Choice Review

This is a rare survey into the history and development of the art and practice of western theatrical
set design. The three authors have assembled the research of numerous historians and theater
practitioners and over 450 black and white and color images to vividly illustrate the diversely
rich scenic design and painting traditions from ancient Greece to the twenty-first century. The
authors share forgotten techniques and materials, innovations in perspective-based representation
paradigmatic transitions in aesthetic philosophy and social conventions that affect theatrical
presentation. The extensive bibliography is in itself a treasure of research sources. The book is
not without its drawbacks the chief being that in covering such an extensive and diverse subject
there is only limited space to discuss each era and some may find their favorite period or
designer receives short shrift. However the stunning text is accessible and informative to both
seasoned professionals and general audiences. Principle investigator, Oscar Brockett, is the
author of numerous theatre histories and textbooks (History of the Theatre, Perspectives on
Contemporary Theatre, and A Century of Innovation, Englewood Cliffs, NJ Prentice Hall) all of
which are considered standards in theatre education.
Theater Topics Review

Making the Scene is a rare survey into the history and development of the art and practice of
western theatrical set design. The three authors have assembled the research of numerous
historians and theater practitioners and over 450 black and white and color images to vividly
illustrate the diversely rich scenic design and painting traditions from ancient Greece to the
twenty-first century. The authors share forgotten techniques and materials, innovations in
perspective-based representation paradigmatic transitions in aesthetic philosophy and social
conventions that affect theatrical presentation. The extensive bibliography is in itself a treasure
of research sources.

The book is not without its drawbacks the chief being that in covering such an extensive and
diverse subject there is only limited space to discuss each era and some may find their favorite
period or designer receives short shrift. To be fair a text as all encompassing would be many
volumes in length and prohibitively expensive for many libraries and individuals to purchase. As
of this writing new copies are available from Amazon for $71.58 which is a good price
considering how expensive most textbooks have become.

However the stunning text is accessible and informative to both seasoned professionals and
general audiences.

Principle investigator, Oscar Brockett, is the author of numerous theatre histories and textbooks
including History of the Theatre, World Drama, Perspectives on Contemporary Theatre, A
Century of Innovation, and The Essential Theatre all of which are standards in all of which are
considered standards in theatre education.

Margaret Mitchell is a practicing scenic and costume designer and Professor of Theatre Arts at
the University of the Incarnate Word in San Antonio, Texas.

Linda Hardberger is the founding curator of the Tobin Collection of Theatre Arts at the Marion
Koogler McNay Art Museum in San Antonio, Texas.

Greek and Roman Chapters offer

No mention of action design & vychodil
Scenic Metaphor
Inigo Jones barely mentioned
Affect of University training is not discussed too much (check on this?)
Theory vs. practice
21st century divergences only discusses American theater
Postmodernism
English playhouse seems to get shortest shrift possible because the playhouse architecture is the
major scenic element.
Philosophically y while he credit the new media it doesn’t take into account that the advances in
videography will help to insure that the scenery that is developed has a better chance of being
recorded so not just the rare rendering or model is the only evidence we go on
Other books
Century of Innovation Brocket & Hildy (Englewood cliffs, NJ Prentice Hall 1991
History of Theater Brocket & Hildy

Some good points

Audiences see more drama in a week than they used to see in a life time.
Each character is accompanied by a section on the cultural world of the audiences to help
position the designer in their world in which they are designing.
The chapter on Movie theater architecture seems to be tacked on and not well integrated into the
Most theater history texts privilege the work of the playwright
From the moment humans began recording theater history it has been the word that survived the
ravages of time better than actors, designers and ???? It is only now in the beginnings of the 20th
century that first photography and then motion pictures began to record the actors and actual
theatrical events. Now in the 21st Century modern videography has begun to allow the design as
part of a holistic element of a production
??? Illustrations ??? B&W, ??? color and over 400 bibliographic sources.

Ten chapters and epilogue

1. Scenic Design in Ancient Greek and Roman Theaters
2. Medieval Scenic Design
3. The Italian Renaissance
4. Design in France and the Holy Roman Empire from 1640 to the Early Eighteenth Century
5. The Influence of Scena per Angelo on Eighteenth-Century Design
6. Neoclassicism and Romanticism—A Rivalry of Opposites
7. Realism and Naturalism
8. Modernism
9. American New Stagecraft, Russian New Constructivism, Epic Theatre, and the Bauhaus
10. Post-World War II and the Late twentieth Century
Epilogue Looking Toward the Twenty-First Century

Theatrical scene design is one of the most beautiful, varied, and lively art forms. Yet there are
relatively few books on the subject, and almost none for a general audience that combine
expansive scholarship with lavish design. Making the Scene offers an unprecedented survey of
the evolving context, theory, and practice of scene design from ancient Greek times to the
present, coauthored by the world's best-known authority on the subject and enhanced by three
hundred full-color illustrations.

Individual chapters of the book focus on Greece, Rome, Medieval Europe (including liturgical
drama, street pageants, festival outdoor drama, Spanish religious drama, and royal entries), the
Italian Renaissance, eighteenth-century Europe, Classicism to Romanticism, Realism and
Naturalism, Modernism, and contemporary scene design. Making the Scene's authors review
everything from the effects of social status on theatre design to the sea changes between
Classicism, Romanticism, and Naturalism and the influence of perspective-based thought.
Particularly intriguing is their rediscovery of lost tricks and techniques, from the classical deus
ex machina and special effects in coliseums to medieval roving stage wagons and the floating
ships of the Renaissance to the computerized practices of today's theatres. Such ingenious
techniques, interwoven with the sweeping beauty of scene design through the ages, combine with
the keen scholarship of Oscar Brockett and Margaret Mitchell to create a book as involving as
the art it showcases.

Making the Scene offers an unprecedented survey of the evolving context, theory, and practice of
scene design from ancient Greek times to the present, coauthored by the world's best-known
authority on the subject and enhanced by three hundred full-color illustrations. See more.

There is certainly some large holes in what I previewed not so much for an information basis but
from a lack of point of view and summary.  Current generation of scholars criticize Brockett
because he does not give a contextual sense of history but makes it discernible on issues of fact
and artifact.  I assume that is considered "old school."   I am most interested in his discussion of
the 19th century and of course, the first two decades of the Twentieth.

I have mixed feelings. I think it is good that the authors brought together and condensed many
individual researchers work in numerous books into one volume. I suppose that anyone who
rights such an encompassing history can't effectively deal with everything but I did feel that
some things got short shrift. Inigo Jones is barely mentioned and there are a few others I thought
were overlooked. The last chapters tend to be about US & British design and ignore the other
Western countries. The greek and Roman Chapters don't seem to add anything new. I suppose
that everyone who reads it may feel that the authors gave short shrift to their research areas.

How well do you think they handled the painters? I couldn't figure out what the section on movie
theater architecture design was doing. It didn't really seem to integrate into the rest of the book.

I'm not sure if the illustrations were all from Tobin or if there were other sources.
That would save them quite a lot as paying royalties on all the images would be astronomical.

There seems to be no methodology to the book.

I would think that they could have easily discussed the paradigm of representation vs
presentational theater. Production design isn't discussed as the philosophic manifestation of the
various isms.
There was no mention of Action Design as one trend in contemporary theater.