Brown Says Theatre Gifts Come Slowly; Simonson Wants Facilities in Arts Center

Lee Simonson '09, one of America's leading theatre experts, said yesterday "the ideal site for a Harvard Theatre is as part of a vast Modern Arts Center." He called for the housing of painting, sculpture, music, and dance in a single building where the "arts might live and grow."

This recommendation resembles closely a plan proposed several years ago by Archibald MacLeish, Boylston Professor of Rhetoric and Oratory.

Speaking to President Pusey and other interested faculty and students, he asserted that "the future development of American playwrights has become the responsibility of our colleges and universities." Because of the "risks of investing in untried talent, the odds against a young playwright's getting a hearing continue to mount," he continued.

"No Small Plans"

Two theatres, one a small, workshop-type, the other a 1000-person structure for large-scale performances, would be the ideal arrangement for the University, according to Simonson. "Make no little plans," he said. "If they cannot be realized at once, make them ample enough, and realize them later."

Simonson emphasized that the theatre should have the finest lighting equipment available and an hydraulically operated forestage which could be raised or lowered when necessary. The stage itself should be at least 75 feet wide and 45 feet deep and the auditorium should have the benefit of the most advanced acoustical developments at the University's disposal.

With the arts united in one building, there would be common space for such things as films, travelling art or sculpture exhibitions, ballet, and lectures, he said.