Theatre Design & Technology - Fall 2008 - 55

the Set-Spectrum project background
New approaches to theatre education and research have already
been established through the global use of digital technologies
of communication. These include new modes of knowledge
visualization through employing 3D modelling. This method
shifts traditional modes of information delivery towards a more
visually-enhanced experience. One might define performance
reconstruction as the process of reviving various acting, performing, and even directing activities. Some scholars justify the
need to re-create performances by calling it a lively approach
to theatre research (Sarlos 1989, 200). It could be disputed,
however, that the term reconstruction here could also mean
interpretation or a new subjective vision of these past actions.
Undoubtedly, it is not always possible to know precisely how a
theatrical piece was first created and staged. Furthermore, it
is similarly impossible to re-create exactly the audience's response to it, which was influenced by prevailing contemporary
cultural, political, and societal values. Every performance is a
creative process, which is influenced by the numerous factors
determined by the time and place of staging, including the element of improvisation. This implies that no performance could
be exactly the same every time it is staged or performed.
The recreation of scenographic artifacts differs from performance reconstruction in that the exact replica of the past set
designs is often possible (if analogue materials are available)
and sometimes crucial for scholarly analysis. In this case, the
bridging between the past and the future, although not entirely
objective, is as close to the original as a performance reconstruction can never be. 3D visualizations, if used together with
analogue materials and explanatory textual information, can
only enhance the quality of scholars' understanding.

project overview
New media technologies have already proved themselves very
efficient in improving the understanding of communicative
qualities of set design-e.g., form, line, color. Thus, the SetSPECTRUM project attempts to develop a novel conceptual
model to support the study and research of "lost" scenographic
artifacts. The effort was made to develop materials and activities specifically to arouse the aspirations of potential users to
learn about Norman Bel Geddes and his visionary set design for
Dante's The Divine Comedy. The Set-SPECTRUM project proposes an engaging approach to designing educational software
which was developed through longitudinal, cross-disciplinary
research. It aims to provide a long-term pedagogical impact
and satisfaction for potential user-groups and to develop their
visual and technical literacy and research skills. The Set-SPECTRUM project employs a new and useful vocabulary for interaction with artifacts and creativity-training, providing greater
knowledge of the use of new media technologies within the
classroom and the potential to explore difficult and sensitive
subjects. The project has been designed to bridge research
and creativity in a communicable and systematic manner, in
order to allow the identification of the next stages of promoting

theatre

design

technology

visually-enhanced learning. The Set-SPECTRUM is envisioned
ultimately as a source of knowledge, but also as a catalyst for
creating new educational and design applications and customizing the teaching curriculum in the field of theatre studies.
The main objectives of the Set-SPECTRUM project can
be defined as follows: (1) fostering scholars' awareness and
appreciation of Norman Bel Geddes and his theatrical presentation for The Divine Comedy in the evolution of the twentieth-century American theatre; (2) creating new pedagogical
models applicable to learning in the twenty-first century by promoting new ways of knowledge visualization in the curriculum;
(3) making appropriate use of information and communication technologies (ICT) in order to raise the levels of students'
achievements and contribute to the professional development
of teachers through innovative methods of knowledge presentation and delivery; and, eventually, (4) encouraging high-quality
self-assessment and enabling individuals to acquire lifelong
learning skills and techniques.
The Set-SPECTRUM project's content has been developed
specifically for educational activities in higher education institutions, research centers, as well as the study units of theatre
museums and galleries.

the Set-Spectrum Structure
The Set-SPECTRUM educational package consists of nine
sections: Introduction, About the Project, Norman Bel Geddes,
The Divine Comedy, 3D Reconstruction, Photo Gallery, Study Corner, Structure, and Contact.
The first two sections contain creative animations which
were designed to visually introduce the Set-SPECTRUM project
and its central component-The Divine Comedy set-model-
and also explain in brief the project's aims and objectives. The
video clip was made in Adobe Premier 6.5 and the finished presentation was saved in AVI format.
The next part provides a brief biographical sketch written by Norman Bel Geddes. The subsections here highlight the
progression of his creative career and contain some background
information on the early twentieth-century New Stagecraft movement in Europe and North America, placing Norman Bel Geddes
within the historical settings.
The section devoted to The Divine Comedy project analyzes the overall concept of this theatrical enterprise and some
background information is provided on the conception of this
exceptional modernist stage design. Furthermore, a number of
possible reasons are examined for why Bel Geddes' The Divine
Comedy has never been staged, followed by a discussion of how
a staging of the play on the intended set might have affected the
overall flow of the performance. Here, the first 3D computergenerated model of Bel Geddes' The Divine Comedy (fig. 5) is
introduced and an illustrated process of 3D reconstruction of the
set-model is outlined.
In the next part, the whole process of 3D digital reconstruction is presented as a video clip, giving viewers a sophisticated tool to observe this dynamic process in intricate detail

2008

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Theatre Design & Technology - Fall 2008