Designs of productions staged since June 2002 are being sought as part of USITT's initial preparation for United States theatre design exhibits for the Prague Quadrennial 2007 (PQ).
The PQ is the world's pre-eminent scenographic exhibition as well as one of the theatre design community's most important international events, celebrating innovations in theatre design by exhibiting thousands of designs from dozens of counties. The PQ, held every four years since 1967, also serves as a meeting point for artists from every continent. Each PQ brings together designers, directors, and students, as well as the general public, for much more than the famed exhibits. Related activities include seminars and international workshops, creating an unprecedented opportunity for cross-cultural exchange of ideas.
USITT, through its International Committee, is already at work on creating the three categories of exhibition to represent the spectrum of theatre design in America over the last four years.
The National Exhibit, designed by Nic Ularu and Madeleine Sobota, will feature production designs from United States theatres since June 2002. Set, costume, lighting, and sound designers are invited to submit work to be considered for the exhibit via the web. For information on how to enter one or more designs in the jurying process, visit http://pqusitt.okstate.edu.
For each PQ, the organizers choose a thematic approach for the context of the National exhibits. PQ 2007 has an open theme inviting the curators from each country to determine their own context to reflect the unique trends in theatre around the world.
In response to this directive, the curators for the USA PQ exhibits are seeking productions that examine contemporary themes in American culture and politics, or expand existing trends in theatre design. Designers are invited to submit The student exhibit will include conventional formats for design representation through renderings and models, as well as opportunities for performance-based presentations of design. Susan Tsu, Ursula Belden, and Jon Savage are organizing the student exhibit.
The third exhibit, coordinated by Richard Pilbrow, will display theatre architectural designs with a focus on recent building constructed on university and college campuses. The acceptance of submissions for these exhibits will begin in early 2006.
USITT's Co-Commissioners for the USA PQ 2007 exhibits are Alexandra Bonds and Bruce Brockman.
For updates on the planning for PQ 2007, which will open its 11-day run June 14, 2007 at the Exhibition Grounds (Výstavišt ) in Prague, Czech Republic, click here.
Deadline for submitting designs for consideration in the National exhibit is March 1, 2006.