Early American Scene and Set Design

There are not many published works on early American theatrical scenery, so not much is known it. It is assumed that American theatre companies used a so called “wing and shutter” system for scenery. This popular European technique consisted of flat, painted wings and shutters which could be moved on and off the stage. It is believed that Lewis Hallam brought the first complex settings and scenery to America from England; scenery that is believed to have been used at London’s Goodman’s Fields Theatre. A short while later, most American playhouses had the five following settings: a rich interior, a simple interior, a woodland, a garden, and a street. Charles Ciceri was one of the first major set designers. Trained in Europe, Ciceri came to Philadelphia and brought with him “the first transparent scrim”. It is also believed that in John Daly Burk’s Bunker Hill was the first “architecturally conceived scenery” used. In this production, the hill was “raised gradually by boards extended from the stage”. Although he was born in England, Joseph Holland, who worked mainly with New York’s Park Theatre, was credited with being the first American set designer who tried to show historical accuracy in scene and set work. After Holland’s death, his idea became largely popular because of a realism movement. A new contraption called a box-set was invented. This gave the audience the feeling that they were looking at a room “from an invisible fourth wall”. Although not much was documented, a lot of stunning information has been inferred about the scene and set design of early American theatre.

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