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Behind the Play: Czech Theatre Design Exhibit Sets Stage |
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Deanna Lytle |
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Oct 8, 2004 |
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| Students check out the “Metaphor and Irony 2: Contemporary Czech Theatre Design” exhibit in the Center for Performing Arts Studio Theatre. |
Scene designs. Costumes. Models. Puppets. Renderings and installations. Walking through the Center for Performing Arts Studio Theatre, one can see the theatrical designs and inceptions by 18 Czech artists — without even leaving campus.
This showcase of theatrical designers is the “Metaphor and Irony 2: Contemporary Czech Theatre Design” exhibit, which runs through Sunday, Oct. 24. The exhibit is presented by the UT department of theatre and film, the Bowling Green State University fine arts center galleries and the UT department of art.
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| A costume from “The Inspector General” designed by Katerina Stefková is included in the exhibit. |
The title of the exhibit comes from the character of the citizens of the country, according to Sue Ott Rowlands, chair of the theatre and film department. “Czechs are known for their sense of humor and irony. As a country, they have always been fought over. They know that in life, things can be the very best and worst,” she explained.
The elaborate showing was initiated by Dr. Joseph Brandesky, professor of theatre at Ohio State University Lima campus and co-curator of the exhibit, whose specialty is Czech theatre. Suspended from the ceiling, placed on models or hung on the walls, the designs and theatrical pieces are a visual feast for art connoisseurs and civilians alike.
The pieces in the exhibit represent three generations of contemporary Czech work, according to Ott Rowlands. The only person currently not living whose work is displayed is Frantisek Tröster (1904-1968), a theatrical designer, professor at the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague and co-author of Costume on Stage: A Book of Costume Designs (1962). His influence is evident in the displayed designs of his students and his students’ students.
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| This model of a set design by Jaroslav Malina for Verdi's “Rigoletto" also can be seen in the exhibition. |
One of Tröster’s pupils featured in the exhibit is Jaroslav Malina, who is in residence at The University of Toledo this semester to design the sets and costumes for the production of “Richard III.” “His work is referred to as action scene design,” Ott Rowlands said. “The sets deconstruct during the plays and certain pieces may shift and turn around. His type of design requires actors to interact with the set.”
A symposium on the exhibit will be held on Saturday, Oct. 23, beginning at 9 a.m. in the Center for Performing Arts. “Metaphor and Irony at Work” will feature a curatorial exhibit tour led by Brandesky. A panel discussion about Czech theatre scenography featuring Brandesky, Delbert Unruh, professor of theatre and film at the University of Kansas, and Malina will follow the tour.
After Toledo, the exhibit will appear at Ohio State University and the University of the Incarnate Word.
Hours for the free, public exhibit are Tuesday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Sunday from 1 to 4 p.m.
For more information, contact the theatre and film department at 419.530.2202 or click here.
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