Barnard
Theater Columbia University to Host a Scenography
Conference, Apr. 5 -- Celebrating the Work of
Professor Pamela Howard, Renowned Visiting British
Designer, and Debating the Traditional Roles of
Director and Designer
New
York, N.Y., March 21, 2001 -- Barnard College
Columbia University will host a Scenography Conference
on Thursday, April 5, 7 p.m. in the Minor Latham
Playhouse, Milbank Hall, at 119th Street and Broadway.
The
conference features distinguished theater design
experts and celebrates visiting London theater
designer, professor Pamela Howard, and her forthcoming
book, What is Scenography? Debating this
question will be Howard, Ming Cho Lee, Director
of the Design Program at the Yale School of Drama,
and Arnold Aronson, professor in the Theatre Division
of The School of the Arts of Columbia University.
Lee is one of the foremost designers of theater,
opera, and dance in the United States over the
past 40 years. Aronson, who writes frequently
on design, has published several works, including
his latest, Architect of Dreams: The Theatrical
Vision of Joseph Urban and American Avant-Garde
Theatre: A History.
The
topic, "What is Scenography," is especially relevant
at this point in theater history. In her book
and in her work, Howard questions the current
practice of scenography by challenging the traditional
notion of theater design, which separates the
role of the director and the designer. That notion
is ingrained in much of Western commercial theater,
though alien to the evolution of many world theater
forms.
According
to Howard's avant-garde thinking, scenography
embraces a visual theater in which the liberated
elements of color, shape, and space, convey ideas
and define character and story in their own right,
unleashing a powerful vocabulary even with simple,
inexpensive means. Lee, who represents a more
traditional view, will challenge Howard's iconoclastic
position, while Aronson will provide the historical
background. This conference promises a lively
exchange of ideas, with a goal of breaking new
ground on the definition of scenography. The event
is targeted towards artists, educators, and students
interested in theater in the New York metropolitan
area.
Howard
has designed for the most prestigious stages and
theater companies in Britain. Her credits include:
Yerma, School for Wives (National Theatre),
Happy Birthday Brecht (Royal National Theatre,
Lyttleton), Henry IV Parts 1 & 2 (English
Touring Theatre at the Old Vic London), The
Seagull, Hedda Gabler, (English Touring Theatre,
Donmar Theatre London), Master Builder, The
Cherry Orchard (ETT National Tour), Othello,
Taming of the Shrew, Elgar's Rondo, A Patriot
for Me (Royal Shakespeare Company).
Howard
is founder of the European Scenography Centres
and the M.A. Scenography Course based at Central
Saint Martin's College of Art and Design London
with centers in Utrecht, Prague, Helsinki, Zurich,
and Seville. Howard is the Chair of Great Britain's
OISTAT Education Commission, and served as the
Artistic Director of Scenofest, an annual international
festival of scenography, and as the General Commissioner
for Great Britain's Prague Quadriennale 1995.
She is also Co-director of Opera Transatlantica
London and Caracas, an Anglo- Venezuelan theater
company, which is putting What is Scenography?
into practice.
What:
The Barnard/Columbia Scenography Conference, featuring
acclaimed British Theater Designer Pamela Howard
When:
Thursday, April 5, at 7 p.m.
Where:
The Minor Latham Playhouse, Milbank Hall, Barnard
College, 119th St. & Broadway
Contact:
Amy Trompetter, Barnard Theater Department, 212-854-1709
Petra Tuomi, Public Affairs, 212-854-7907
.jpg)
