Theatre Design & Technology - Fall 1991 - 51

991 PRAGUE QUADRENNIAL

THE E VIRONMENTAL
EXPERIENCE
BY JAN CHAMBERS
here is a debate in this
field as to whether or
not theatre design
should be displayed at
all. Some say that the
only way to comprehend a design is to see it in ptoductionthat to consider it separately is meaningless and to recreate its context
impossible. While acknowledging that
the experience of a live performance can
never be recreated in an exhibit, others
argue that the ephemeral nature of theatre is precisely the reason to document
and display design efforrs.
We should perhaps consider that
design exhibitions are expressions of
ideas-ways of sharing our creative
impulses and processes and not just
explicit presentations of production
results. The critical question then
becomes: How can we accurately and
evocatively convey the contribution that
a design has made to a particular production? The Prague Quadrennial is a study
in attempts to answer this challenge.
Several participants in the national
section of the PQ'91 chose to approach
their exhibits in an environmental fashion. In recent years, honors have gone to
exhibits conceived as thematic environments that sought to unify a variety of
designs and production styles by placing
artifacts from the design process in a
shared context (see special issue on
PQ'87 in TDo-T, Winter 1988). Not
surprisingly, there were similar displays
created for the PQ'91, influenced perhaps by the success of the earlier exhibits.
However, many entries this year
seemed more inspired by the environmental nature of the designs they presented and offered an experience that in
some way echoed that of the actual production. The results of both approaches
ranged from the inspiring to the obscure
and drew both positive and negative

comments from PQ viewers. What follows is a description of some of the
exhibits that utilized environmental
techniques.

* * * * *
orway mounted a largely traditional
exhibit of renderings and models, most
notably the work of Hruza Lubos. His
design for john Gabriel Barkman
approached environmental presentation
with a model that appeared to be one
quarter the size of the actual set. The
sculptural design depicted a forest of birch trees
(actually, only disturbingly straight trunks)
rooted in a steeply raked,
snow-covered hillside.
Projections of winter
branches permeated the
space, adding mystery
and a certain sense of
expectation. The oversized model was placed at
the rear of the exhibit
space and separated from
the viewer by an almost
.
.
nonexistent proscenium
frame. \Xlhile the viewer
was not bodily engaged
in the design's space in a
true environmental experience, the sense
of immersion in the environment was
heigh tened by the size of the presentation. Because it was an abstracted landscape, with no reference to specific scale,
the relationship of the space to a human
being (the actor/rhe audience) could
fluctuate in the imagination.
Greece's exhibit incorporated a sculptural presentation consisting of the interior of a white cube, open at either end
and constructed in a forced perspective
so as to create the effect of a barren tunnel. The viewer stood at one end of the

cube/runnel; gagged and bound figures
were positioned at the other end. Resting
inside the cube was a head, cleaved in
two. Perhaps more conceptual than environmental, the startling imagery did
invite speculation as to the audience/performer relationship. The viewer, presumably the audience, was simultaneously
separated from and connected to the figures (the actors?) by the cube space and
contents. Or perhaps the figures were a
grim reflection of the viewer (the audience), transformed by the physical and
psychical experience of passing through

the cube.
The Soviet Union drew rave reviews
at the PQ'87 for its environmental structure housing designs for plays by
Chekhov (again, see TD&T, Winter
1988). For PQ'91, the Soviets ventured
into the obscure with an elusive presentation of properties, scenic elements and
even characters fabricated entirely of corrugated cardboard. It seemed that the
space was meant to be experienced environmentally-there were no labels or
other directi es that would indicate a
more straightforward display approachTD&T

1991

FALL

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Theatre Design & Technology - Fall 1991