Locked Doors Symbolize Problems Of Drama Center's Opening Season

The first thing you notice about the Loeb Drama Center is that all the doors are locked. Of the almost numberless glass doors on the outside of the building, only one is open during the day, and closets, offices, and workshops inside are usually inaccessible.

This may not seem like much, but, to the student actors and directors who are unhappy with the way the Loeb has worked out in its first year, it is a symbol of the theatres' audience-orientation and simulated professionalism. They see in the locked doors and the neatness-counts attitude a bar to the Loeb's becoming a real center for the drama community.

Not Entirely Bullying

As with most of the other difficulties with the Loeb, this situation is not entirely a case of short-sighted administrational bullying. This year students have stolen a 16 mm movie projector, some large glass ash trays, spotlights buried in the front lawn, and several tools.

In general, student criticism of the Loeb Drama Center can be divided into two areas: the atmosphere and the physical limitations. (This omits for the moment dissatisfactions with the administration, which will be dscussed later.)

Many students feel that the big, polished Loeb auditorium intimidates amateur actors and directors. The professional setting, they claim, makes audiences think they are going to see a flawless production, and inclines them to be less than charitable toward lapses that might be excused or overlooked in, say, a House dining hall.

And, in turn, the anticipation of judgment by professional standards makes actors and directors hesitant to try anything new, and rules out the lighthearted experimentation that often produces the best undergraduate theatre.

As for physical defects, students point out that the much-publicized movable seats are somewhat disappointing. The so-called "theatre in the round" arrangement, used for the production of The Alchemist, is not likely to be tried again.

Mark J. Mirsky '61 points out the following flaws in the theatre's design: the auditorium's walls, which were to be padded for better acoustics, have not been; the walls and balconies should be black, rather than polished wood; and flourescent lights in the dressing-room hinder the application of make-up.

Charles Hayford '63, president of the HDC, adds that storage and workshop space is limited, and that the light ports on the main stage are misplaced