Theatre Design & Technology - Fall 2023 - 26

Visitors engaging with Ukraine's
Garden of Living Things. | Photo by
Viktor Tuček, Prague Quadrennial
2023.
of the Responsiveness to Urgencies
in the ECR Award) also explored the
impact of war on the theatre community.
This time it was about the flexible,
community-centered response of theatre
organizations and the buildings to
transform their activities to substantially
serve their communities by taking on lifesustaining
functions. These spaces and
organizations became manufacturers of
bandages, assemblers of food packets,
and shelters for people displaced by the
violence of war. This exhibit eloquently
shows the connection between artists
and their communities and demonstrates
how actual homes can be made from art
spaces.
that no longer exist; a radiator left as surviving
structure after a house is bombed
becoming a source of drinking water
instead of heat; a woman's bridal headdress
unfurled on the dirt and soaked in
blood, boots.
Armenia's I see, I cannot see (winner
Connection and Learning
The U.K. and Ireland both took a different
path to connectedness between
people and between theatre artists. They
both created spaces for conversation
and learning. Ireland's The Next Four
Years is an exploration of Irish theatre
artists' imagining of the next four years of
theatre-making in Ireland that started in
Ireland only to be transported to Prague
to continue the conversation and include
international theatre artists in the conversation.
Several scheduled conversations
(with tea!) each day covered a progressive
set of topics organically extracted from
previous conversations.
Participation
quickly revealed many common concerns
about work/life balance, how the industry
regards designers, and who has been
driving change in the industry.
The U.K.'s " Hello Stranger " was more
pitched to welcoming artists and patrons
back to the theatre and participating in
the acts of theatre. Participation here included
opportunities for workshops on
puppetry and sound as well as presentations
on lighting, virtual architectures,
sustainable practices, and invited international
" takeovers. "
Overall, the ideas presented in the
Exhibition of Countries and Regions
seemed focused on welcoming people
into the narrative, inviting them to create
their own scenographic spaces, and continuing
to process the individualization of
experience forced by the isolation of the
pandemic. In every case, the underlying
messages were about reaching out and
creating connections to other humans
and how those connections are facilitated
by sharing space. The last four years
of theatrical exploration in a pandemic
landscape has distilled theatre to its essence:
the interaction between a performance
and an audience.
Christina Barrigan is the
Department Chair and
Professor of Lighting Design
and Technology at Central
Washington University. Her
Armenia's I see, I cannot see explores how theatres and their spaces support community lives during war. |
Photo by Viktor Tuček, Prague Quadrennial 2023.
26 | THEATRE DESIGN & TECHNOLOGY | FALL 2023
artistic practice includes lighting, scenery, and
video for small professional theatres, new works,
and dance.

Theatre Design & Technology - Fall 2023

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