THEATRE EVOLUTION

Sun (Auckland), Volume III, Issue 852, 21 December 1929, Page 15 (Supplement)

THEATRE EVOLUTION

The atmospheric theatre offers the theatre proprietors additional facilities to produce their shows to the best advantage. Careful attention to detail and perfect consistency in style is absolutely necessary to make an atmospheric theatre successful. The drastic deviation from what is common in the average theatre design and the compulsory necessity of creating reproductions ana illusions, necessitate the creation of an architectural organisation, which will accept responsibility lying somewhat on the outside of the strictly architectural sphere of our activities. In our case we have "found it necessary, to befriend sculptors, painters, colour artists, students of history, astronomers, and foreign people's customs. This association has been found most efficient in the creation of our special theatres. Serving owners as a group and working shoulder to shoulder, with the deep-felt understanding of the great problem which we must solve, we have developed a following of excellent talent. My own early training in the art schools of Munich and Paris, and Italy, and my travels in the old countries, make this work enjoyable to me. I want to go back to one of the most important of the architect’s problems —serving theatre owners as a specialist. A theatre architect must have the ability to present a feasible plan, showing maximum capacity, dependable sight lines and accoustics, and proper facilities for quickly seating and dismissing audiences. He must be thoroughly familiar with the engin eering problems of a dependable atmospheric conditioning, the apparatus which must provide the proper air conditioning of an auditorium. The atmospheric theatre —herein lies perhaps the greatest opportunity for service to the public and to the industry that is open to the architect,, and it appears to be a service that can be best rendered by courageously and intelligently deviating from the stereotype style of the American theatres. With the success of our first atmospheric theatre assured by virtue of ite favourable reception and its provision of lasting interest, we are fully convinced that what the public wants is something ‘‘different.” This something "different” mat be artistic antii colourful; it must have texture and. Punch. Specialised Work. We are now dwelling on the art of conceiving and executing designs

representing the restoration of classic, well-defined, characteristic buildings which are designed to form the interior of a theatre. These buildings are circumposed by Nature’s outdoor setting reproduced in near perfect illusion. The restoration of old buildings and gardens is specialised work; in most of these Instances the standard knowledge and experience of an architectural organisation must be represented by a group of artists and students whose efforts with reference to the art of decoration, furnishing and lighting, must be absorbed by the architect assuming responsibility for such a design. An atmospheric theatre based on Nature’s school of colour-harmony is Art which is felt by everybody. This new form of theatre caters for all tastes; it capitalises the well-known fact that buildings are living things, possessing individual character and expression: their personality is as varied as that of humans. They utter a voiceless message which is clear to us who would listen and endeavour to understand. Colour — lots of colour —and lots of certain colour —gives interest and spells life. The dissimilarity so often used by us in the design of a theatre auditorium, and the lack of symmetry between side walls, adds in our estimation to the intimacy of the engaging qualities of our atmospheric theatre interiors. The many interesting details introduced to imitate in an artful way the flora and fauna of the tropical outdoor, used as a background for our ancient structures, add the elements of interest and life. To work out the artistic details of such an auditorium and to synchronise them with the very necessary practial demands for a modern theatre auditorium, occupy time, and this time is spent with great satisfaction.

My own efforts, and the co-opera-tion of my associates, are centred on the hope that the good work of our organisation may be continued and carried on, and I am most grateful to have the services of Mr. Leighton, a highly qualified young architect, to manage our offices in New Zealand. He is backed by a very marked degree of talent In design and history, strengthened by his earnest studies and application to duties. I cannot help but repeal; that today a motion picture theatre, more than any other building, requires sensational features; it must have modern features; it must be something never before; and it is for that reason our thoughts were directed toward an artistic effort to create something new by adopting the atmospheric reproduction style for the Civic Theatre auditorium, fully appreciating that the best of our public is always looking for something new, and in order to play safe we chose Nature for the mirror

of our activities in our efforts to impress. The new wonderful Civic Theatre is decorated so that the decoration is seen in the dark and felt in the dark; colour and a combination of colours; the playing of light, and shadows from textures; shapes and silhouettes must be blended into a plan which will not only give effect, but also have an atmosphere and impressiveness in keep-

ing with the modern taste and development. While we can impress the public with mass grandeur of proportion in office buildings and hotel designs, we are called upon—as theatre architects —to design large buildings with enormous auditoriums giving the feeling of restful intimacy, and the atmospheric theatre which the public has seen growing into being during the last few months will do this.