day 6 - tired, yet MILES to go before....

am going to try to be quick again, my apologies... its' 1am here, and I have an 8am flight out to London this morning and have to traverse half of Prague to get TO the airport. however, I promised pictures and so pictures there will be.

By and large it was a peaceful day. I took my time getting up to the Veletrzni Palace (where the exhibits are) as I needed to exchange some money so I went to Wenceslas Sq to do so, not because that was the ONLY place to do so, far from it, but I enjoyed a leisurely stroll.  from there I headed north and came across the open-air Havelka market... stalls and stalls of fruits and veggies, and tchotckes  and knick-knacks abound. I got a small container of mixed berries and they gave me a tiny plastic fork (about half the size of a pickle fork) so that I could eat them as I walked.... they even offered me fresh cream to pour on my berries... and it was just a simple stall. That was fun. I hit a couple glass/crystal/ceramic shops on the way to the tram, but I'm just leery about traveling with such things as gifts... too bad, there's some lovely crystal work that the area is known for, and I was very tempted by a couple things, but knowing how bags are handled, I just don't trust my packing abilities enough to risk shattered glass all over my clothes.

I got up to the VP around lunch, and started making another set of rounds of the exhibits, picking up the leaflets and books that some countries produce to showcase their work. THis time I was less harried than at the opening gala... it was nice leisurely... So let' start with some of the STUDENT exhibits...

I should preface this by stating that aside from size, there are few regulations as to what countries can do with/ for their exhibition space... some do traditional displays of work (i.e. modelboxes, selected costumes on mannequins, pictures or video of selected scenes... basic stuff), other take more .... shall we say... artistic license, and their exhibits can be more performance-based, with actors, sometimes in full costume, moving about their space, climbing on things, or interacting with viewers, or they cam be more... conceptual in their focus... One such one is Norway's student exhibit... shown here...

It consists of 90 old wooden forklift palettes stacked together, that makes the exhibit really tiny to walk around the perimeter of... against the backwall they put up an image of a design installation of a thousand such palettes that they did in Oslo a couple months ago... no word of explanation, and no contextualization as to how this was a THEATRICAL expression of space....

Hong Kong chose something more... experiential ... viewers removed their shoes and were given booties, they could then slide up a curved ramp to a viewing platform, or they had to crawl thru a small padded tunnel to get to a viewing area where they had a monitor set up that showed a variety of images, and occasionally one of a stage design.

Bulgaria lined the walls with images of student work, but then had a 3-dimensional reworking of a Klimt painting that viewers could stick their heads thru and have their pictures taken as if they were IN a Klimt painting... kinda cool... though I'm not sure the meaning of the large puppet mosquitos overhead...

Russia's was a giant bird's nest with large acrylic dome "eggs" that housed set models, and there are flat panels on the walls that opened up to show costume drawings and pictures of the mounted productions

Not to be outdone on the EGG front, Finland's EGG EXERIENCE was actually kinda fascinating and hysterical... you had to take off your shoes, pick a number and then you'd be seated on the giant cushy eggyolk to wait your turn. a doctor or nurse would then call your number and they would run a couple basic "tests" on you to make sure you were "fit" for the experience, you'd then get placed inside the egg via a hatch near the bottom, and you'd snuggle into a 'mork-calling-orson' video presentation.... though I doubt Finland has ever experienced the wonder and glory of the 70s TV show MORK AND MINDY.

Japan's was rather interesting ... they covered the walls and floor with linen, and then built, out of paper and various white cotton fabrics, these statue versions of the 4 main characters from WIZARD OF OZ (Cowardly Lion showing here). They are really stunning creations.

Korea's was a series of cardboard and paper-constructed boxes that viewers were encouraged to poke holes into the rice paper to see the installations inside the boxes. it was cool for the first 20 minutes, but once all the boxes were revealed, it just kinda looked trashed... neat idea though...

And here's our American one... my baby... (aside from the 3 stateside, of course) we went the more traditional route and have video screen showing the work of selected students from across the country, and then there's a worktable in the center where we have American student designer pairing off for a design exercise that results in a piece of display work that then becomes part of the exhibit. the idea is that over the 10 days of the festival, the exhibit will grow from a black white box, to one overflowing with interesting design art. So far so good... it seems to be going well.

the NATIONAL EXHIBITS are far bigger and more involved than the student ones... but, like the student ones, they are not bound to any methodology.. Some countries will display design work that focusses on a single playwright, others will focus the exhibit on a single designer or subset of designers, some can be very conceptual/performance based, and trust me they can run from the fascinating to the bizarre VERY quickly.... some highlights....

Taiwan's focussed on 8 living costume designers, and had a very polished exhibit that curved around itself in sworls and arcs, the costumes they presented had delicate embroideries and hand-painted silks, and they all chose traditonal Taiwanese shows that they pulled costumes from, making a point about the connection between historical research and costume and clothing.

Israel's was decked out as a condom warehouse, with monitors and elements peeking out of boxes and off of shelves. it focussed on several productions from various companies thruout Israel of works by a single contemporary author.. who's name I didn't recognize... but apparently he died this past year and is considered  incredibly influential in the Israeli theatre scene. so this exhibit was an homage to him. it is also the TALLEST exhibit stretching upward nearly 28 feet in the air.

New Zealand's is almost as tall as Israel's and has video projectors and a repelling wall and a big blow-up slide that are a part of it... not really sure how it relates to theatre, but it was fun to go inside!

Mongolia's was situated inside the shell of a yurt... or traditonal teepee of sorts.

I've voted Columbia's entry THE MOST ANNOYING. it's this 20 tall tilting wall with the underside covered in fabrics and puppets, with confetti all over the ground, and on the backside there's a native guy dressed like a Minotaur in a ballgown who, is attached via repelling ropes 2/3rds the way up the tilted wall, and every 15 seconds he crack a 12' bullwhip... it's loud and in the gallery directly below the American student exhibit.

Spain's is just about my favorite... it's an open-design polished but worn-looking workshop floor that's been curved at the ends to allow a really interesting angle to the space. they then have a 20' long worktable in the center, also of worn wood, and along the long sides they have these beautifully bound books that highlight a craft or region of production house and show's what they are best known for in Spain. it REALLY shows respect to the design AND execution of ideas in a way that many other exhibits did not... color me VERY impressed.

and last for now... the outside of the American Exhibit... I'll post better pics later, but it's made up like an urban artist's backyard/garage studio complete with beams and ladders and worktables that showcase a lot of stuff. the outside of which is graffiti-ed over. it's actually pretty darn cool, I think.

OK that's it for today... I GOTTA get some sleep. I'll post more later, though it may be a few days... I'm not taking my computer with me to London, but still hope to post the two nights I'm there.

I'm in London for two days to do some research and see some shows, and some old friends that I went to school with eons ago... for those of you reading who DON'T know the backstory, the school year after I finished undergrad ('94-'95). I spent at the University of Bristol in England doing a postgraduate diploma program on an Ambassadorial Scholarship from the Rotary Foundation. It was a most excellent year, and I made friends that I still keep in loose contact with. I'm having lunch with them tomorrow... er... today.  ok, now for real.... am off to bed....

goodnight.