June 27, 2013
The University of Texas at Austin Department of Theatre and Dance announces the publication of professor emeritus, Oscar G. Brockett's, new book, “Making the Scene: A History of Stage Design and Technology in Europe and the United States.”
Co-authored by Margaret A. Mitchell, Professor of Theatre Arts at the University of the Incarnate Word in San Antonio, Texas, “Making the Scene” offers an unprecedented survey of the evolving context, theory, and practice of scene design from ancient Greek times to the present. The work is enhanced by 350 full-color illustrations edited by Linda Hardberger, founding curator of the Tobin Collection of Theatre Arts at the Marion Koogler McNay Art Museum in San Antonio, Texas.
Dr. Brockett began teaching in university theatre programs in 1949 and is considered by many to be the world's foremost theatre historian. His book, “History of the Theatre”, is the top-ranked and highest-selling theatre history text of the 20th century. Dr. Brockett joined The University of Texas at Austin in 1978 as Dean of the College of Fine Arts, and in 1980 was appointed head of the Ph.D. in Theatre History program in the Department of Theatre and Dance until his retirement in 2006. A recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship and Fulbright Award, Dr. Brockett is a Fellow of the American Theatre at the Kennedy Center and has been honored with multiple Career Achievement Awards including the Texas Educational Theatre Association 2008 Emeritus Award and the 2009 USITT Award from the US Institute for Theatre Technology. He and “Making the Scene” collaborators will be presented with the USITT Golden Pen award at their annual conference this spring.