Theatre history mavens, this one's for you:  I'm posting this for a
set designer friend, who is looking for the source of this quote that
was read to him 30 years ago:  "Ah, it's going to be like that."  
(It's possible it's written "Ahhh" or "Ah..."-- with elipses.  He's
not sure of the punctuation.  He swears it's "Ah," though, and not
"Oh."

FACTS/BACKGROUND:  It's from a BOOK, written in the 1930's or '40's --
by by one  of these 3 set designers/stage designers:  Lee Simonson,
Norman Bel Geddes or Robert Edmund Jones.

CONTEXT, AS EXPLAINED BY MY FRIEND:  The author was saying that "When
the curtain goes up" [this phrase may  not be part of it], the set
designer's responsiblity is to give the audience a tool -- an
immediate tool--so that they know where they are, what the tone is
going to be.  He must give them all kinds of clues that they pick up
-- even before the first line of dialogue is spoken.  So, say the
designer is creating a set featuring a terrace.  How the terrace will
look and feel in one production will be totally different than in
another -- and it's the designer's responsibility to provide those
clues to the audience.  So, that when the play/musical begins, they
see the set and say to themselves, "Ah, it's going to be like that."

My friend says this is an "esoteric" quote -- and I've already
searched "quotes of Robert Edmund Jones," and the other two.  I've
found all kinds of good lines -- but not the "Ah" line.   That's what
he wants -- but I suggested he also consider that an acceptable answer
would be a quote identical in meaning . . so, don't rule that out.

I'm posting the question, but he will make the decision.

Dear cryptica,

The quote is by Robert Edmond Jones. More specific, from his essay
"Art in the Theatre", which appeared originally in the October 1927
edition of "Yale Review".

The full quote is:

"When the curtain rises, it is the scenery that sets the key of the
play. A stage setting is not a background; it is an environment.
Players act in a setting, not against it. We say, in the audience,
when we look at what the designer has made, before anyone on the stage
has time to move or speak, 'Aha, I see! It?s going to be like that!
Aha!'"

Jones' essay "Art in the Theatre" was reprinted in 1929 in
"Contemporary Attitudes: Essays in Many Fields of Thought", edited by
Kendall Benard Taft (published by Houghton Mifflin Company).

I hope that this answers your question!
Best regards,
Scriptor


Sources:

Google Book Search
http://books.google.com/books?vid=LCCNa29000883&id=N0kZqbobfPQC&q=%22it%27s+going+to+be+like+that%22&dq=%22it%27s+going+to+be+like+that%22&pgis=1

Google Book Search
http://books.google.com/books?q=edmond&id=N0kZqbobfPQC&vid=LCCNa29000883&dq=%22look+at+what+the+designer+has+made%22&pgis=1

Matthew Slaats: Cathartic Mise en scene, by Matthew Slaats (in Google Cache)
http://66.249.93.104/search?q=cache:ombSvfRmRvsJ:www.matthewslaats.com/PDFs/Cathartic%2520Mis%2520en%2520scene.pdf+%22when+we+look+at+what+the+designer%22&hl=de&gl=de&ct=clnk&cd=1

Search terms used:
"it's going to be like that"
http://books.google.com/books?lr=&q=%22it%27s+going+to+be+like+that%22&sa=N&start=30
"when we look at what the designer"
://www.google.de/search?hl=de&q=%22when+we+look+at+what+the+designer%22&btnG=Google-Suche&meta=
"robert edmond Jones" "art in the theatre"
://www.google.de/search?hl=de&newwindow=1&safe=off&q=%22robert+edmond+Jones%22+%22art+in+the+theatre%22&btnG=Suche&meta=

---

Clarification of Answer by scriptor-ga on 24 Apr 2006 15:27 PDT

Thank you very much! It was my pleasure to help you.

All the best,
Scriptor

Aha! It's going to be like Scriptor!  My friend's ecstatic. He said to
tell you he's giving a lecture on Saturday and has been searching for
that quote for many years.  I apologize for spelling "Edmond"
incorrectly.  Also, I've never seen Google Books in action. Would we
ever have found it as a web search only? I already tried for hours,
with no luck.  I think you now have a new GA customer.  Thanks!