Theater designers gather in Prague

Day 1

AFTER 26 hours of travelling, I finally arrived in Prague. At first

glance, it is rich with architectural and cultural heritage, virtually

unspoiled by two world wars. The architectural fanatic in me is

amazed (even more so since I learned that there are more live

performance theater venues than cinema here.)

The backdrop of Baroque Art Noveau, Gothic and Rococo

buildings, which sit side by side in city blocks, make this city

the best choice for the three-week long design exhibit and

conference, the largest gathering of theater designers and

architects in years--the Prague Quadrenniale '99.

I made my way to the conference site at Vystaviste, or the

Industrial Palace, which was built for the 1891 Prague Exhibition

and home to three huge exhibition halls.

Around it were other theater buildings, an open-air arena, a

planetarium, musical fountains, a sports hall--all built in periods

succeeding the turn of the century, within the lush greens of the

Stromovska Park, north east of the river Vltava.

At the main hall, students and theater designers/technicians

from all over the world were working on last-minute details for

their respective exhibit spaces. I'm pretty sure I will be

''suffering'' from creative overload by the end of the week.

Day 2

After exploring the cobblestone streets of the Stare Mesto (Old

Town) and marveling at the architectural details of each and

every building, I crossed the famous Charles Bridge and trekked

up the Castle of Prague on the hill, taking a quick peep at the

revered Church of St. Nicholas at the Mala Strana (Little

Quarter) at the bottom of the hill. Then it was back to Vystaviste

for the opening of the Prague Quadrennial after lunch.

Ang daming taong nag-register sa Oistat booth, queuing up to

sign up for the seminar, student tours, lectures and

demonstrations for the next couple of days. Oistat (International

Organization of Scenoraphers, Theater Architects and

Technicians) played a major role in organizing the Prague

Quadrennial. It is an umbrella organization composed of more

than 50 country-members at the 1997 Oistat World Congress

held Pittsburgh.

Grabe ang mga exhibits (by students, by country) and the

architecture competition. With my digital camera, instamatic

camera, and video handycam in hand, I documented until my

arms went numb.

Day 3

My map-deciphering skills came in handy, as I ventured to find

a famed restaurant in some obscure street in the Old Town. It

fumed out that the charming eatery was where I had my first real

Czech meal. Yummy.

I had to look decent today. As the Education Commission Chair

of Patdat Oistat Phillipines, I was tasked to attend both the

Executive Meeting of Oistat Country presidents, and the

Scenography Commission Meeting in the absence of Salvador

Bernal and Jo Tecson, respectively.

A formidable cast of theater design stalwarts presided over the

meetings, and I was just amazed how quickly the discussion

went on about international cooperation, and technological

advancement in the frontiers of Scenography.

This time around, Oistat organized a schedule accompanying

events for students that complemented the other official

activities and performances within the conference. Student

tours led by practicing designers, technicians or architects

brought together young minds and experienced professionals.

Held at the Prague State Opera, and aptly entitled ''Three

Visions Scenography,'' it featured Ralph Koltai (who mentored

John Napier of ''Les Miserables,'' ''Cats,'' ''Phantom of the Opera''

fame); US-based Ming Choo Lee (of the infamous ''Yale Mafia''

of designers) and, last but certainly not the least, Josef

Svoboda, considered the Father of Modern Scenography.

Day 4

Last night, I was invited to the grand opening of the Koltai

Exhibit (which was fabulous) at the Manes Gallery, on the banks

of the Vlatva River. I rekindled acquaintances with British

designers Pamela Howard and Pete Brooks, both directors of the

European Scenography program at the Central St. Martins

School of Art and Design, among others.

Today, I got to see a performance of ''Lanterna Magika'' at the

National Theater, with Scenography and projections designed

by Svoboda in 1993...Interesting images (especially the part

where the tutu's were made of metal rings, strong enough to be

sat on and rolled around whilst dancing), but after a while, the

projections became a bit redundant and the choreography was

not that inspired. Maybe it is not one of his better works. I've

seen fabulous ones in photos.

This morning, I led my own student tour, under the ''Scenic

Designer's View of the PQ'99) topic. It was very enlightening to

listen and discuss the various exhibits with an array of young

and energetic minds. After which, I joined the Gustav Khul tour.

It proved to be very interesting to hear other designers and

technicians talking about BIG projects, as though it was just

another show they'd done. The topic referred to staging

problems and solutions that they had with the hydraulic lifts of

the sets of Disney's ''Hunchback of Notre Dame'' which opened

in Berlin over the weekend.