Theatre Design & Technology - Spring 1984 - 7

An Overview

PQ83
by Eric Fielding
Until you have seen one-no, until
you have experienced one-it is almost
impossible to comprehend the overwhelming nature of the Prague Quadrennial. Every four years, since its inception in 1967, the PQ has turned the
capital of Czechoslovakia into a Mecca
for those interested in the art, the craft,
and the technology of scenery, costume
design, and theatre architecture. Prague
is one of the most pristine and beauti ful
cities in Europe, a city rich in a heritage
of architecture, music, literature, opera,
and theatre, and it seems more than appropriate that it should serve as the host
of the world's largest exhibition and
competition of theatre designs.
In 1967, 1971, 1975, 1979, and now
again in 1983, the Quadrennial has
brought the work of hundreds of designers from theatres all over the world
together into a single exhibition of productions mounted during the preceding
five years. I Needless to say, this is a
rare and overwhelming experience that
provides a clear overview of the state of
theatre and theatre design throughout
the world.
Open to the public from June 13 to
July 5, the Prague Quadrennial of
Theatre Design and Architecture 1983
brought together exhibits from twentyfive nations: Australia, Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, Cuba, Czechoslovakia,
Denmark, Federal Republic of Germany, Finland, France, German Democratic Republic, Great Britain, Holland,
Hungary, Italy, Japan, New Zealand,
Philippines, Poland, USSR, Sweden,
Switzerland, USA, Vietnam, and Yugoslavia. The massive exhibition was
housed in the Congress Hall in the Julius FuCik Park of Culture and Leisure
along the banks of the beautiful Vlatava
River. This Victorian-styled structure
-the site of PQ75 as well-convenient-

General vie\\" of the exhibit hall. PhotO: Jarka Burian.

ly brought all the exhibits under a single
roof. Four years ago they had been
spread around the city in three different
buildings.
The exhibition was divided into six
sections:
I. International exhibit of scenic and
costume design (excluding the host
country, Czechoslovakia).
2. Czechoslovak exhibit of scenic and
costume design.
3. International exhibit of theatre
architecture.
4. Special international thematic section
exhibit, this year featuring Czech and
Slovak operas.
5. International exhibit of schools of
stage design (not part of the
competition).
6. International exhibit of stage materials and technique. 2
In addition to these exhibitions,
there were a host of other activities going on concurrently with the PQ. The
OISTT (the International Organization
of Scenographers and Theatre Techni-

cians, of which USITT is a member)
tradi tionally holds a mini-congress in
Prague at the same time. Although there
is a strong connection between the PQ
and the OISTT-they are both run from
the same offices of the Theatre Institute
of Prague-there is also a fine but very
powerful line that separates the two. 3
In addition to meetings of such committees as Scenography, History and
Criticism, and Engineering, the principal session of the OISTT Congress was
a symposium with the rather grand title
of "Theatre Today and Tomorrow," a
topic that allowed for eloquent statements on the future of theatre mixed
with varying degrees of political
ideology.
All of the Quadrennials have featured an official motto which strives to
communicate the symbolic, underlying
brotherhood that should bind together
all those who are involved in the theatre,
irrespective of political barriers. This
year's motto was "The Theatre for
Peace and Understanding Among a-

USITT /Spring 1984/Theatre Design & Technology

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