many changes, although always itseems to have been of wood, and usually built fora single cycle of performances, to be torn down assoon as the "season" was done. There is extanta descriptionof a theatre built at Autun in 1516,which had an auditorium similar to those built by


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THE MEDIEVAL RELIGIOUS 53the Romans; but as the writer remarks that therewere seats for eighty thousand people, there is areasonable doubt as to the accuracy of his state-ents.

There is also evidence of a sort that aMystery was produced in the old amphitheatre atBourges. But the typical auditorium of themediaeval theatre is only a thing of conjecture.

Of the stages on which the Miracles were pro-uced,at least from the end of the fourteenth cen-ury

on, there is more knowledge. In France thesestages took a set form, usually being raised a fewfeet, and having at the back representations of thevarious "localities" from which the characters weresupposed to come, or which they were to occupy dur-ng

the action. Generally these localities were likeboxes or booths, built either directly on the stagefloor,or with only a few steps to lift them above thecommon level; or as a second story, in which casethe actors in them were raised above those on thestage into full view of the audience. Some of theMiracle Plays called for as many as twenty-fourlocalities. In the late theatres of this type the local-ties

were decorated to indicate the characters towhich they belonged, one being for the Virgin Mary,one for God, and so on. Invariably the two local-ties

at the ends represented Paradise and Hell, thelatter usuallybeing in the shape of a dragon's mouth.


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The well-known engraving of the setting for thePassion Play at Valenciennes in 1547 shows a raisedstage with an elaborate series of localities in acurve at the back. Hell is formed by the mouth ofa ferocious-looking dragon, and the adjoining Pur-atory

is emitting very realistic flames.

Stage of the Passion Play theatre at Valenciennes, 154.7.

In England the system of presenting the Miraclesin cycles,each guild being entrusted with a certainincident or scene, led to the use of movable insteadof stationary stages. The guild of the bakers,appropriately presenting "The Last Supper," couldhardly use the same stage-car as the barbers pre-enting

"The Baptism of Jesus." And althoughone stage arrangement might do for the fishmongerswith their "Flood" and the shipwrights with "TheBuilding of the Ark," something different would be


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THE MEDLEVAL RELIGIOUS 55

demanded by the cooks who were entrusted with"The Harrying of Hell" " because "they were in thehabit of taking things out of the fire." Thus eachguild prepared a stage-on-wheels to suit its ownappropriate part of the cycle. When the day ofperformance arrived, into the open space where theplay was to be presented was wheeled the first"pageant-car,"on which the first incident or act wasperformed; that finished, car one went on to thenext "station," and car two took its place, and soon, until the whole series of cars (varying fromthree to twenty-four) had formed the stage at eachone of the several stations.

The cars varied widely in form and appointments.None could be as elaborate as the French stationarystages, but often they were built in two stories, andmany of them showed several localities " "Hell-mouth" being a characteristic feature now as before.Some were curtained and roofed, while others wereopen at the top and on three sides. At some of thestations auxiliary stages were built, with an openmiddle space into which each of the cars in turnwas drawn. Similar pageant-cars were utilized inSpain long after they had gone out of use in Eng-and.

Lope de Vega wrote four hundred "scenes,"designed for production out-of-doors during the pro-essions

of the Bloody Sacrament These produc-


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tions were forbidden in Spain in 1765. But evento-day there are survivals of the pageant-car playin parts of Spain, and in such religiousprocessionsas that of the Holy Blood at Bruges.

In Cornwall a special type of open-air theatredeveloped in the time of the Miracle Plays. Thiswas in the form of a low amphitheatre, somewhatlike our present-day athletic fields,with a few tiersof seats built on heaped-up earthen banks surround-ng

the "field" or "stage." The ruins of such the-tres,or "rounds" as they are sometimes called, are

found at several places in Cornwall, the best known,and one of the best preserved, being at St. Just,nearPenwith. Edwin Norris, in "The Ancient CornishDrama," describes the structure as follows: "Itwas an exact circle of 126 feet diameter; the perpen-icular

height of the bank, from the area within,now seven feet; but the height from the bottom ofthe ditch without, ten feet at present, formerly more.The seats consist of six steps, fourteen inches wideand one foot high, with one on the top of all,wherethe rampart is about seven feet wide. . . . Thebenches are of stone." Of the methods of produc-ion

and the settings,when the Miracle Plays werebrought to the "rounds," there is no authentic evi-ence.

It was not a far jump from the pageant-car to the


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Contemporary sketch of an Elizabethan theatre. This is a roughdiagram of the Swan Theatre in London, and was made by aDutch scholar, probably from second-hand evidence. It illus-rates,

nevertheless, the typicalform of the playhouse in Shake-peare'stime.


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THE MEDIEVAL RELIGIOUS 59

period of Shakespearian "first nights" is uncertain.But before the great poet-dramatist's death, nodoubt, the typical playhouse had most of the char-cteristi

of the indoor stage of to-day, and verylittle of the airiness and freedom and openness thattheretofore had persisted from the time of theGreeks. Already everything pointed indoors "and with Shakespeare's death the breath of the out-of-doors went out of English drama.

Among the open-air theatres of to-day there isno. survival of the Elizabethan or Renaissance play-ouse.

The modern drama and the modern audi-ncedemand either four close walls carefullyroofed

over, so that no nuance of meaning and no subtlefacial expression may be lost, or else all out-of-doors

"and there is no place for the intermediate type.

But of the Mystery or Miracle theatre there is onevery close parallel, and a very notable one: theOber-Ammergau Passion Play Theatre.

Most of the writers about the Ober-AmmergauPassion Play insist that it is not a survival of themediaeval religious drama, but a separate growth;and it is well-known that the current series of pro-uctions

goes back only to 1633, when the peopleof the village,for deliverance from a plague, vowedto present the Passion of Jesus every tenth year.Others, however, claim to have found evidence of


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earlier dramatic activityof this sort. The pointneed not be debated. But one who has studied themediaeval stage need only see the Ober-Ammergautheatre to be convinced that, whether it is survivalor reversion, it is unmistakably of the Miracle Playtype. The existence of the several "localities" isthe most strikingof the characteristic features. Forhere on one side of the stage are Annas' palace anda street in Jerusalem, and on the other side a streetand Pilate's house, while in the centre is the cur-ained

proscenium arch behind which the tableausare presented. The general form of the stage, too,raised a few feet above the ground, and with thecurved architectural background, is remarkably likethat of the typicalmediaeval stage.

It is not necessary to describe the play here. Itsfame has already gone out to every corner of theworld. But it is worth while to consider the rela-ion

between the play and the outdoor setting. Onewonders whether this drama that is so simple andso spiritual,nd that is such a spontaneous expres-ion

of the religiousfaith of the people, could beadequately given on a roofed-in stage. The wholespirit of it is so much the spirit of the open-air,and the sky overhead and the mountains in the back-round

are so much a part of the atmosphere of theaction, that any other setting would be not only


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THE STAGE OF THE PASSION PLAY THEATRE AT OBER-AMMERGAU.


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THE MEDIEVAL RELIGIOUS 61

unnatural, but actuallydestructive to the entire effec-ivenessof the play. The spiritof reverence that

suffuses the whole production, the unaffected earnest-essof the villagers,the solemn sense of religious

worship " all these would be lost if the stage weretaken indoors in the modern fashion. Unthinkingvisitors to Ober-Ammergau, complaining that itrained during the performance and that there wasno shelter, as if the play were designed primarilyfor them " brought about the roofing of the audi-orium

for the performance of 1900. It compelsone to realize how utterlythe contemporary theatremakes the outward pleasing of the audience its firstand dominating concern. The drama that existsfor art or religionor the other great moving forcesof life survives only in such simple, spontaneousproductions as this one in an out-of-the-way moun-ainvillage. And even here a partial concessionwas made, in the covering of the seats " although itis to be hoped that the villagerswill always clingtotheir open stage.

The theatre at Ober-Ammergau is comparativelylarge, being 250 feet long by 140 feet wide; thetotal seating capacity is about 4500, and the benchesare of wood. The extreme stage depth is sixtyfeet. At the ends of the stage are the two

"palaces,"and next to these the streets of Jerusalem;


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and in the centre is the curtained inner stage wherethe tableaus are presented. The realistic paintedback-drops used in these tableaus form the one mod-rn

note in the staging.Of the other modern Passion Plays none is so

notable as that at Ober-Ammergau, as regards eitherthe production or the theatre. The most importantones are found in the villages of Southern Germanyand the Tyrol. That given at a village near Inns-ruck

is said to be a worthy rival of the Ober-Ammergau production, and is quite as old. ThePassion Play at Selzach, in Switzerland, is a modernimitation, and is not yet characterized by the sim-licity

and reverence which tradition has impartedto the Ober-Ammergau villagers.

One might go farther afield and find parallelstothe mediaeval religious drama in the devotional fes-ivalsof other Christian countries, and especiallyinthe nativity plays that are acted here and therethroughout the Western world. In non-Christiancountries, too, there are processionals and dramaticepisodes that are strangely like those of the old andmodern Christian church. The religiousdrama ofThibet, and the ceremonial drama of Japan aretypical examples. But although most of these activ-ties

find their natural setting out-of-doors, there islittle to record about open-air theatres built for


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CHAPTER V

THE NATURE THEATRE

OF all the types of open-air theatre, thenature theatre is the one that has themaximum of openness and natural beauty.

It is the closest to the heart of the out-of-doors, andin it Nature brings her loveliness most effectivelyto the aid of art.

Unlike the Greek and Roman theatres, the na-uretheatre has no masonry bowl or architectural

stage. Unlike the garden theatre, it has no per-olas,or clipped hedge "wings" or walled stage

platform. While it usually is shaped to semblanceof theatre form, with cleared stage and rising audi-orium,

man's manipulation still is disguised as faras possible. Nature is trained subtly and incon-picuously

to the uses of dramatic art. The usualbackground is one of trees and shrubs, though someof the most inspiring nature stages have vistas ofmountain, sea and valley; and sometimes rivers,brooks and lakes actually form part of the stageequipment.

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THE NATURE THEATRE 65Of the European nature theatres the one that is

most important in dramatic achievement, and one ofthe most interestingstructurally,s the Harz Moun-ain

Theatre (Das Harzer Bergthea

the open-air theatre 1000181148

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