Theatre Design & Technology - Spring 1980 - 10

Bowman. Our first exhibit was in the 1975 PQ, and it was
highly regarded. One of the most highly placed local administrators told me that many people were sorry that the jury did
not award the U.S. exhibit a prize that year, for it deserved it.
(A similar feeling was expressed about this year's Canadian
exhibit.) In any case, it is to be hoped that efforts to mount a
representative exhibit of the best in contemporary American
stage design for the PQ of 1983 will be successful.

*

*

*

According to Mrs. Tom~ova, the supervisor of installing and
mounting the exhibits, this year's winner of the Golden Trigue
for best national exhibit, Great Britain, was an exemplary exhibitor. All arrangements were made well in advance, and
some four days before the official opening a team of twenty installers under the supervision of John Bury arrived from England and had their exhibit mounted in some eight hours, the
result of obviously careful advance planning. (See Eric Fielding's piece on the British and Russian exhibits.)
Not many seemed particularly happy with the Czechoslovakian exhibit, including the Czechs and Slovaks themselves. A particular sore point was the physical layout of the
exhibit which seemed too crowded and distracting, creating a
cluttered, if not claustrophobic, effect in some places--but
some spectators found this reminiscent of backstage atmosphere.
Each Quadrennial also involves ancillary events beyond the
official exhibitions. This year a symposium dealt with "The Influence of Art on Further Trends in the Development of the
Contemporary Theatre," and special meetings of theatre
teachers and of theatre students were held during the opening

week. Many nations had special "National Days" at their exhibits, and several embassies hosted social gatherings. A particular highlight was a concurrent Puppet Festival in Prague,
featuring the work of the outstanding professional puppet
theatres of Czechoslovakia. Indeed, the special puppet sections of many of the exhibitions were among the outstanding
. elements of the entire Quadrennial, adding a special dimension of vitality, wit, and imagination to the displays, as a number of the illustrations in this issue will atte.st. Poland gave
over the major portion of its large exhibit to puppet staging,
and several others also gave special accent to their puppet
components. This was the first time puppets were included in
the Quadrennial, but, regretfully, they will not appear again for
an indefinite time, as is true of all special thematic exhibits.

*

*

*

In retrospect, certain special impressions remain for each
visitor, and here were some of mine:
Puzzlement at the award winning display of Horst Sagertwere the charming pieces of soft sculpture intended for
puppets or live actors; or were they simply "constructs"
without reference to production? (See Richard Riddel's
comments in his article.)
Irritation bur also fascination with the deliberately unorthodox exhibit of West Germany; frankly puzzled if not baffled
by most of it, and most grateful for the presence of a guide
who clarified the point of some of the displays.
Respect and gratitude for the prodigious efforts of the local
organizers, who managed to make the infinite problems and
logistics of the exhibition virtually invisible; short on funds
and personnel, they were efficient, gracious, and self-effacing.o

PO AWARD WINNERS
Golden
Trigue
1967
(19)

France

1971
(24)

GOR

1975'
(28)

USSR

Scenography

Costume

Architecture

Gold:
K. Von Appen (GDR)
Y. Sumbatashvili
(USSR)

Gold:
A. Majewski (Poland)

Gold:
F. Penteado (Brazil)

Gold:
J. Gurawski, L. Serafinowicz, J. Szajna, Z.
Wierchowicz (Poland)

Gold:
G. Palmstierna-Weiss
(Sweden)

Gold:
None
Silver:
P. and M. Simond
(Switzerland)

Gold:
J. Bury, R. Koltai,
T. O'Brien, T. Firth
(Great Britain)

Gold:
S. Kawamori (Japan)

Gold:
France

Silver:
J. Shaffer (Hungary)

Silver:
USSR

Gold:
Teimuraz Ninua
(USSR)

Gold:
Belgium

Silver:
Netherlands, France,
Belgium, Switzerland
(N. Suba), Italy (N.
Francis)
1979' *
(30)

Great Britain

Gold:
Horst Sagert (GDR)
Silver:
Edward Kocergin
(USSR),
Paul van den Berg
(Netherlands)

Silver:
GFR

Theme
Exhibition

Czechoslovakian
Section

(Mozart: no award)

Scenography:
V. Nyvlt (gold)
V. Suchanek (silver)
Costume:
L. Purkyllova (gold)

(Shakespeare:
no award)

Scenography:
O. Simatek (gold)
S. Hudak (silver)
Costume:
H. Bezakova (gold)
A. Wenig (silver)

Scenography:
(Schools: no award) J. Ciller (gold)
K. Bubenik (silver)
Costume:
J. Konetna (gold)
S. Vanltkova (silver)

Scenography:
Vladimir Suchanek
(silver)
Jan Vantura (silver)
Silver: Ivan Koos
(Hungary), FranMek Costume:
Vitek (CzechosloMargita Polonyova (gold)
vakia)
Stanislava Vanltkova
(silver)
Puppets
Gold: Poland

* In 1975 special gold and silver medals were awarded to Denis Bablet (France) and F. Dieckman (GDR), respectively, for Criticism and Theory of Stage Design .
* Silver medal for exhibit concept awarded to the German Federal Republic.
8

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