Theatre Design & Technology - May 1973 - 37

Work on the Tula theatre project, begun in 1960 and
completed when the theatre was turned into a reality in
1970, required the solution of a series of theoretical and
practical problems. First of all, it was necessary for the
architects of the project,1 to convince themselves of the
indispensibility of the construction of a dramatic theatre
with a universal stage, i.e. a theatre in which it would be
possible to stage dramatic productions using varying forms
of stage space. Here, I purposely use the term universal
theatre and not transforming, wishing to emphasize by
this term that the transformation of theatrical space can
never be a goal in itself, but is only a means of accomplishing the basic goal - which is to give the director the
maximal opportunity to communicate his intention. We
set ourselves the task of building not a multi-purpose theatre, predisposed for productions of various genres, but a
universal theatre of drama, since world-wide and national
experience convinces us that dramatic production today
possesses the greatest dynamism of theatrical form.
The construction in Tula of a dramatic theatre with a
universal stage developed from an analysis of the practice
of staging productions by theatres in our country, from a
study of the numerous materials derived from international and national conferences, and from symposia and
conferences of architects, scenographers and stage technicians. Significant interest in this material was generated
as a result of a symposium through correspondence with
leading American theatrical specialists on the theme "the
transforming theatre" which was carried out by the American Journal Progressive Architecture in 1962. This journal
described the attitude of leading theatrical specialists in the
United States toward the problem of building universal
theatres. Our analysis allowed us to draw specific conclusions about the expediency of the construction of universal theatres for those theatrical collectives, whose artistic
and producing principles are not bound solely by adherence to the traditional (deep) scene or any other single
space. It is necessary only to choose more rational forms
of stage action in order to combine them in a single space,
and also to find the simplest means of combining them.
The possibility and the necessity of the design of such a
theatre for the city of Tula developed from the readiness of
the theatrical collective to make use of the possibilities
presented by it. But for the solution of this practical problem, it was necessary to solve a purely theoretical problem: to find the form of the universal stage space which
would correspond most to the needs of contemporary
Russian scenography and to consider at the same time, the
economic factors of possible geometric combination of
various forms of theatre space in a common space. 2 For
the evaluation of the basic - scenographic - forms of the
stage and auditorium from the standpoint of the possibility of their geometric combination there arose the
necessity of finding common characteristics in the construction of the stage-auditorium complex with a prosceniu m stage, an open EI izabethan stage and a stage-arena,

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THEATRE DESIGN AND TECHNOLOGY

which it would be possible to use as a basis of their
combination.
A unified spatial conception included, as the analysis
showed, the relationship of the acting area and the criteria, common to all three forms of the stage, used in
defining the borders of the auditorium, which arise from
the perception of the action by the spectator on a previously defined part of the stage. In this regard it is supposed that the acting area, remaining unchanged in terms
of its square footage will change its shape depending on
the form of the stage action; from a circle, with spectators
placed around it, to a flattened oval with frontal viewing
of the stage action (Fig. 1). The dimensions of an auditorium are defined, as it is known, by the maximum allowable distance of spectators from the center of the acting
area and by the order of their location with reference to
the action on the stage. Comparisons of the more traditional forms of theatrical space with curved ones (newer
forms) producing an equal articulation of sound, according to Knudsen, showed the decisive influence of reception of sound in the depth of the auditorium only in
theatres with a stage-arena. The depth of auditoriums with
open and proscenium stages is limited by the ability of
the human eye (Fig. 2).

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Figure 1.

MAY, 1973

Modification of the Acting Area.
Top: Arena Stage. Center: Open Stage.
Bottom: Deep Stage.

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