Guggenberger's genius is obvious at first glance: rich details, pleasing architectural lines, and a wealth of ornamentation—great elements for experimentation—and fun! These 1952 cutouts complement the Guggenberger proscenium. Populating your creche with figures can be lots of fun. Take your time. Create lots of different arrangements. Sleep on it. You'll be amazed how much you'll want to change when look at your project again with fresh eyes. First comes the stage… Choose a proscenium you love We're thankful that Theodor Guggenberger, stage designer to the Munich theater, for drawing prosceniums sheets for toy theater publisher J.F. Schreiber. The proscenium at left, from about1890, is a testament to Guggenberger's genius: the elegant Corinthian columns; the classical statuary; the soaring stage; and the wealth of architectural deatailing are all hallmarks of this man who enriched our toy theater world. I fell in love with this proscenium the first time I laid eyes on it. And when it came time to design a new creche I knew immediately that this was going to be the one I would use. Especially since I already had a set of characters to set on this magnificent stage. …Then the figures Choose characters that will complement your stage It's very important to chose creche figures that complement your toy theater proscenium. Look for a similar mood, color scheme, style. But not necessarily period: over half a century separate these two elements, but they work together very nicely. I bought this 1952 tabletop manger scene on eBay. Consisting of about 14 cutouts plus the manger itself, it was intended to be arranged as a table top display. I was amazed at how well this manger's figures suited the Guggenberger proscenium. Not only there was great variety of figures, but they were drawn in a style that complements the proscenium: while the costumes are rich in detail they're softly colored and blended beautifully in their new surroundings. So now that I had my stage and my characters, it was time to go to work.