HOUSE AND GARDEN 
May, 1914 
other that in itself is impressive. There 
are many such—impressive, please note; 
not imposing — and even a theatre that 
lies at no distance at all from the dwell¬ 
ing and the commonly trodden garden 
ways may be provided with an approach 
and entrance that will definitely set it 
apart and create a sense of its special 
function. The feature of such an ap¬ 
proach is the gradual narrowing down 
and concentration of attention and in¬ 
terest into what is tc be arrived at — in 
other words, into expectancy which shall 
have become eager by the time the thea¬ 
tre itself opens to view. The one cer- 
shimmering light of the sun as it shines 
only in Italy. 
It might seem that an arbor would pro¬ 
vide equally well the uninterrupted se¬ 
clusion desirable in all entrance ways, but 
it just misses doing so because it is made 
up of two elements instead of one. There 
is the structure as well as the screen of 
greenery; wherefore it is only half as 
simple—and correspondingly less im¬ 
pressive. But next to a hedged walk an 
arbored walk has first claim—providing 
the structure is kept down to its simplest 
and most unobtrusive elements. Remem¬ 
ber that the aim should always be to iso¬ 
late the individual, to separate him 
(through this isolation) from his usual 
Perspective of the garden theatre at the Villa Collodi, 
with hedges performing the functions of background 
and wings 
tain means of ac¬ 
complishing this is 
summed up in the 
word simplicity; 
and the simplest 
and richest of all 
garden ways is the 
one that lies with¬ 
in enclosing lines 
o f green hedge 
wall. So, whether 
the theatre itself is 
designed 
Plan of the Villa Collodi theatre, showing the arrange¬ 
ment and disposition of hedges. The audience will 
occupy the space in the foreground 
naturalistic lines 
or is truly after 
the precise Italian 
mode, and whether 
it lies at the heart of a wood or is an actual part of the gardens, 
plan if possible a main approach for the use of those who are to 
be entertained therein in the form of a hedge-bounded path or 
walk, from which naught but the overhead skv is visible. Ulti¬ 
mately. even this may well be closed out by uniting the hedge 
branches overhead in the old 
fashion known as bleaching, 
until a cool, dim, green tunnel 
draws all attention to the 
point of exit—which is the 
theatre. 
This is the treatment at the 
Villa Gori, near Sienna, in 
Italy, the tunnel being of ilex 
over four hundred feet long 
and about twelve feet wide 
within. Obviously, a walk 
well 
along its dim length 
is 
calculated to bring attention 
and expectation very definite¬ 
ly to a focus upon the bril¬ 
liant opening ahead where the 
theatre lies, flooded with the 
A suggested plan for an outdoor theatre, with dimen¬ 
sions. Profile view showing grade on the right 
A natural arrangement of the trees and shrubs is desirable for the above plan. Cali¬ 
fornia privet will make an excellent boundary hedge 
thoughts, and in 
this way to keep up 
expectancy; and 
then suddenly to 
reward this ex¬ 
pectancy — t o r e- 
veal the carefully 
concealed, and to 
astonish and stim¬ 
ulate by force of 
contrast. 
To this end it is 
obvious that the 
gar d e n theatre 
should be set apart 
and hidden for best 
effect; but where 
the lay of the land makes such location of it out of the question, 
it is still possible to provide an approach that will accomplish 
much, if not all, of the foregoing. For even the simplest garden 
arch which one must pass under will provide a sense of separate¬ 
ness; and, indeed, the theatre might occupy an entire small 
garden if this space were lim¬ 
ited to the single entrance 
thus arched, before which 
perhaps a tiny bit of lawn 
should form an ante space. 
The average place running 
from a half acre in size up has 
usually one or two spots per¬ 
fectly adapted to a garden 
theatre without a great deal of 
altering and contriving. A 
lawn corner well planted with 
shrubbery frequently will 
form a perfect stage of the 
natural or landscape type, 
with the addition of a few 
shrubs to afford exits if the 
(Continued on page 399) 
