sistent instruc-
"GIVE IT MORE FEELING!" Lewin Goff, director of the University Theatre and associate professor of speech and drama, emphasizes a point for Ruth Dodrill.
"HERE'S WHERE YOU COME IN." Director Goff runs through the script with Judi Heinrichs (center) and Wanda Lathan. Goff has recently been added to the theater staff and "Picnic" marks his first University production.
WOMAN'S WORK IS NEVER DONE (below, left)—Marjorie Smith, clothing designer, works on one of the costumes in "Picnic." Unlike "period" plays in which costumes of an early period must be duplicated, "Picnic" is a modern play requiring a minimum of specially designed clothing.
BRUSHING UP SOME ROUGH SPOTS (below, right) —Goff shows Becky Breese (far right), Wanda Lathom, Judi Heinrichs, and Don Johnston (far left) their places on the stage.
CONSTRUCTING STAGE PROPS, Kenneth Plumb, assistant to Milton Howarth, stagecraft designer, employs a power saw in the construction of a scenery support. All the construction work for the play is done in the basement of the old journalism building where complete facilities are available for all types of woodworking and painting operations.
Backstage "Picnic"
Pictured are but a few of the hundreds of things that must be done behind the scenes before a play opens. Rehearsal after rehearsal must be staged in order to acquire the professional presentation which looks so natural to the audience. In addition, props and sets must be constructed, clothing designed and fitted and finishing touches put on a few rough spots.
Photos by Gordon Hudelson
What the audience sees as an hour and a half of continuous action takes weeks of concentrated effort on the part of dozens of people; from prop men and set designers, electricians and carpenters, to the actors and their helpers. The director must guide these operations from the beginning, giving advice, instructing, criticizing, and inspiring the people who will lose their identity in a script before the glare of the footlights.