AN Outline of the Electrical Layout of the
Yale Theatre.

S. B. McCandless.
Instructor in Lighting.

A theatre, from the structural point of view, is a specially designed instrument for dramatic production. Intelligent planning of the building will allow for special features which help eliminate the tremendous physical limitations that are imposed on the use of light as dramatic medium. The inevitable compromise between the fixed structural features which specify today, and what we shall want tomorrow, can only be justified by the broad application of the principle of flexibility. Unencumbered space of ample proportions into which temporary structural features can be built, and portable equipment that can easily be replaced by later developments, are the elements of flexibility that are required in the theatre today. A university theatre is essentially a laboratory which is built to last for some time, and as such, it must be built for the future much more than the professional theatre, where experimentation and perpetuity are, of necessity, somewhat limited.

Like all buildings of its class, the Yale theatre has a well planned auditorium and a stage on the main floor. The stage from is somewhat deeper and higher than the average, and the auditorium is plain and unassuming, so that its architectural treatment will be in harmony with almost any style of production. The proscenium arch, is its simplicity, blends into the setting, or acts as definite picture frame, depending upon the production. In the basement, under the auditorium, as an aid to experimentation, there is a small stage and auditorium which can be used to try out plays and effects which are not ready for the larger stage. Here, due to the