Evaluation of Internet Resources
Used in Teaching and Research
American Society for Theatre Research
Review of The Development of Scenic Spectacle Website
Name of Site: The Development of Scenic Spectacle
Date of review: February 20, 2002
Name of reviewer: Thomas A. Pallen, Ph.D.
URL of website: http://www1.appstate.edu/orgs/spectacle/
Author: Dr. Frank Mohler, Appalachian State University
I can still remember when Dr. Frank Mohler would show up at South Eastern Theatre Association conferences burdened with wooden boxes that opened to reveal meticulously crafted scale models of everything from particular special effects culled from Sabbattini to entire Renaissance theatres with numerous moving parts.Some years ago, Dr. Mohler stopped lugging and started computing.The results can be appreciated at his “Development of Scenic Spectacle” website.
This simple yet beneficial site offers scholars two essential links. “Catalog of Theatrical Machinery Drawings” is just what its title says: a comprehensive listing of original manuscripts and the published works that reproduce some of them. Linked access is by library or archive name, then by individual manuscripts, and most entries include links to helpful annotations. The “Selected Bibliography” page, on the other hand, lists 30 secondary sources in a variety of languages, all based on interpretations of the original manuscripts.
The didactic excitement begins at the “Animations” link, which leads to a number of pages dedicated to computerized reconstructions of selected scenic effects from the Renaissance to the 18th century. Let’s look at just one of these sections: “Sea Machines.” In addition to instructive commentary, this page includes pictures of four authentic, historical approaches to turning a stage into a sea without incurring a water bill. Clicking a picture or the caption below it opens an animation file that plays on your desktop. While you cannot download either the static pictures or the animations to your computer, you can easily create links to them on your desktop or in your browser’s “favorites” menu. All of the links work perfectly, but see the note below about Quick-Time software.
Some introductory, descriptive text appears on each of the main pages, which include “Computer Modeling as a Tool for the Reconstruction of Historic Theatrical Production Techniques” (do not miss the animations from the Palatina Ms. Located here), “Periaktoi,” “Eighteenth Century Mechanized Flat Wing Scene Changes,” and several “Special Effects” pages. On the first of these, a link to an article published in Theatre Journal only leads to a password-protected access page. This link should probably be removed.
The site contains only one “in progress” section, which promises a Database of 16th and 17th Century Theatrical Machinery” that I hope will become a reality someday.
Finally, there is a link to a closely related site, “The Court Theatre at Cesky Krumlov”, offering animations and text about this historic theatre, which Dr. Mohler visited and documented in 1999.
I have used this site in conjunction with theatre history classes as a study assignment, as extra credit, and in classroom demonstrations. Dr. Mohler’s comments never need corrections and his animations are priceless. Anyone who has struggled to visualize or describe periaktoi scene changes or the roar of a Renaissance thunder machine need struggle no longer thanks to this site.
Important note: in order to view the animations available through this site, a program called “QuickTime” must be installed on your computer, including the browser plug-in. Mohler’s opening animations page includes a link that makes downloading “QuickTime” easy and the software is free.
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