This blog post is the third in a series which proudly features Library Special Collections Flash Exhibits created by its 2017 Graduating Students.

Blog post by Sarah Banks (pictured), Library Special Collections Public Services Assistant, Class of 2017

SARAH: I am currently a fourth year undergraduate from UCLA majoring in Anthropology with a minor in Art History. I was introduced to the world of scenic design about a year and a half ago when I joined the HOOLIGAN Theatre Company, a completely student-run organization at UCLA open to students of all majors. I knew several people in the company (my roommates, friends, and colleagues) but I was hesitant to join because I neither sing, dance, nor act. I have always loved art, and in almost no time, I was one of the company’s scenic designers! For this exhibit, I wanted to combine the two passions I discovered during my time here at UCLA: scenic design and primary sources. The Edward Gordon Craig Papers (Collection 1006) was the perfect choice.

Edward Henry Gordon Craig (1872-1966) in 1889 and 1953, respectively.

Edward Henry Gordon Craig (1872-1966) was an English actor, director, scenic designer, and theorist noted for his modernist and symbolist approach to theatre design. Edward Craig (born Edward Godwin) was the illegitimate son of Shakespearian actress Dame Ellen Terry and architect William Godwin.

Craig began his career in theater in 1889 as an actor in the company of Sir Henry Irving at the Lyceum Theatre in London, before quitting the limelight to pursue stage design in 1895. Some of Craig’s most notable works include Acis and Galatea (1902), Henrik Ibsen’s The Vikings at Helgeland (1903), and Konstantin Stanislavski’s production of Hamlet at the Moscow Art Theatre (1911-12).

1896 sketch for Hamlet

Cardboard cut-out figures of King and Queen in Hamlet

As a pioneer of the 20^th century modernist movement in theatre design, Craig often utilized representational shapes, lighting, color and shadows in order to communicate a mood or atmosphere rather than a naturalistic representation of reality. This exhibit features materials and images from Edward Craig’s career as a scenic designer, and offers a behind-the-scenes look at the art of design.

Craig with set model, 1913

Above: Views from the workshop at Craig's School for the Art of Theatre

It was very exciting to be able to engage with all of the amazing sketches, photographs, and models contained in the Edwrd Gordon Craig Papers (Collection 1006) and to see how his processes of design mirror my own (even though I have had no formal training). I only wish I could put the whole collection on display!