Contemporary Scenography - Module

Display Schedule

Subject guarantor

Jan ŠTĚPÁNEK

Name of lecturer(s)

Jan ŠTĚPÁNEK

Department

The subject provides Department of Stage Design

Contents

Classes take place online 31.10, 7. 11., 14.11., 28. 11., 5. 12. and 12. 12. 2024 always at 18.00 to 19.30

teaching by Dr. Barbora Příhodová

1.Oct 31

Introduction to the course; Contemporary (Expanded) Scenography and Performance Design; ‘memorable’ scenography

2.Nov 7

Visual Dramaturgy and Postdramatic Theatre; early experiments of Robert Wilson

3.Nov 14

Post-anthropocentric approaches and scenographic installation; Heiner Goebbels’s collaborations

Nov 21 Class doesn’t meet

4.Nov 28

Intersections of performance design and visual arts: Antony Gormley’s collaborations

(incl. discussion of the exhibition Antony Gormley / Pavla Melková at Rudolfinum)

5.Dec 5

Sustainability in Performance Design and Ecoscenography: Tanja Beer and others

6.Dec 12

Costume as the Protagonist

This course focuses on selected developments and topics in scenography of the last 50 years. We will examine practices, styles, and artistic and ideological principles of theater makers in Europe and beyond who have used performance space and design in new, unconventional ways to contest the aesthetic, and sometimes political, norms of their communities. An important source will be Prague Quadrennial of Performance Design and Space in its transformations. Through discussions of visual and audiovisual materials, we will explore the work of artists, such as Robert Wilson, Heiner Goebbels and Klaus Grünberg, and Tanja Beer. We will also explore ‘theoretical’ concepts and topics, including ‘scenography’ itself, visual dramaturgy, ecoscenography, and costume agency. Students are invited to bring their own examples of 'memorable' use of scenography to enrich our class discussion.

Learning outcomes

As a result of this course, you will be able to

•Identify some of the key personalities, themes, and concepts of recent and contemporary performance design in Europe, the U.S., and beyond

•Discuss different approaches to space and design in performance, and their relation to cultural and socio-political environments

•Discuss artistic works using basic critical language from theater and performance design, and scenography studies in English

•Demonstrate critical thinking and cultural sensitivity when approaching different scenographic practices

Prerequisites and other requirements

None.

Literature

Aronson, Arnold (ed.): The Routledge Companion to Scenography. Routledge, 2020.

Barbieri, Donatella. Costume in Performance: Materiality, Culture, and the Body. Bloomsbury, 2017.

Tanja Beer. Ecoscenography: An Introduction for Ecological Design for Performance. Londýn: Palgrave Macmillan, 2022.

Hann, Rachel: Beyond Scenography. Routledge, 2019.

Hannah, Dorita and Harsløf Olav: Performance Design. Museum Tusculanum Press, 2008.

McKinney, Joslin and Phillip Butterworth: The Cambridge Introduction to Scenography. Cambridge University Press, 2015.

McKinney, Joslin and Scott Palmer: Scenography Expanded: An Introduction to Contemporary Performance Design. Methuen/Bloomsbury, 2017.

Wiens, Birgit E. Contemporary Scenography: Practices in German Theatre, Arts and Design. Methuen/Bloomsbury, 2019.

PQ Catalogues and on-line PQ Archive.

Additional materials will be shared in class.

Evaluation methods and criteria

Participation in 4 lectures out of 6 is a condition for the credit.

enrolment = 1 credit

Further information

Course may be repeated

This course is an elective for all students of this school

Schedule for winter semester 2024/2025:

Schedule for summer semester 2024/2025:

The schedule has not yet been prepared

The subject is a part of the following study plans

• Stage Design (B.A.) (Elective subjects)
• Scenography - Theatre Scenography (M.A.) (Elective subjects)
• Scenography - Film Scenography (M.A.) (Elective subjects)
• Scenography - Costume and Mask (M.A.) (Elective subjects)