This black-and-white photograph shows three Springfield College gymnasts painting themselves in preparation for forming Tableaux. Pictured on the left is Frank Wolcott, who at the time was the team’s instructor. From 1948-1958, the annual Home Show was performed at Symphony Hall in downtown Springfield. The Tableaux make-up was applied in the showers of the police station across the street. The gymnasts had to run back and forth across the street toward the end of the exhibition to apply the paint and shower. Frank A. Wolcott later went on to coach the Springfield College gymnastics team from 1955 to 1981. 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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