wish i could find a print of the gorgeous cover black and white stage image that adorns my 1974 paperback edition of this lovely book that illustrates the art of the stage production designer svoboda. i was clued into this book by a fellow harvard student while we were murking our way through productions ... fascinated by light and shadow .. in the late 1970s. svoboda is the king. i still learn from the images in this book.

Amazon: Svoboda, who died in 2002, was one of the most innovative and influential stage designers of the 20th century. He designed more than 700 theatrical productions in his lifetime and founded the Czech school of theatrical performance known as Laterna Magica or Magic Lantern. He came to Western attention at the Brussels Expo of 1958, with "Laterna Magika," a production with director Alfred Radok that combined film, sound, light, mime and dance. His designs made extensive use of light to heighten dramatic effect -- he was quoted as saying, "Light is a material I love. You cannot create stage space without light." His scenography was sought for opera performances in New York's Metropolitan Opera, London's Covent Garden and La Scala in Milan. He continued working until his death, revolutionizing stage lighting techniques with a combination of slide and film projections, laser beams and holograms.
This book has multiple pictures and sketches of groundplans and architecture for his early productions.