Theatre Design & Technology - Fall 2012 - 18

twenty minutes I wish you to draw what you see, then bring it
down and put it on the apron of the stage, and we will look at
what you have drawn." So they bring down their work. There are
all these beautiful scene designer interpretations of what was
on the stage. I asked them what they learned from this? Then
there were a lot of answers that were theatrical baloney. "Well,"
I said, "I learned that you are either deaf or you don't understand
English. I didn't ask for an interpretation of what you saw on
stage, I asked you to draw what you saw specifically, and none of
you could see this from where you were seated." I was expecting
to see twenty different drawings. I got essentially one drawing-
what a scene designer would have done. I said, draw what you

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see, not an impression of what you see-there is a difference.
One of the things I knew was that you can get very
accustomed to the teacher that you are dealing with on a daily
basis. I wanted to be sure that they didn't get too accustomed to
me. Every so often I would bring in somebody else to teach part
of the course.
DL: So this teaching philosophy you refer to as "jack them up"
started very early in your teaching.
HB: It became clear to me that this idea of getting this thing from the
horse's mouth was really the key. Bring in some expert on this or that,
an allied art, and have them do that lecture. So I brought in some
famous people-the likes of Oliver Sacks, Julie Taymor, and Roy
Lichtenstein. This practice became a fundamental part of my teaching.
My syllabus was not written in stone.
It would change from week to week. I would
see where the students were on a daily basis,
and when I thought it needed to change, I'd
issue a new part of it. The "living syllabus"
became part of my teaching philosophy. It was
a guideline that was leading you through the
class. Wherever the students were, you needed
to tailor it to meet their needs at that minute.
This drove all the schools that I taught at nuts.
DL: You were quoted in an article I read as
saying, "Teaching is the greatest of all design
challenges; you are measured by the work of
your students." Have you measured up to the
work of your students?
HB: I got a great leg up. I am here to give
them the leg up they need to go past me.
That's the goal. Get the students past me.
DL: You are also politically active on some
issues. During your sessions at the USITT
conference in Long Beach you spoke about
the Energy Independence and Security Act
of 2007 and your campaign to save the
incandescent light bulb. What do you want
people to know about this legislation?
HB: Today, the energy codes are off the
charts. Lighting is no longer done by lighting
people, it's done by politicians. I want
people to learn the facts. And, I urge your
involvement to continue applying pressure on
our government to make the repeal [of the
legislation] a reality. You can send a letter to
express your disagreement that the CFL bulb
be mandated to replace the incandescent. It
is an infringement on our freedom to choose
how we illuminate our homes and our lives.
Please see my website, www.concerninglight.
com, for detailed information on my
campaign.
http://www.concerninglight
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