What is the Prague Quadrennial? / Co je to Prague Quadrennial??

The Prague Quadrennial is Prague’s 11th International Exhibition of Scenography and Theatre Architecture (try to say it in one breath). The exhibition opened 40 years ago as a memory of a Czech designer Frantisek Troster. The visitors were able to view the best sets, costumes, lights and sounds from all around the world. The Prague Quadrennial was considered during the communism the “must-make pilgrimage for Eastern Bloc designers”. This year one could admire the works of 420 students (from which 40 of them were Americans) and 95 professionals from 52 different countries. The exhibition models varied anywhere from Iceland’s simple small glass house to the Czech aged-wood circular fairground to the USA’s colorful marketplace to Israel’s gray concrete wall with various theatrical props buried in it. The Russian exhibit constructed its models on the waterproof floor, arranged on the heaps of junk under a leaky ceiling (???). All the visitors were given rubber galoshes and an umbrella to protect themselves from any form of water “attack”.

Prazsky Quadrennial znamena v prekladu “11ta mezinarodni vystava scenografie a divadelni architektury” (pokuste se to vyslovit na jeden dech!). Vystava otevrela poprve pred 40ti lety a to na pamatku znameho ceskeho navrhare Frantiska Totsera. Navstevnici maji moznost zrit ty nejlepsi kulisy, kostymy, osvetleni a zvuk z celeho sveta. Behem komunismu byl Prazsky Quadrennial povazovan za tzv. ” svatou pouti pro navrhare z celeho Vychodniho bloku”. Vystavuji se zde dila od 420 studentu (40 z nich pochazi z USA) a 95 profesionalu a to z 52 rozlisnych statu. Mezi jine jste tu mohli take shlednout norsky model maleho skleneneho domku, cesky dreveny model Matejske poute, model pestreho trhu ze strany americanu, nebo Izraelskou betonovou stenu, v ktere byly kulisy primo pohrbene. Ruska vystava byla ale ta nejzajimavejsi: sestavala z proti-potopni podlahy (protoze strop prosakoval vodou – a to naschval!!), kde byly ruzne divadelni modely narafinovane na hromade haraburdi. Prochazejici se divaci byli pro jejich vlastni ochranu vybaveni nejenze holinkami, ale take obrovskymi destniky.