American Federation of Arts

This 1962 exhibition paired a stage designer with an architect to visualize a concept for an "ideal theater" (a physical space) by producing a model and a plan. Stage designers familiar to me include David Hays, George C. Izenour, Jo Mielziner and Donald Oenslager. Peter Larkin supervised the exhibition, and Arthur Miller and Pietro Belluschi (modernist architect) comment on the ideas behind the project. Most are thrust or other flexible stages; many of the exteriors Bauhaus or Le Corbusier-based. It's interesting to see what's provided for--elevators, tracks, scene shops, fly lofts, follow spot booths--or not. One theatre has a supper club and a cocktail lounge. None of them have enough toilets.… (más)