Upon a little more exploration I was able to find out more about Claude Hagen. Robert Grau wrote about him in The Business Man in the Amusement World, even including a photo of him. Grau calls him the “greastest exponent of the technical side of the stage living at this time.” He discusses his life as well. Hagen was born in Chicago on January 21, 1863. He seemed to get his start (or at least became known about his mechanical ability) in Kansas City in the 1880’s. He was reported to work with Robert Cutler a machinist and technician. He built the Gillis Opera house and stayed as the Master Carpenter. This opera house was apparently just a few blocks away from the Grand Opera House that we visited when we were in grad school which had rigging materials that had survived.
Hagen left the Gillis Opera House to work on the Warder Grand Opera House. Dr. Felicia Harrison Londre in her book about Kansas City Theatre talks about Claude Hagen installing traps and mechanical devices in the space, allowing that it kept him “so busy that he could spare no time to build scenery for the opening.” (The Enchanted Years of the Stage: Kansas City at the Crossroads of American Theatre, 1870-1930)
Grau goes on to say that Hagen toured with combinations as “the foremost stage machinist of his time”, landing at the Fifth avenue Theatre in New York on 1898. He evidently opened up a studio to build scenery, patenting effects, and then in 1900 executed the effects for Ben Hur, and traveled with the show for several years. The stint of the Luna Theatres “Fighting of the Flames” was in 1903, followed by the New Theatre in 1908. The author then claims that the space within the book is too limited to describe the rest of Hagen’s career.
Grau, however, does work with Hagen once more in The Stage in the Twentieth Century: Third Volume, where Hagen describes the New Theatre stage and includes drawings. The book also, much later, mentions that Hagen’s rigging “inventions” are built and distributed by JR Clancy.
It is interesting how much cross over there is between film and theatre. While on one hand this should not be surprising, on the other, today they is not as much cross over as one would think. Yet, it seems novel today how much video is used onstage, and how movie like some shows attempt to be (Dirty Dancing for instance). While some of this influence is that some stage productions as of late are being created on the basis of successful films, it is interesting that the interest in moving scenery in a fluent, film like method has been around over the course of the last century, and really isn’t a very new idea at all.
It would seem from some of Hagen’s writing referred to above, and his chapter on “The Intimate Theatre Idea” published in Architecture and Building vol. XLV published in 1913 that his later career evolved into writing, as I have not found much else about his life after his tenure at the New Theatre. According to the 1940 census, he was living in New York at the Hotel Flanders and he was divorced.
Thursday, March 6, 2014
Wednesday, March 5, 2014
Claude Hagen, Technical Director
I came across a New York Times article published on February 11, 1910 that Claude Hagen has tendered his resignation for his position of Technical Director at the New Theatre. He left to establish a “fire show” which he is credited for inventing.
Looking a little further, I found that he was the IATSE International President in 1895-1896.
In the book The New Theatre New York (available for free on google play) lists Claude as the TD under Executive Staff. The book seems as though it was written as part of the founding of the theatre, describing their purpose to be a stock company. The book talks about the German influence, which is interested as some of the other research I have done suggests that the title of Technical Director may have been developed in Germany first. The stage was 100’ wide (between fly-galleries), 119’ to the grid and had a 32’ deep pit. The book credits Hagen for development of stage machinery for the theatre, including a turntable, “sinks” and “bridges”, as well as rigging improvements.
The Green Book Magazine Volume 6 in The Two Years of the New Theatre by Johnson Briscoe states that the opening ceremonies of the New Theatre was on November 6, 1909. Perhaps this is an indicated that the 1906 reference in the above book can be attributed to the start of the company.
Theatre in the United States: Volume 1 expands the description of the stage, saying that the machinery alone cost $250,000 and that it “revolves, moves backward and forwards, or transversely and up and down, as a whole or in parts. It also permits sections of the transverse stage to be dropped, and the rest of the sections to be opened so as to form sinks or cuts through which to lower whole sections.”
Play Production in America, as part of its section on scene shifting devices also mentions the theatre and Hagen, this time in reference to a rigging apparatus that allows ceiling pieces to be placed and moved in coordination with the turntable. This is mentioned in a brief article called Scene Shifting Devices on a website called Old and Sold.
The New York Architect, Volume 3 also discusses the New Theatre and its stage mechanisms.
JR Clancy has a PDF about their company and the history of rigging. John R Clancy started as a stagehand in Syracuse, NY. A show arrived in town, and the theatre’s current rigging system could not handle the shows requirements. Clancy set to work and changed the way that scenery was moved throughout the country. Clancy started to work with Claude Hagen, who is credited with being the TD at both the New Theatre and the Fifth Avenue Theatre. It implies that this relationship predates the New Theatre’s opening of 1906. The Iroquois Theatre Fire of 1903 moved the pair to start working on asbestos curtains and rigging for the curtain to be automatically released.
The American Architect {and} the Architectural Review Volume 122, Part 2 also mentions Hagen as developing a piece of rigging equipment that was able to automatically adjust the counterweight needed for a load (p455). His designs are further supported by patents (these are a few among many):
US1002839
US1045398
US653997
US1063970
The Kid of Coney Island: Fred Thompsan and the Rise of American Amusements also mentions Claude Hagen, crediting him for doing stage effects for a chariot race in Ben Hur, directing Fire and Flames in 1903 for Luna Park, and was connected to Thompson as he was hired to design a stage for the Hippodrome. This would have occurred concurrently to his work at the New Theatre as the Hippdrome opened in 1905.
A New York Times article from 1908 mentions that in Dreamland, Hagen has a “Fire Exhibition”, calling Hagen an owner or the Surf Avenue Fire Show.
Hagen’s work with Ben Hur Is referenced in an article called Filmed Scenery on the Live Stage by Gwendolyn Waltz. This actually referenced an earlier article that appeared within Scientific American that described the effect in detail. Steam at Harper's Ferry talks about the article as well (which I don't currently have access to, which describes the way the race scene was executed. Of not in the blog entry is that Hagen is reported to be from a firm called McDonald & Hagen.
Dr. Felicia Hardison Londre in The Enchanted Years of the Stage: Kansas City at the Crossroads of American Theatre, 1870-1930, also mentions Claude Hagen. Occurring in 1887, this predates the work mentioned above. In this case he was working on a tour (I assume he was traveling with the company) with Edwin Booth and Lawrence Barret. In the scenario mentioned Hagan was working with Augustus Thomas (playwright) when a stagehand let a flat fall during a strike. It isn’t clear from the entry what Hagen’s role was.
I also found a piece written by Claude Hagen, an introduction to The Theatre of Science: A volume of Progress and Achievement in the Motion Picture Industry by Robert Grau. What he wrote though does not elaborate on his own contributions to the entertainment industry.
While this is certainly not a complete history, it is an interesting introduction to an early American TD.
Looking a little further, I found that he was the IATSE International President in 1895-1896.
In the book The New Theatre New York (available for free on google play) lists Claude as the TD under Executive Staff. The book seems as though it was written as part of the founding of the theatre, describing their purpose to be a stock company. The book talks about the German influence, which is interested as some of the other research I have done suggests that the title of Technical Director may have been developed in Germany first. The stage was 100’ wide (between fly-galleries), 119’ to the grid and had a 32’ deep pit. The book credits Hagen for development of stage machinery for the theatre, including a turntable, “sinks” and “bridges”, as well as rigging improvements.
The Green Book Magazine Volume 6 in The Two Years of the New Theatre by Johnson Briscoe states that the opening ceremonies of the New Theatre was on November 6, 1909. Perhaps this is an indicated that the 1906 reference in the above book can be attributed to the start of the company.
Theatre in the United States: Volume 1 expands the description of the stage, saying that the machinery alone cost $250,000 and that it “revolves, moves backward and forwards, or transversely and up and down, as a whole or in parts. It also permits sections of the transverse stage to be dropped, and the rest of the sections to be opened so as to form sinks or cuts through which to lower whole sections.”
Play Production in America, as part of its section on scene shifting devices also mentions the theatre and Hagen, this time in reference to a rigging apparatus that allows ceiling pieces to be placed and moved in coordination with the turntable. This is mentioned in a brief article called Scene Shifting Devices on a website called Old and Sold.
The New York Architect, Volume 3 also discusses the New Theatre and its stage mechanisms.
JR Clancy has a PDF about their company and the history of rigging. John R Clancy started as a stagehand in Syracuse, NY. A show arrived in town, and the theatre’s current rigging system could not handle the shows requirements. Clancy set to work and changed the way that scenery was moved throughout the country. Clancy started to work with Claude Hagen, who is credited with being the TD at both the New Theatre and the Fifth Avenue Theatre. It implies that this relationship predates the New Theatre’s opening of 1906. The Iroquois Theatre Fire of 1903 moved the pair to start working on asbestos curtains and rigging for the curtain to be automatically released.
The American Architect {and} the Architectural Review Volume 122, Part 2 also mentions Hagen as developing a piece of rigging equipment that was able to automatically adjust the counterweight needed for a load (p455). His designs are further supported by patents (these are a few among many):
US1002839
US1045398
US653997
US1063970
The Kid of Coney Island: Fred Thompsan and the Rise of American Amusements also mentions Claude Hagen, crediting him for doing stage effects for a chariot race in Ben Hur, directing Fire and Flames in 1903 for Luna Park, and was connected to Thompson as he was hired to design a stage for the Hippodrome. This would have occurred concurrently to his work at the New Theatre as the Hippdrome opened in 1905.
A New York Times article from 1908 mentions that in Dreamland, Hagen has a “Fire Exhibition”, calling Hagen an owner or the Surf Avenue Fire Show.
Hagen’s work with Ben Hur Is referenced in an article called Filmed Scenery on the Live Stage by Gwendolyn Waltz. This actually referenced an earlier article that appeared within Scientific American that described the effect in detail. Steam at Harper's Ferry talks about the article as well (which I don't currently have access to, which describes the way the race scene was executed. Of not in the blog entry is that Hagen is reported to be from a firm called McDonald & Hagen.
Dr. Felicia Hardison Londre in The Enchanted Years of the Stage: Kansas City at the Crossroads of American Theatre, 1870-1930, also mentions Claude Hagen. Occurring in 1887, this predates the work mentioned above. In this case he was working on a tour (I assume he was traveling with the company) with Edwin Booth and Lawrence Barret. In the scenario mentioned Hagan was working with Augustus Thomas (playwright) when a stagehand let a flat fall during a strike. It isn’t clear from the entry what Hagen’s role was.
I also found a piece written by Claude Hagen, an introduction to The Theatre of Science: A volume of Progress and Achievement in the Motion Picture Industry by Robert Grau. What he wrote though does not elaborate on his own contributions to the entertainment industry.
While this is certainly not a complete history, it is an interesting introduction to an early American TD.
Tuesday, March 4, 2014
Internet Book Archive
Looking around for some information I ran across this Internet Archive. It has many historical theatre books available as a PDF for download.
Thursday, February 20, 2014
Fabric Shapes and Walls
Many corporate shows seem to be using fabric backdrops with 3-D shapes, with internal lighting. These shapes are also used on show floors as well. While Rosebrand offers some basic shapes and columns, the following three companies are my go to resource when looking for 3D fabric structures.
Pink Inc has flat walls, curves, ripple walls, arches, tunnels, and shapes as well as a few costumes!
Transformit has many of the same products, though they are a little more organic. They can also custom build a piece to your specifications & print on the fabric.
Moss Inc also has a wide variety of shapes, signage and event outdoor tents available.
While many of these things can be built in a shop (either as hard scenery or with frames and fabric) since these places have stock pieces, the engineering and technical development can provide an economic edge to building it yourself.
Pink Inc has flat walls, curves, ripple walls, arches, tunnels, and shapes as well as a few costumes!
Transformit has many of the same products, though they are a little more organic. They can also custom build a piece to your specifications & print on the fabric.
Moss Inc also has a wide variety of shapes, signage and event outdoor tents available.
While many of these things can be built in a shop (either as hard scenery or with frames and fabric) since these places have stock pieces, the engineering and technical development can provide an economic edge to building it yourself.
Wednesday, February 19, 2014
Fosshape & Wonderflex
For a theatrical production that came through, we were tasked with doing a statue. Instead of carving the body and clothes we used Fosshape. It’s a material that can be sewn or glued, and can be shaped with steam or heat, and when the material is cool it maintains its shape. The material can shrink up t 30% though, so allow for that when using the product. Below are a couple of photos from the shop showing the piece we built.
The same company can has a product called Wonderflex, which would work better in situations where you would typically use Fiberglas, carved foam, or paper mache. It is similar to Celastic, but celastic requires immersion in solvents to become moldable, and Wonderflex uses heat instead. For more information on the history of Celastic & props check out Prop Agenda.
The same company can has a product called Wonderflex, which would work better in situations where you would typically use Fiberglas, carved foam, or paper mache. It is similar to Celastic, but celastic requires immersion in solvents to become moldable, and Wonderflex uses heat instead. For more information on the history of Celastic & props check out Prop Agenda.
Fake Rock and Brick Panels
Making a fake rock isn't uncommon in theatre, and I have done a post previously on options, but of course, as time and projects have past, I have gathered additional options.
This time combing through my files I came across a variety of options:
Superior Rock Solutions which offer panels and classes (on how to use their panels)
Fauxpanels.com offer panel as well, in brick, stone, wood, and other textures (like concrete and asphalt). They also have corners. While the panels seem to line up well, they don't go around corners and the columns are pretty obvious.
Antico Elements has a variety of architectural products including stone, rocks, and bricks (stones being smooth, and rocks being rough)and square column wraps. Again, I don't think these would take a corner well (but this is true for vacuformed panels and fiberglass panels as well (like from Warner Brothers). The pulp art panels seem to do corners the best, as they were fairly solid.
Back in the day, we use to cut grooves into blue foam and melt the edges (ah the fumes), but it worked well. For rocks I have seen a variety of built up options - from homosote to chicken wire and crumpled newsprint. We have also tried molds, but it was a fairly expensive process. Recently we have used a cut stencil (representing the mortar lines) & used that to spray texture onto flats (using dryvit for example, and that created a nice texture fairly easily within the shop.
This time combing through my files I came across a variety of options:
Superior Rock Solutions which offer panels and classes (on how to use their panels)
Fauxpanels.com offer panel as well, in brick, stone, wood, and other textures (like concrete and asphalt). They also have corners. While the panels seem to line up well, they don't go around corners and the columns are pretty obvious.
Antico Elements has a variety of architectural products including stone, rocks, and bricks (stones being smooth, and rocks being rough)and square column wraps. Again, I don't think these would take a corner well (but this is true for vacuformed panels and fiberglass panels as well (like from Warner Brothers). The pulp art panels seem to do corners the best, as they were fairly solid.
Back in the day, we use to cut grooves into blue foam and melt the edges (ah the fumes), but it worked well. For rocks I have seen a variety of built up options - from homosote to chicken wire and crumpled newsprint. We have also tried molds, but it was a fairly expensive process. Recently we have used a cut stencil (representing the mortar lines) & used that to spray texture onto flats (using dryvit for example, and that created a nice texture fairly easily within the shop.
Faking Glass
On some of the TV work I have done, a designer we work with uses Screen Glass when there are windows on set for film. The material also acts as a diffuser. It is provided by Warp’s. Warps carries a variety of other “glass” products that are clear plastic.
Monday, February 17, 2014
Formglas
Recently we were referred to Formglas for a project we were working on. Formglas can make panels in a variety of textures (we needed large woodgrained forms). I am linking to their technical drawings. While this specific project didn't pan out, I think it would be a good resource for future projects.
Thursday, February 13, 2014
WeldOn Adhesives
I am going through my office and trying to get rid of paper I have accumulated throughout the years. Since this blog is much easier to find a product in than my filing cabinet, I will probably be updating this with products that I have found and used for projects throughout the years.
Today I ran across a file for WeldOn Adhesives, which creates adhesive for vinyl, ABS, Polycarbonate, Styrene, PVC, and Acrylic.
Today I ran across a file for WeldOn Adhesives, which creates adhesive for vinyl, ABS, Polycarbonate, Styrene, PVC, and Acrylic.
Tuesday, February 11, 2014
Pulp Art Bricks
While working on pricing for an upcoming proposal, I was recommended to check out Pulp Art Surfaces. This company provides brick and stone surfaces (as well as others) either as a finished print that can be applied to a wall, or as a 3-D (approximately 3/16" - 1/4" thick) material made from recycled paper, card board and wood chips. The sheet is raw, so it will still need to have scenic art applied, but the bricks can be easily cut to go around corners. The person making the recommending the product to me prefers it to vaccuform. The price seemed reasonable, though it would quickly add up. While there would be fright charges, there is no additional charge for shipping prep. Take a look the next time you have a design for rock or brick walls.
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