Stage Directions: The Backstage Heritage Collection has launched, with a mission to chart the history of stage lighting and other backstage technologies. They will comprehensively documenting vintage equipment on-line, gathering together high quality present-day images with original design, promotion and marketing materials and remembrances from those who originally created and used the products in order to create a virtual museum; and, where possible, they hope to preserve equipment by finding people able and willing to give it a safe, accessible home.
6 comments:
Seems like a interest idea, I mean I am a fan of history and to use that knowledge of where we have come from to where we are going. So actually making an online library to share this information is really a cool thing. I found it interesting when they talked about people stopping and admiring the old equipment. We all have made connections with our first tool, book, stuffed animal, lighting console, or ….
I do find it interesting that all the equipment will be stored in other people’s warehouse and space. That is kool and I hope that continues to work out well, but I know here at CMU we are strapped for space. Just having equipment to store and sit somewhere seems like a lot to ask, but hopefully it will work out.
This seems to be the start of really amazing effort. I can only hope that they will eventually expand this Heritage Collection to include other disciplines as well. Currently the focus seems to be more heavily focused on lighting technology. I think that making an effort to catalog/document the history of Stagecraft would be equally if not more valuable. Creating this as an online catalog available to all certainly is amazing in regardless to accessibility, however it would be nice if someday there was a central museum created. Like Adam points out, not a lot of universities, including ours, or companies have a ton of extra space to display these items. That being said, I think it would be pretty incredible to add a display case to the lobby that is dedicated to this effort.
I think this is a wonderfully neat idea. Seeing how much our industry has grown over the years and just how fast technology is changing the next generation may not get to experience the source 4 ellipsoidal with gels in it with the way LED lights are making a big strive. I have high hopes they expand this effort to the other discipline in theater but it is a very empty hope because space is limited in the theater world and their is just so much to cover. As an industry we continue to grow and borrow from other industries each day it's just the nature of what we do.
Along with the fact that this will be online brings me such pleasure because this is the kind of thing 15 year old me was hungry to find when I just discovered my interest in wanting to do backstage theater for the rest of my life and wanted to know how everything got started.
I think this is a great idea. So much of backstage history finds its way to us through the older members of our community , and preserving it all in a more linear and permanent way will do wonders for its accessibility. While we do spend some time learning about backstage history in class, I do hope that in the future it will become a greater part of the curriculum, perhaps in the way that general theater history is apart of foundations. Much like someone who commented earlier, I believe it is always good to know where you come from, so that you can have a clear picture of where you're going.
This is a really unique idea. I am glad there are enough people out there with the appreciation for technical that will take their time to do this. I wish that I could go and see it in person, but i am glad that they have created an online catalog that will be open to all. As someone interested in lighting design I have a high respect for all of the fixtures that hey were able to encompass in the collection. I think that a lot of schools can greatly benefit from this as well as many already established techies. You can never learn too much tech.
It is such a great idea to document the technology we used to have as we move into more and more advanced equipment and methods. I think it may be very interesting to look at some of these things and remember why we do things the way we do. That may, in turn, influence the way we develop new technology down the road.
I will definitely check this out.
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