Theatre Design & Technology - Oct 1969 - 10

Geddes clearly felt that he had successfully
proven the several aspects of his production
theories. His elaborate and thoroughly
planned prompt scripts had enabled him to
transfer his visualized conception of the play
to the actual production, even under a handicap of language. In addition, his concept of
the unification of design in staging, action,
lighting, and costume had been entirely
justified by the response of the critics.
Finally, he had been recognized as a vital
force in the theatre. The fact that the play
was condemned while his work was praised
only served to enforce his belief in the
primacy of the physical aspects of theatrical
production. Confirmed in his theories,
Geddes was now prepared to promote the
theatrical reform in the United States that
was a basic part of his production philosophy.

13. File No. AE-69, unpaginated, Bel Geddes Collection; see also Geddes, Miracfe in the Evening,
p.333.
14. Le Gallienne, "Footlights," 85.
15. Geddes, Miracle in the Evening, p. 335_
16. Le Gallienne, "Footlights," 85.
17. Letter of Eva Le Gallienne to George E. Bogusch,
postmarked December 30, 1967, in my files.
18. Lucien Dubech, review in I' Action Francaise
June 18, 1925, file No. DR-21, g.-< Bei
Geddes Collection; translation by George E
Bogusch.

19. Robert Benchley, review rn life, July 23,1925,
file No. DR-21, g.-4, 8el Geddes Collection.

21. File No. DR-21, g.-4, 8el Geddes Collectron.
22. The same. The comment about the economy derived from the elimination of stagehands was one
of Geddes' favorite arguments when the cost
of one of his productions was questioned.
23. Letter from The Drsplay Stage Lighting Company
of New York, dated March 16, 1925, in File
No. DR-2 1, g.-4, Bel Geddes Collection.
24. Elementary Lecture V, "Visualizing the Lighting,"
November 26, 1927, file No. 5C-4, k.-14, 8el
Geddes Collection.
25. Letter from The Display 5tage Lighting Company;
File No. DR-21, g.-4, Bel Geddes Collection.
26. File No. DR-21, c.-1 through c.-6, Bel Geddes
Collection.

20. File No. AE-69, Bel Geddes COllection; see also
Geddes, Miracle in the Evening, p. 337.

Figure 9: Photograph of Geddes' model of
setting for JEANNE D'ARC
FOOTNOTES
1. The Mother of Christ was never produced,
though Geddes created a setting for it; a play
called Arabesque was later substituted for it.
As in the case of the majority oi the plays that
Geddes designed or produced, many artifacts relating to Jeanne d'Arc are preserved in the
Norman Bel Geddes Collection of the Hoblitzelle
Mell'lorial Theatre Arts library of the University
of Texas at Austin, hereafter referred to as the
Bell Geddes Collection. These artifacts include
colored drawings, sketches, plans, elevations,
prompt scripts, photographs, copies of the publicity and the reviews, action charts, diagrams,
property designs, and the score and recordings
of the incidental music.
2. Norman Bel Geddes, A Project for a Theatrical
Representation of The Divine Comedy of Dante
Alighieri (New York, 1924), p. 17.
3_ File No. DR-21, g.-l, p. 8, Bel Geddes Collection. In this first revision of the script. Geddes
accepts the voices of Jeanne's unseen heavenly
mentors as actual voices, but he is already beginning to conceive the idea of augmenting them
with the sound of distant tiny chimes, and with a
change in the special lighting onJeanne("Jeanne
d' Arc-At the end of the coronation scene, Jeanne
kneels down before the altar in this pillar of
light. Every time this column of light was on
you could see the whole set illuminated with itit reflected 15 feet. It reflected irom the floor.
When Jeanne began to lose her confidence, this
light would waver." From Elementary Lecture V,
"Visualizing the Lighting," November 26, 1927,
file No. 5C-4, k.-14, Bel Geddes Collection).
Later Geddes was to eliminate the voices altogether; see File No. DR-21, g.-2, Part I, p. 2,
8el Geddes Collection.
4. File No. DR-2 1, g.-2, unpaginated insert, action
action unit 3.0, Bel Geddes Collection_
5. Geddes, "Rhvthm in the Theatre," file No.5C-4,
k.-6, Bel Geddes Collection.
6. Elementary Lecture V, "Visualizing the Lighting,"
November 26, 1927, file No. SC-4, k.-14, Bel
Geddes Collection. For the
scene, see file No. DR-21, g-2, f'art II, p. 26,
Bel Geddes Collection.
7. File No. DR-2 1, g_-4 unpaginated, Bel Geddes
Collection.
8. Eva Le Gallienne, "Footlights," The Pictorial
Review (February, 1934), 83, file No_ DR-21,
i.-1, Bel Geddes Collection.
9. Geddes, manuscript of autobiography, p. 64-2,
file No. AE-69, Bel Geddes Collection.
10. Le Gallienne, "Footlights," 83.
11

The same.

12. Norman Bel Geddes, Miracle in the Evening
(New York, 1960), p. 333.

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