On the Art of the Theatre remains one of the seminal texts of theatre theory and practice. Actor, director, designer and pioneering theorist, Edward Gordon Craig was one of twentieth century theatre's great modernisers. Son of Ellen Terry. He acted with Henry Irving's company, turned to designing stage sets, decor, & costumes. Moved to Florence (1906), where he opened the School for the Art of the Theatre (1913). His international journal The Mask (1908 – 29) made his theatrical ideas widely known. His books On the Art of the Theatre Towards a New Theatre, & Scene outlined innovations in stage design based on the use of portable screens & changing patterns of light; his theories influenced the antinaturalist trends of the modern theatre. Craig researched theatre of the past in order to create his 'new' theatre which was a fusion of poetry, performer, colour & movement designed to appeal to the emotions based on visual suggestion, evocation & symbolic representation. The term theatre is derived from the Greek 'to see' not hear & Craig strongly believed in visual theatre. Being a graphic artist engraver Craig came easily to appreciate the pedigree & virtue of mask and puppet. Masks A Note on Masks' puts forward the idea of a mask being the paramount weapon of dramatic expression. Masks carry conviction & becomes part of the actor who is wearing it. Craig founded a magazine, 'The Marionette' which contained a text of puppet plays he had written which further indulged his interest in puppets. In terms of lighting Craig recognised the potential of electric light, which was a new direction for theatre at the turn of the century. Craig, following his symbolist views, used movement to create mood & in his studies in 1906 he talked of removing elements of set/props & replacing them with symbolic gestures.