The Scene as a Machine and Richard Foreman as Scenographer summaries

The Scene as a Machine, by Baugh, discusses and questions scene language, the way a scene relates with the actor, and the purpose of scenery. It also focuses on the work of two designers, Appia and Craig, and their different scenographic styles. Both saw the stage as a place that could achieve its ultimate artistic life through the act of live performance.
"All theater artists have to contend with the complicated inter-relationship between the real-time existence of living performers and the physical actuality of their surroundings- their place of performance" (Baugh 46).
The interaction between architecture and scenography is an important aspect considered by both designers as it is a space that must be articulated to serve as a venue for performances of all kinds. Architectural devision between the audience and the performance was eventually abolished, followed by the idea of including the audience itself in the atmosphere of performance by sharing the lighting. It was Appia's goal to reflect the atmospheric qualities of the performance and physically embrace all participants.
Both designers understood and showed through their work that physical scenography is given form, color, texture and dimension by the use of light.
Richard Foreman as Scenographer, by Aronson, explains Foreman's style as unique and unmistakable designer. "Text, character, sound, language, space, thought and decor are, in a sense, all aspects of a single entity in Foreman's world; inextricably bound up with each other and each functioning essentiality of the play" (Aronson 161). His style is an embodiment of a rich and textured mind. He stated that the stage is a landscape in which all details are significant; the audience's perceptual flow may not be uniformly focused. The distorted perspectives and creation of a spacious stage reflects the flow of Foreman's consciousness. Designing and re-designing the set is "a pretty much normal procedure" (Aronson 169).