Theatre performances are appraised by the quality of the acting, the script, and the visual impact of the production. To comprehend the production, it is necessary to take into account multiple layers of professional skills for which the work is usually viewed in support of the performance. Design issues including set construction, costumes, lighting, and technical achievements, when seen as individual components of the performance, can be identified as works of visual art, particularly when they are displayed in a museum setting. Whether thumbnails or finished works of two-or three-dimensional compositions, each represents a point of time in the process of creating the final achievement, the performance. Many theatrical designers find it useful to produce works on paper that can be illustrative of such concept interaction. They do this in the form of watercolors, pastels, pencil or even computer-generated imagery that provide an overview of stage components for the purpose of visualization and communication of ideas. Often these works can be scintillating objects with aesthetic merits that stand alone, apart from their context as functioning partners to a larger enterprise. Whether it is the method of their display in the museum setting or an appreciation of their individual contribution, theatrical designs make an artisitc statement that enjoys public awareness if not acknowledgment. With selections from the work of ten theatrical designers, the Lore Degenstein Gallery displays various forms that define their contributions as visual art. Curated by Erik Viker and Andy Rich, assistant professors of Theatre at Susquehanna University, the exhibition explores examples of a wide range of methods that share a common goal: that of making the production successful. Traditional materials - watercolor, pastel, etc. - provide a "window" to the stage, allowing the viewer to "dwell" in an imaginary place. Subtle treatment of perspective, illusionistic scale of objects and structures, and an aura of emotion can all be heightened by the artist's manipulation of the drawing tool. Computer graphics permit the artist to "render" the stage set with a vision that closely approximates the hand-drawn result with greater succinctness and elimination of excesses. The audience projects its vision into the illusionistic space presented. Costume design, though also presenting character and emotion, intends to instruct us in the method of crafting a piece of clothing. The artist has considered the actor's ability to move and act in a fabric encasement that must neither restrict nor confuse the performance. Similarly, with lighting design issues of mood, emotion, and spatial illusionism appear in the objects as they address a means to an end in the creation of the forms. Not to be compared with book illustration, the theatrical design demonstrates more than mere physical description of the narrative, directing attention to the acting yet recognizing the value of cooperative design in which all must coalesce into a cohesive and functioning unit. Only in this way can the message of the play be ideally conveyed. The Art of Theatrical Design: Process Toward Performance will allow its audience to assess these designs with a different comprehension of art. With appreciation to the Charles B. Degenstein Endowment for its support of gallery programs, the Lore Degenstein Gallery continues its twelfth year of cutting edge art brought to Susquehanna University audiences, appealing to both the viewers of the art and to the aspiring artists who are learning the elements of creation. Dr. Valerie Livingston   Sunshine Boys, Wes Peters, watercolor and pen on paper, 1996, 11 x 20" Collection of the artist