This black-and-white photograph shows a Tableaux called “Progress Through Communication.” According to a note on the back, this Tableaux was a tribute to the Telephone and Telegraph Co. This could refer to telephone companies in general or to the New England Telephone and Telegraph Company. The Tableax shows four gymnasts, each standing on a different step, reaching up. At the top of the stairs is a gymnast wrapped in cable and holding metal lightning bolts in an upraised fist. Standing below is another gymnast holding a telephone pole. The Tableaux as used in gymnastics performances was created by Springfield College alumnus Leslie J. Judd (class of 1920), who went on to become a famous gymnastics coach at his alma mater (1921-1956). Tableaux, essentially, means living picture, and it is performed by costumed actors who remain silent and motionless. Tableaux have been used throughout theatrical history, but Judd transformed the idea. Coach Judd and Coach Frank Wolcott, his successor, created Tableaux that expressed ideals and commemorated moments in history. Tableaux are still performed by Springfield College gymnasts. For biographical information on Frank Wolcott, see: https://springfield.as.atlas-sys.com/agents/people/54.
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