News & Notices
OISTAT Activities Focus on PQ, Scenofest
The Chinese National Theatre - known locally as the Bird's Egg -- was toured by the OISTAT Education Commission. It contains three theaters under one roof: a center opera house, a concert hall, and drama theatre. All use a general open space under the roof for a lobby. The main audience entrance is below ground level, with people walking under the reflecting pool.
OISTAT (the International Organizaton of Scenorgraphers, Theatre Architects, and Technicians) has been busy and much of its activities are focused on events planned for Prague Quadrennial 2011.
The Scenography Committee discussed plans for its contributions to the OISTAT Scenofest at PQ '11, organized by Jessica Bowles of the United Kingdom.
Inside the National Theatre in Beijing.
The Technical Commission will award Technical Invention Prizes (TIP) an award ceremony at PQ '11. The Education Commission met in Beijing and discussed its presence at Scenofest as well as the Theatre School Database, a collection of information about theatre schools from different parts of the world categorized according to the five continents.
World Scenography--Volume One will be launched during the PQ '11. This project, by co-editors Peter McKinnon from Canada and Eric Fielding from USITT, will contribute to the cannon of Stage Design. World Scenography is a new book series that will document and contextualize significant contemporary theatrical design worldwide since 1975. This new three-volume series, to be published both in print and online, will cover the periods of 1975-1990, 1990-2005, and 2005-2015 respectively.
Also addressed was World Stage Design 2013 to be held in Wales September 5 through 15, 2013. Designers will bring exhibits to Cardiff, work together for three days installing exhibits, and host a Scenofest for professionals and young practitioners. Following all of this will be the OISTAT World Congress.
USITT contributors to Digital Theatre Words (DTW), an Internet accessible technical theatre and design lexicon, of over 2,000 (almost 3,000 words considering synonyms and jargon) terms and descriptions in 40 languages, is continuing. As the managing editor on this project, Michael Ramsaur is working with project designer Jerome Maeckelberg from Antwerp. DTW will go on line at the PQ in June '11. An example of how DTW will operate can be seen on YouTube.
During OISTAT's Executive Committee meeting in Serbia, the group toured City Hall.
Photos/Michael Ramsaur
OISTAT is planning an international forum to celebrate the fifth anniversary of the relocation of OISTAT's Secretariat to Taipei, Taiwan. The event is tentatively scheduled for mid-November.
The Second International Lighting Design Symposium, hosted jointly by the OISTAT Lighting Design Working Group and the China Center for Theatre Arts was scheduled for April 2 to 6 in Hangzhou, China. Five USITT members were slated to participate in the symposium with representatives from 16 countries.
Many activities are listed on the OISTAT website www.oistat.org. For information about any OISTAT activity, contact Michael Ramseur at mram@stanford.edu.
