Theatre Design & Technology - Spring 1991 - 35

audience does not kllow of or has beell
tra i lied 1I0t to accept allY other acting style:
01; filially and sad6\ because the reactions
or presence ofthe audience are irrelevallt to
the processes ofthe actor.
This rheaue seeks rhe lowesr common denominaror of experience in order
ro make rhe marerial accessible ro rhe
acror and perhaps ro appeal ro rhe "normal" experience of rhe widesr number of
audience members. j 0 one is challenged,
perceprions are nor alrered and rhe
human condirion is nor elevared by such
a mediocre and dumbed-down rhearre
experIence.
This issue of acring sryle is central ro
rhe development of any rheory of rhearre,
or ro rhe rehabilirarion of performance.
As Schechner srares, he wishes:
... ro srake a claim for opening a
much wider gap-a possibly playful and subversive spaceberween represenrers and represen red. Sraking such a claim
means calling for rhe development
of performing arrs whose codes of
representarion are overr and rherefore susceprible ro crirical analysis
rhrough pracrice, rraining, performance and scholarship.'

How similar Schechner's desire for rhe
development of overt codes of representarion is ro rhe premise of Franrisek
Trosrer, rhe farher of modern Czech srage
design, rhar rhe rhearre musr:
... learn rhe laws of rhe logic of
dramaric expression which has
norhing in common wirh empirical logic and ro be able by ade.
.
quare means ro Incorporare Inro
srage expression rhe "reasonable
use of rhe improbable," ridiculous
from rhe point of view of realism,
bur especially effecrive in rhe specific expression of rhe rhearre. 6
And so ir is nor surprising in rhe leasr
rhar Acrion Design, which underrook ro
redefine rhe performance conuacr by
redefining rhe funcrion of design and
seeking a direcr emorional conracr wirh
rhe audience, should be concerned wirh
rhis issue. Ir is also nor surprising rhar rhe
concerns of rhe Acrion Designers and
rheir collaborarors, rhe direcrors and
acrors who work wirh rhem, find direcr
expression in producrion. Some selecred
examples make rhis evident.
Miroslav Melena, for example, in
producrions such as The Birds, Matthew
The Honest and The Crocodile expands

and elaborares on his ideas of a rhearre of
movemenr. In The Birds (Figure 2) a
roosr was consuucred on srage for rhe
acrion. The birds occupied rhe roosr, rhe
human beings inhabired rhe area below
rhe roosr and rhe gods were lowered in
from above. Producrion phoros from
Matthew The HOliest and The Crocodile
also illusrrare rhe dynamic interacrion of
performer and spac~ rhar is characrerisric
of rhe work of Schmid, Melena and rhe
company of 5rudio "Y" (Figures I, 3, 4
and 5).
Peu Madsek and rhe remarkable
company of Drak explore rhe boundaries
of a presentarional sryle rhar mixes pupperry and live acrors in rhe same producrion. In Quem Dagmar (Figures 6 and 7),
puppers and live acrors play rhe same
characrer. Some sequences are acred only
by rhe live acrors, some only by rhe puppers (rhe dearh of Queen Dagmar, for
example, was poignanrly represenred
only by rhe pupper) and some sequences
mix borh puppers and live acrors in a
rich, mulri-Iayered experience. Similar
rechniques are also visible in Drak's producrion of A Midsummer Night's Dream
(Figure 8).
Jaroslav Malina's design for The Claw
illusrrares anorher variarion in performance sryle. Here an obvious, non-real is-

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