Theatre Design & Technology - Summer 1976 - 20

tain was able to move past the objects on stage because its
lower ten feet were slit in vertical strips about 9'%" wide,
like a broom or brush; actors could also move through the
curtain. The new multifunctional curtain formed a new
scenographic principle. Incidentally, it had to have a good
"memory": the ability to assume its original shape and
tension quickly. Svoboda used it again in a production of
The Man From Elsewhere (Prague 1973), but only as a
rear projection backdrop that could be passed through by
actors and props.

cloister scene. The bare wooden frames not only
contrasted effectively with the vintage engravings and
rich, colorful costumes but provided a distinctly theatrical
flavor by their associations with stage platforming and
bracing.
Bare wood also figured prominently in the opera
Simon Boccanegra (Prague 1971), Figure 18: two massive

flights of open, bare wooden stairs faced each other across
the width of the stage, thus forming a small canyon, the
rear half of which was bridged by a wooden platform. The
result was a variety of spatially differentiated acting areas
that allowed for dramatic compositions and movements of
the large cast. Equally effective was the projection system,
which consisted of vertically moveable folio panels of
varying dimensions hung in several planes at the rear of
the stage, very much like the system in Eugene Onegin
(both productions occurred within a month of each
other), but less complex and less kinetic. Period engravings were used for the projections, but in contrast to
those in Cyrano these were in color and were rear
projected. Occasionally, as at the end of Act IV, distorted
shadows of live figures were also cast upon the folios from
the rear.
A similar combination of projections and architectonic
elements was found in Stravinsky's opera The Rake's
Progress (Prague 1972), Figures 19A & B, but this time a
more distinctly kinetic principle was introduced in the
foreground stage element and the projection system was
simpler. Two projection surfaces of folio narrowed toward
the rear of the stage where they joined, somewhat like the
covers of a folder. Hogarth's engravings were used for the
rear projections themselves, and a pendulum clock was
suspended at the intersection of the two screens. The
stage action transpired on a specially designed turntable of
four ascending levels, each of which rotated separately
and brought on actors and necessary pieces of furniture
and props.

Figs. 16a and 16b. Three Penny Opera,showing the frontal and rear positions of the folio curtain, respectively.
Photos by Josef Svoboda.

Three productions may be considered as transitional
between those that are based on the use of projections
and those that have architectonic units and lighting as
their chief elements. These three productions are not
dominated by projections; instead, a balance is struck
between various scenographic methods, including projections. Cyrano de Bergerac (Prague 1974), Figure 17,
had large frontal projections of period engravings on a
high, full cyclorama. The stage setting consisted of bare
wooden frame units that were assembled in various
configurations for each scene. These functional units also
had fragmentary elements added to them for several
sce!1es to suggest a specific locale: a rose trellis and
balustrade for the balcony love scene, protective wicker
battlements for the war scene, colonnade arches for the

SUMMER,1976

One additional production illustrates a fairly balanced
use of projections and architectonics, but now the latter
elements begin to dominate the incidental though occasionally striking use of projections. The production of
Verdi's Nabucco (London 1972), Figure 20, was based on
a static setting of a monolithic, multi-angled wall forming
the back and sides of the stage, plus a flight of stairs
running the full width of the stage and meeting in a
shallow V in the middle. Into this architectural setting
were lowered a series of other solid architectural elements
for the various scenes: rectangular columns, massive
prison bars, a huge wall with openings cut out for guards,
or another steep flight of stairs extending from stage left
down to stage center. Occasionally these inserted pieces
received frontal projections, usually of abstract textural
patterns or, less often, of period sculptural reliefs, but
equally important in relation to the three-dimensional
elements that dominated the stage was the use of pure
light to cast shadows, to throw the plastic pieces into
relief, to accen~uate the textured surfaces, or to acquire a
substance of its own when in counterlighting angles or
passing through smoke.
As we move to the next group of productions the use

THEATRE DESIGN AND TECHNOLOGY

USITT

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Theatre Design & Technology - Summer 1976