Theatrical Architecture in the Andrzej Pronaszko’s Conception of Stage Space.

Abstract

The work of Polish stage designer Andrzej Pronaszko embodied in a particular manner a certain turn to a new approach to the organization of stage space, which appeared to be a characteristic process for the Polish and European theatre of the first half of XX century. Pronaszko cooperated intensively with professional architects, which had a considerable effect upon his conception of stage space. The article reviews projects of the artist, which proved to be a realization of his conception of stage space referred to the „theatre of the future”: the stage design for the „Golem” play (1928), set up on the circus arena and the theatrical architectural projects of Simultaneous theatre (1928-1929) and the Mobile theatre (1934). Each of those three was created in cooperation with an architect (with Szymon Syrkus in the first two cases and with Stefan Bryła in the third one). In Polish theatre between two World Wars, scenography came out as a special domain of an avant-garde activism manifesting an uprise of the „theatre of the future”, which offered prospects of some extraordinary perceptional experience. The reviewed projects presuppose overrunning the boundaries of conventional theatre and using innovative engineering solutions in stage organization, lightning and sound engineering. They became an ambitious attempt to change drastically the mode of theatrical event at the level of the space architectonics and extend thereby theatre’s capabilities in dealing with dynamics of spectacle. The artist created new conditions for affecting the spectator’s comprehension of the stage performance.