Shapes of Reality- The inter-section of Theatre and Architecture

Shapes of reality

The inter-section of theatre and architecture

Dominika Rakoczy CC3: Dissertation

Table of Contents

p.1 p.2 p.3 p.4 p.5 p.10 p.15 p.19 p.20

Abstract Glossary List of Figures Introduction Space- World shaping tool Body- Abstract of motion Performance- A total work of art Conclusion Bibliography

Abstract The following paper examines a relation between architecture and theatre. The main objective is to prove that those disciplines go together far beyond the sheer structure of auditorium, to outline architects’ input in the contemporary definition of performance spaces and mutual interests of dramatists and architects in their respective fields.

The text is divided in three parts. In the first one ‘Space- World shaping tool’ I am drawing parallels between Master Builder and Master Playwright, architect and dramatist, who both hold the power of shaping the environment and consequently our perception of reality. In addition, I am exploring how architecture can be used as a narrative for the performance through examples of Henrik Ibsen’s ‘Master Builder’, the Builders Association interpretation under the same name and works of Gordon Matta Clark.

The second paragraph ‘Body- Abstract of motion’ proves the importance of human body- the one of the actor’s as well as the one of the audiences. in the experience of the theatre. It takes upon Bauhaus’ innovations in corporeality of the performance, particularly, the Oskar Schlemmer’s idea of abstract body movement against the space and Walter Gropius’ concept of audience in his unrealised project of Totaltheater.

Finally, in the ‘Performance- A total work of art’ I am focusing on how performance can be considered a Gesamtkunstwerk (‘total work of art’) and how the complete experience of a play is shaped by the components of Adolphe Appia’s ‘organic hierarchies’ and the individual’s perception in the collective body of the audience as suggested by the Forced Entertainment’s work.

Through this paper I would like to bring to attention the inter-section of theatre and architecture, theme that is omnipresent in both practices, yet far from being acknowledged.

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Glossary                   

Architect- a person whose job is to design new buildings and make certain that they are built correctly Architecture- the art and practice of designing and making buildings Architectonics- the science of architecture, the unifying structural design of something Choreography- the skill of combining movements into dances to be performed Chronotope- In literary theory and philosophy of language, the chronotope is how configurations of time and space are represented in language and discourse.

Dichotomy- A division or contrast between two things that are or are represented as being opposed or entirely different.

Dramaturgy- the art or the theory of writing and putting on plays, especially for the theatre Mimesis- the act of representing or imitating reality in art, especially literature Montage- a piece of work produced by combining smaller parts, or the process of making such a work Naturalism- showing people and experiences as they really are, instead of suggesting that they are better than they really are or representing them in a fixed style: Performance- the action of entertaining other people by dancing, singing, acting, or playing music Performativity- how well a person, machine, etc. does a piece of work or an activity Playwright- a person who writes plays Realism- a way of thinking and acting based on facts and what is possible, rather than on hopes for things that are unlikely to happen: Sequence- a series of related things or events, or the order in which they follow each other Scenography- the art or job of designing and creating scenery for a show or event Symbolism- the use of symbols in art, literature, films, etc. to represent ideas: Tectonics- relating to the structure and the way it is formed, changed, and moved Theatre- A building or outdoor area in which plays, and other dramatic performances are given; The area in which something happens; A play or other activity or presentation considered in terms of its dramatic quality.

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List of Figures Cover: Kandinsky, V. (1925). Free Curve to the Point - Accompanying Sound of Geometric Curves. Art Print Figure 1: Tsichlis, G. Photography. (2012). Theatre of Epidaurus.

Available from https://whyathens.com/getting-epidaurus-theatre/ Figure 2: Cleater, J. (1994). Design for The Builders Association's production of the 'Master Builder'.

Available from http://spa.exeter.ac.uk/drama/presence/presence.stanford.edu_3455/Collaboratory/50333.html Figure 3: Cleater, J. (1994). 'Master Builder' final set design.

Available from https://www.thebuildersassociation.org/prod_master_images.html Figure 4: Diller+Scofidi and Huang D. Photography. (2002). Blur Building for the Swiss Expo 2002.

Available from https://dsrny.com/project/blur-building Figure 5: Matta Clark, G. and Petitjean M. Photography. (1975). 'Conical Intersect' at Rue Beaubourg, Paris.

Available from https://goseeart.net/2018/06/14/gordon-matta-clark-anarchitect/ Figure 6: Matta Clark, G. (1974). Concept for 'Splitting'.

Available from https://www.moma.org/collection/works/50871 Figure 7: Matta Clark, G. (1974). Interior of the 'Splitting' in Englewood, New Jersey.

Available from http://www.bryonyroberts.com/beyond-gordon-mattaclark/ Figure 8: Serra, R. (1968). Verblist. Available from https://www.moma.org/collection/works/152793 Figure 9: Gropius, W. (1922). Bauhaus Curriculum Diagram (English version).

Available from https://www.widewalls.ch/bauhaus-style-impact/ Figure 10: Moholy-Nagy, L. (1925). Photograph of the Bauhaus Building, Dessau.

Available from https://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/moholy-bauhaus-building-dessau-p79916 Figure 11: Consemüller, E. (1926). Photograph of the Bauhaus Stage facility in Dessau.

Available from https://thecharnelhouse.org/2013/07/20/theater-buhne/#jp-carousel-10541 Figure 12: Schlemmer, O. (1922). Triadic Ballet costumes.

Available from https://thecharnelhouse.org/2013/07/20/theater-buhne/#jp-carousel-9787 Figure 13: Gropius, W. (1927). Design for the Totaltheater.

Available from https://www.theatre-architecture.eu/en/db/?theatreId=393 Figure 14: Wagner, R. (1876). Bayreuth Festspielhaus proposal.

Available from https://www.wagner-heavymetal.com/ein-hollaumlnder-in-bayreuth-2017---meistersinger.html Figure 15: Tessenow, H. (1913). Hellerau Festspielhaus, Dresden.

Available from https://de.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Datei:Festspielhaus_Hellerau_1913.png Figure 16: Appia, A. (1912). Stage Design for Orpheus and Eurydice at the Jacques-Dalcroze Institute, Hellerau.

Available from http://2.bp.blogspot.com/gvqQ0YCF3fE/TeNkYfs5kOI/AAAAAAAAAFg/SJ_a6KO1AEc/s1600/appia+works.jpg Figure 17: Forced Entertainment. (1994). ‘Ground plans for paradise’.

Available from https://www.forcedentertainment.com/projects/ground-plans-for-paradise/ Figure 18: Forced Entertainment. (2001). ‘First Night’.

Available from https://www.forcedentertainment.com/projects/first-night/

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Introduction Alexander Pushkin once stated that ‘Drama originated in a public square and constituted a popular entertainment’ (Senelick 1981, p.10). Surely, theatre as an art form has its origin in celebratory public gatherings that over time developed from open-air structures into separate kind of architectural form. The first theatrical structures like the Theatre of Dionysus or Epidaurus were placed on hillsides, facing the idyllic landscape of forests and mountains. The plays were staged upon that scenery with the only obstruction of temporary staging building-skene, behind the actors.

Fig.1- Theatre of Epidaurus, built circa 450 BCE in Lyguorio, Greece Clearly, architecture has played a prominent part in the development of theatre space, from the hillside auditoria to the grand theatres of Paris or London. But it was only about a century ago when artists discovered the great contribution to the theatrical structure brought by the theatricalised space or, in other words, staged architecture. Questioning how it can be used as a dynamic and ‘kinaesthetic contribution’ (McKinney 2009, p.3) to the grand oeuvre of the dramaturgical production.

Architects at the time saw a chance for the artistic expression of their ideas of spatiality, became the dramatists of structures- making connections, moving between elements, forming organic wholes, focusing on the audience and context. Dramaturgy hadn’t only occupied or commented on architecture anymore but became a form of conceptual and experiential involvement in the art of buildings. Scenography, on the other hand changed from the static and pictorial to space-defining.

Since then architects, not only the ones actually working in the field of theatre, showed great interest in the theatrical and theatricalised spaces. Drawing parallels between the world-shaping possibilities of both the built environment and dramaturgy, some of the schools and organisations included theatre studies in their agenda.

Therefore it is worth looking at how architecture contributed to the dramaturgy, what are the main components defining performance space and how those can change how we perceive space.

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Space: World shaping tool

Henrik Ibsen- Building Plans (1858) (Translated from Norwegian by John Northam, National Library of Norway) My memory’s as fresh as on the day that it occurred, The night I saw the paper, my first rhyme, printed word.

I sat there in my lodging, with smoke surrounding me, And puffed my pipe, indulging in blest complacency.

I humming away there reading, twenty times or more, The paper which that day I found an interesting chore; And my imagination was up to its old lark; Ah, God! My inspiration’s still got some life and spark!

I built a castle in the air; the work went at a rate, I set myself two targets, a small wing and a great; The bigger one to harbor a man whose fame shan’t wane, The small to serve a maiden, her very own domain.

It seemed to me the plan composed a happy harmony; But later on, confusion set in disastrously, As soon as I grew wiser, the scheme just fell apart; The big wing proved so little, the small engrossed my heart

In the late 19th century architecture and dramaturgy were concerned with facing similar challenges of building a world. The reality of the Machine Age questioned the previously dominating structures, the logic of their construction and their legitimacy. The crisis of values approached as artists were torn between industry and culture, emotion and rationality, art and craft. As an answer to that a new international art style was established- art noveau, or as it was called in Nordic countries- Jugendstil.

One of the ideas of Jugendstil was that it saw architecture as a way to stage and prompt new action and interaction (Turner 2015, p.40). Similarly to dramaturgy, art of building has the force of creating environments, shaping the space and the way we perceive and experience it. That concept was soon adapted to the theatre itself. Dramatists started considering stage and its scenography as one of the main components of performance and questioned how those can be used as a dynamic and kinaesthetic contribution to the experience of a play.

Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen in his piece ‘Master Builder: a play in three acts’ (original: ‘Bygmester Solness: Skuespil i tre akter’, 1892) establishes even more connections between spatiality of drama and architecture.

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‘Castles in the air’ The play ‘Master Builder’ was preceded by a poem ‘Building Plans’ that draws parallels between occupation of a playwright and an architect as they see their creations embodied. Ibsen himself was obsessed with architecture as a world-building profession, author once asked by painter Erik Werenskiold about his stand on the built environment said ‘Yes, it is as you may know my own trade!’ (Sandberg 2015, p.226), accordingly both poem and play contain autobiographical elements of Ibsen as Master Playwright and Master Builder himself.

The spectacle revolves around the story of Halvard Solness, the ‘Master Builder’, well-known architect that earned his name after re-developing the land left after the tragedy of his house burning down to the ground along with his two sons. Being vain, he doesn’t allow his apprentice, Ragnar, to be released from a creative bondage and start a career of his own. Aline, his wife, doesn’t approve his methods and states that houses he built failed, as those weren’t real homes.

Feeling guilty of profiting from tragedy and loss of faith in his work, Halvard meets Hilde Wangel, a young lady who implants in him the idea of ‘Castles in the air’. He promises that ‘The princess shall have her castle, built on a true foundation’ (Ibsen 1892, p.315), built on true values. Having learnt that Solness suffers from Vertigo, she encourages him to fight the fear and climb a towering steeple in his newly finished building.

The act ends with Halvard crashing from the tower and Hilde crying over him.

The chronotope of a building is an organizing principle for the narrative. Architecture becomes the theme of past hopes and present anxieties (as it was with Ibsen’s frustration with his older creations). ‘Castles in the air’ are metaphorically dreams and plans of something that is impossible, unrealistic and unachievable. The only person that understands that synthesis of architecture and dramaturgy or, in other words relation of object to action is Hilde. ‘You have to climb as high as you can build’ (ibid, p.838)- as she said to Halvard, meaning that building and performance are interlinked and mutually dependent.

Moreover, Ibsen uses the figure of wife, Aline Solness, to explore the idea of socially produced spaces.

The concept introduced by Henri Lefebvre almost a century later, prevails Mrs. Solness’ ideal of domesticity, as she states- ‘This is not a home!’ (ibid, p.631). Halvard Solness might be a ‘Master Builder’, skilled at handling bricks and mortar, but the one that knows so little of actual home, forgetting the difference between place and space, its language and sense. It is important to remember that architecture has limited means of creating the experience by itself and spaces are socially produced by their users whereas buildings are just components of that scheme. The aspect is quite vividly explored in the post-modern interpretation of ‘Master Builder’ by The Builders Association, presented at the Chelsea Industrial spaces in New York City in 1994.

The Builders Association The creators project explained it followingly: ‘Ibsen's play is a nineteenth century study of family life that charts the disintegration of the ideals of love, security and fidelity. ‘Master builder’ explores what binds a family together and what drives it apart, unearthing the skeletons reflected in the skeletal structure of the house itself’ (TBA website 1995). The initial performance took place in a full-scale three-storey high house inspired and based off Gordon Matta Craig sketches and photographic collages.

The decomposed structure designed by architect John Cleater was completely wired with MIDI triggers that actors activated through movement, setting off audio and video score, ‘allowing Ibsen's 19th century voice to speak through new media’ (ibid.). Throughout the play the house opens up, revealing new perspectives.

Stripping up, showed the skeletal structures and its wiring.

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Fig.2- John Cleater's sketch for 'Master Builder'

Fig.3- 'Master Builder' final set design (1994)

That dilapidation could be interpreted as Solness’ lack of attention to his inner self and emotional emptiness when gradually coming to sanity. Alternatively it might be seen as visualisation of Hilde’s idea of anarchitecture, the metaphorical, strategic and shape-shifting structure, the post-modern ‘castle in the air’. But most importantly, it represents a home that is an architectural conceptualisation of images and sounds, internal network of communication that is much more than just a set of walls. The performance quite literally takes on the theme of family being driven apart unearthing the skeletons of the structure itself.

The Builders Association’s work, as much as the company’s name, stands for a deep understanding of theatrical performance as architectural and architectural space as theatrical. The ‘Master Builder’ was a starting point for their installations of spatially virtual networks in performance like ‘Invisible Cities’, ‘House Divided’ or even their input for the ‘real’ ‘castles in the air’- ‘Blur Building’ by Diller+Scofidio for Swiss Expo in 2002. Yet, what’s also worth looking at is their inspiration for those projects- Gordon Matta Craig and his literally ‘cuttingedge’ building performances

Fig.4- ‘Blur Building’ by Diller+Scofidio (2002). Yverdon-Les-Bains, Switzerland

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‘Splitting’ ‘Why hang things on a wall when the wall itself is so much more a challenging medium?’

-Gordon Matta Clark Gordon (1943-1978) was a rebellious artist of the 70s, best known for his ‘building cuts’. Having obtained an architectural degree from a Cornell University in New York, he didn’t really show any interest in the practical application of his diploma. Nevertheless, most of his installations and performances were architecture related- either by augmenting the spaces or by being aimed for the built environment professionals’ attention.

Through his projects, Matta-Clark was pushing the spectator to consider the meaning and significance of urban landscape. His subjects, vastly pieces of urban decay, that people usually choose to forget about, were transformed by simple but severe modifications. The outcome revolved around the dichotomy of power and poverty, permanence and decay, monumentality and intimacy (Filler 2018). One of his objectives was to draw attention of architect’s and developers to the issue of urban decay and soulless city planning in which one building fills in for the other just to be replaced with yet another, forming a virtuous circle of capital and real estate ‘development’.

Fig.5- ‘Conical Intersect’, Paris (1975)

Fig.6- Concept for ‘Splitting’ (1974)

Fig.7- ‘Spliting’ (1974)

The project of ‘Splitting’, that inspired among others the above mentioned ‘Master Builder’, happened to an ‘ordinary balloon-framed, two-storey house, with a porch back and front and a base of cinder blocks located at the 332 Humphrey Street in Englewood, New Jersey’ (The I.B. Tauris Blog 2015) Stripping the house down from the cinder blocks and parts of the porch, Gordon cut the structure, inside and out with a chainsaw.

He gradually lowered the back of the building, leaving a gap cut in between.

The idea was to emphasize the abandonment. The house that no longer was a home and no longer served the chance of habitation. The bond between the owner and structure has been severed and no longer served its purpose. The recorded process and Gordon’s notes are only what remains of the building to this day.

When writing about it, he ‘gave the house its performative role, saying that having made the cut there was a 8

real moment of suspense about how the house would react, but that it responded like a perfect dance partner’ (Jenkins 2011, p.63) Having said that Gordon emphasized the importance of the process in his works. Annotating the activities taken to produce a single piece gave merit to the ‘total work of his art’, had to be seen through the dynamics of performance. The inspiration of that was Richard Serra’s list of verbs, which described possible techniques for manipulating material and creating art. The list was gathered with a vision of involving oneself in the process of creation, thus the creator became the performer, as much as the creation and its process- the performance.

Fig.8- Richard Serra’s Verb list (1967-1968)

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Body: Abstract of motion ‘[Contemporary performance is] concerned primarily with the ‘inhabitability of the space’- creation of spaces with which performing bodies can interact’ -Joao Mendes Ribeiro As it was already mentioned before, architects and designers at the verge of the 19th and 20th century were faced with a challenge of world-building through the synthesis of industry and art. One of the organisations formed to face that problem was the German Association of Craftsmen, otherwise known as Deutscher Werkbund. With its initial purpose to establish a partnership of manufacturers with designers, it became an important element of industrial design and modern architecture, specifically through the establishment of the Bauhaus school of architecture.

Fig.9- Bauhaus Curriculum Diagram (1922)

Fig.10- Bauhaus Building in Dessau (1925)

Bauhaus curriculum was as wide as that of the Werkbund, which motto ‘from sofa cushions to city building’ emphasises not only on its broad interests but also the mutual relation of objects. Which brings us to the idea of Gestalt.

It comes from the German word for shape, figure or form. By the end of 19 th century it earned a new meaning: ‘something such as a structure or experience that, when considered as a whole, has qualities that are more than the total of all its parts’ (Cambridge Online Dictionary). In Bauhaus it was mostly used in reference to design and experiences structured in its composite qualities.

Walter Gropius founded the school in Weimar in 1919 with the idea of an art school that would unite all branches of arts and crafts ‘under the wings of a great architecture’ (Taut 1918) (Despite the fact that architecture wasn’t even a part of the original curriculum). This way, theories of subjects like photography, sculpting or theatre contributed to the general understanding of architecture, proving it as an ultimate Gestalt, a total piece of art.

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Particularly important in that scheme was the Bauhaus Stage, which significance was described by Oskar Schlemmer: ‘I noticed one thing, which became especially clear from the perspective of the Bauhaus: much of modern art nowadays tends toward practical application, toward architecture. The economic crisis may make building impossible for years to come. There are no noble tasks to which the utopian fantasies of the moderns might be applied. The illusionary world of the theatre offers an outlet for these fantasies’ (Schlemmer 1972, p.107) The theatrical performance drawing on close concepts to those of architecture, opened up the whole world of possibilities in spatial, sensual and experiential explorations for the architects in training. The stage became the embodiment of the much-anticipated idea of Gestalt, the composition of objects, bodies and surrounding spaces.

Fig.11- Bauhaus Stage in Dessau (1926) ‘Triadic Ballet’ The main figure of the Bauhaus stage was Oskar Schlemmer, who took on the ensemble in 1923 after Lothar Schreyer. His approach was to experiment with the theory of abstract and the experience of surface, volume, light and space. For him, theatre provided an opportunity for placing the human body directly into that experimentation.

The conceptual object of a body became considered as the most important in the theory of theatre and spectatorship. It is the body that performs and enlivens the space. The act of movement against space in time is the active and most importantly dynamic element of performance.

Schlemmer saw that potential and used it crucially in the ‘construction of new totality’, with human being put into new relationships with object world in contrast to action, image, colour, light and sound. His pieces were constructed within their own organic logic organised through juxtaposed and sequential action. His interest in abstraction was revealed through recognition body parts as shapes and forms of squares, circles, triangles and cylinders. The abstraction rose to be a fulfilling and unifying principle.

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Fig.12- ‘Triadic Ballet’ costumes (1922) In his piece called ‘Triadic Ballet’ Schlemmer explored the idea of abstracted and deformed human body through actors in sculptural costumes, using the human body as an organisational principle. Those stage creatures moving within environment where specific colours and forms shaped the experience, the composition of a space.

His work has been reviewed as follows in the Ned Bowman’s theatre survey: ‘Schlemmer's approach to theatre- and consequently that of the Bauhaus stage- is essentially antiliterary, ranging formally from pantomime through eurhythmics to the virtual reducto ad absurdum which banishes the human actor from the stage in favour of the marionette and the "mechanized eccentric." Therefore, Schlemmer's forte seems to have been the ability to conjure vivid spatial relationships.’ (Bowman 1964, p. 120) It is worth mentioning that Schlemmer avoided use of language in his plays, as he was aware of its potential significance. Wanting to control the perception of the play and its potential development, he mastered the relative silence of motion and gesture that lead to an automatic development of the word.

Eyes and body of the spectator The topic that is often omitted from the performance studies is that of a body of the audience itself. As Simon Shepherd acknowledged in his book ‘Theatre, body and pleasure’- ‘Theatre is an art of bodies witnessed by bodies’.

Further to the list of verbs by Richard Serra, there are different ways of participation in the process of the performance, both for the performer and the audience. Indicating this, it is possible to distinguish different types of audiences by their experience of spectatorship. Those are either observers or spectators, viewers or accomplices, witnesses or participants. But that variation of responses, even though it might not seem like, plays important role in the general outcome of the play. As Iain Mackintosh explained in ‘Architecture, Actor and Audience’- ‘The chief purpose of theatre architecture is to provide a channel for energy. Although this 12

energy flows chiefly from performer to audience the performer is rendered impotent unless he or she receives in return a charge from the audience.’

The word auditorium derives from the Latin ‘audire’- to hear, while today, it is mostly associated with the act of seeing. This detail itself suggests the shift in primary principles of the theatrical form. Along with it, changes the meaning of individual and collective experience of theatre-going.

Totaltheater While Bauhaus Stage was mostly preoccupied with the abstract composition of body against space, the school’s founder Walter Gropius developed his own approach to theatre studies. Obviously, he has been a great advocate for the Bauhaus Stage becoming a part of architectural curriculum: ‘The stage work is intimately related to the work of architecture as an orchestral unit: both receive and give to one another reciprocally.’ (Blume and Duhm 2008, p.45) In 1926 Erwin Piscator, ‘Epic Theatre director’ commissioned Gropius with a project of Totaltheater. His famous at the time approach of interaction with the audience along with use of vast amount of stage machinery and motion pictures attracted broad interest of the crowd.

The design itself would provide a 4.000-seat auditorium with unrestricted access to the stage. Piscator assumed the removal of proscenium would bring actors and audience closer together, turning passive spectators into active participants- ‘The aim of this Total Theater is to draw the spectator into the drama’ as he wrote in a letter to the Convegno di Lettere of the Reale Academia d’Italia in 1934. In addition that ‘convertibility, flexibility and anonymity’ (ibid.) of architectural design sought to create a theatre ‘whose ventures in drama could be accompanied by ventures in its spatial setting’.

Fig.13- Gropius’ sketch for Totaltheater (1927) Gropius being interested in convertible structures himself, designed a space that would answer to every possible demand of director. Using compendium of his architectural theories, he has incorporated designs like the tripartite stages of Van de Velde and Perret, the arena of Poelzig and the vertical, suspended acting platforms of Moholy-Nagy. The final proposal consisted of an oval auditorium joined by a rectangular stage house. Within this oval there was a turntable tangentially intersected with a smaller one. The second one 13

could be raised or lowered within the larger one becoming forestage in the tripartite set. By revolving the first one, second became a central stage entirely surrounded by spectators. Those were planned to be moving during the performance, unexpectedly shifting the spectators and stage area, altering viewer’s scale of values forcing them into participation.

Although the project hasn’t been realized, it’s legacy is prominent to this day being used as a blueprint for experimental post-modern theatres. Revolving around the arts and crafts synthesis idea of Werkbund alongside with consideration of individual experience of the collective body created the ‘Gesamtkunstwerk’ of theatrical space.

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Performance: A total work of art ‘Gesamtkunstwerk’ translated as ‘total work of art’, ‘synthesis of the arts’ or ‘all-embracing art form’ was first used in 1827 by a German philosopher Karl Friedrich Trahndorff. Nevertheless, the person who gave it its current aesthetical meaning was opera composer Richard Wagner in his essays of 1849. Since then, ‘Gesamtkunstwerk’ has been associated mostly with the art forms, particularly that of architecture. The term of ‘total artwork’ created a primal framework for art movements and organisations like the Werkbund in the 19th and 20th century.

Theatre itself can be perceived as a ‘synthesis of arts’ comprising of multitude of elements that form the grand oeuvre of performance. Late 19th century has been a witness to changes in the art of dramaturgy in the idea of Gesamtkunstwerk. Dramatists decided to explore the possibilities of theatrical spaces among the lines of scenography, body, performance and actor-spectator relationship. It was also a time when architects took on the work of scenographers, redefining their understanding of space.

One of the first scenographers to success in forming theories of theatrical Gesamtkunstwerk was Adolphe Appia. His concept of composing elements in the structure of a play was put to use in his later project of ‘Rhythmic Spaces’ and eventually, building of Hellerau Festspielhaus with musician Emilie Jacques Dalcroze.

By experimenting with lightning, movement and music, he defined what in time became a framework for modern theatre.

Fig.14- Wagner’s design for Bayreuth Festspielhaus (1876) Organic hierarchies Appia, a prominent figure in the world of scenography, started his career by studying the works of Richard Wagner and his Bayreuth Festspielhaus. His dedication to master’s operas lead in 1899 to the publication of ‘Musik und Inszenierung’ in which he proposed that actor’s movements in space should be determined by the rhythmic structure of the play. What followed was him linking his dissatisfaction with elaborately detailed scenography in a lousy attempt of creating spatial illusions into rejecting the notion in favour of 3-dimensional representations: ‘Of the three elements of production, painting is without any question the on subject to the narrowest conventions. It is incapable of revealing any living and expressive reality by itself, and it loses its power 15

of signification to the extent that the rest of the setting plays an active part in the scene; that is to the extent that lightning and the spatial arrangement are directly related to the actor. Therefore, lightning and the spatial arrangement of the setting are more expressive than painting, and of the two, lightning apart from its obvious function of simple illumination, is the more expressive. This is so because it is subject to a minimum of conventions, is unobtrusive, and therefore freely communicates external life in its most expressive forms’ (Hewitt 1981, p. 22) Appia established and developed theory of principal qualities of music, light, space and body that by being put together formed ‘organic hierarchy’. The corporeality of actor’s movement defined the 3-dimensional space, lightning and shadow provided with suggestive, flexible and expressive environment as music defined the time scale. The problem he stumbled upon in the developmental stages was music for which there was no suitable body expression, mutually suppressing artistic identity.

In 1906 Appia became intensely involved with Genevan music teacher- Emilie Jacques Dalcroze’s teachings after attending one of his lectures on Eurhythmics, the system of exercises to help with rhythmicality based on experiencing through movement (The Dalcroze’s method is taught as the compulsory curriculum of performance studies to this day). Who, on the other hand, in 1909 was approached by Dresden’s Werkbund with proposition of creating an art institute in the newly established garden city of Hellerau.

Festspielhaus Hellerau Founded in 1907 by Karl Schmidt-Hellerau as a collaboration of his manufacturing enterprise in Dresden with founders of German Werkbund. The village consisted of houses, recreational and educational facilities for the workers. Same year, Schmidt along with Wolf-Dohrn attended a demonstration of rhythmic gymnastics performed by the students of Dalcroze. Schmidt, planning to establish an artistic educational centre at Hellerau, invited him to collaborate on the project.

The musician responded with a plan to centre it around the idea of rhythm to, not only provide an aesthetic for a structure, but also shape the community- ‘a moral and aesthetic architecture identical to that of the buildings, to raise rhythm to the level of a social institution, to harmonize, thanks to a special education, the village and its people’ (Tallon 1984, p.496). The institute was provided to be built to artist’s exact specifications, including classrooms, work spaces, gardens and a theatre. Dalcroze recognising Appia’s growing reputation as a scenographer, turned to him for the designing aid of theatrical space.

Fig.15- Jacques-Dalcroze Institute, Hellerau (1913)

Fig.16- Stage Design for Orpheus and Eurydice (1912)

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As a side note, one of Appia’s collaborations with Alexander van Salzmann resulted in him developing two principal qualities of light: diffused (obtained by overlaying a semi-transparent linen dipped in cedar oil to intensify the glow) and formative or living (mobile apparatus producing intense light, positioned carefully to produce shadow as well as light). This led to his innovation of ‘Rhythmic spaces’- exploration of 3D space through architectonic mass and light to create environments to contrast human body.

Besides, the artist wanted to get of rid a literal and metaphorical barrier between the stage and audience in form of the proscenium arch. Instead of that, he extended the set into the auditorium stating that ‘theatre of the future would not make distinctions between performers and audience, but all would be participants in developing social events.’ Combined with a simplicity of vertical, diagonal and horizontal lines of rhythmic spaces, it became a framework for not only the Hellerau’s Institute, but also most of the theatre spaces of the 20th and 21st century.

Theatre became a ‘living art’, a collective experience abolishing the passive spectatorship and the distinction between stage and auditorium Forced Entertainment The Sheffield-based theatre company is among those who draw from Appia’s revolutionary statements. It bases their performance upon the relationship of performer and spectator and the tension it creates. Ensemble’s director, Tim Etchells explained it as follows: ‘We make work that refuses to be simply an entertainment taking place at a distance, down the other end of the telescope, down there on the stage. Instead we try to find ways to triangulate the work directly to the auditorium. As if to ask the audience who they are and who is sitting with them, to wonder not about the narrative of a drama but about the truly present situation and dynamic of the theatre. Often we have worked by creating a kind of dramaturgical tension in the auditorium or between the stage and the auditorium.’ (Essential drama 2018) In over 30 years of its existence, Forced Entertainment experimented with shifting and reimagining that relation of gathering. Their practices included 24h-long performances, performative exhibitions and citywide role-playing games (including one at Hellerau).

Fig.17- ‘Ground Plans for Paradise, F.E. (1994)

Fig.18- ‘First Night’, F.E. (2001)

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To illustrate, in ‘First night’, eight performers stand in line before the audience. All presented with fake smiles, dead eyes dressed in shiny lycra. Play begins with a grand welcome and soon breaks down into dark and unhinged drama. Again, according to the director: ‘Taken together it creates a kind of probing of the audience, forcing them to take a position, to think about who they are and who the strangers in the seats nearby might be. Theatre perhaps sees itself for the most part as a gathering of the good, honest and true to watch something that will enlighten them. A benign, convivial space. I think, a lot of the time, our work wants to niggle at that, transforming it into this unfolding set of ethical and political negotiations with the audience which connects to this idea of witnessing’ (Ibid.)

The ’First Night’, as much as Hellerau Festspielhaus or Totaltheater, depends on the audience’s perception, experience and interaction with the performance. The play in the idea of modern theatre should enable the spectator to become the participant, to dive into and become a part of the created world, the augmented reality of performance. Summing up the theatrical organised whole: ‘Spectator make the kind of choices usually considered the province of the writer and/or performer. As a result, each piece must be considered only partially composed when it is presented to the public, not because it is unfinished, but because it requires an audience to realise the multitude of possibilities on which it opens. As each spectator, according to his part, enters into a dialogue with the work, the act of interpretation becomes a performance, an intervention in the piece.’ (Savran 1988, p.55)

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Conclusion Evidently, relationship between architecture and theatre reaches far beyond the architectonics of a theatrical structure. It is organic wholes of space, body and performance, that together form the total experience of space. And as we already know architecture’s contribution to the definition of performance spaces, it might be worth considering: What can architects obtain from their work on theatre?

How can the idea of theatricalised space be expanded in the architectural practice?

Would it be possible for people without architectural training to develop new performance spaces?

What are the potential new theories of the theatrical space and architectural performance?

Where do we see architecture going next?

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Bibliography Books  Blume, T. and Duhm, T. (2008) Bauhaus. Bühne. Dessau: Szenenwechsel/Change of Scene. Berlin: Jovis

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De Botton, A. (2006). Architecture of Happiness. New York: Vintage International Eisenstein, S. (1949). Film Form: Essays in Film Theory. San Diego: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich Frampton, K. (1995). Studies in Tectonic Culture. Cambridge: MIT University Press Freshwater, H. (2009). Theatre & Audience. London: Palgrave Macmillan Harvie, J. (2009). Theatre & the City. London: Palgrave Macmillan Hewitt, B. (1981). Adolphe Appia's 'Music and the art of the theatre'. Coral Gables: University of Miami Press.

Ibsen, H. (1892). Master Builder: A Play in Three Acts. New York City: Dover Publications Jenkins, B. (2011). Gordon Matta-Clark: Conical Intersect. Cambridge: MIT University Press Mackintosh, I. (2015). Architecture, actor and audience. London: Routledge McKinney, J. (2009). The Cambridge Introduction to Scenography (Cambridge Introductions to Literature).

Cambridge: Cambridge University Press Rufford, J. (2015). Theatre & Architecture. London: Palgrave Macmillan Sandberg, M. (2015). Ibsen’s Houses: Architectural Metaphor and the Modern Uncanny. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press Savran, D. (1988) Breaking the rules: The Wooster Group. New York City: Theatre Communications Group Schlemmer, O. (1972). The Letters and Diaries of Oskar Schlemmer. Middletown: Wesleyan university Press Senelick, P. (1981). Russian Dramatic Theory from Pushkin to the Symbolists. Austin: University of Texas Press Shepherd, S. (2008). Theatre, Body and Pleasure. London: Routledge Taut, B. (1918). Program of the 'Arbeitsrat für Kunst' Turner, C. (2015). Dramaturgy and Architecture: Theatre, Utopia and the Built Environment. London: Palgrave Macmillan Wiles, D. (2003). A Short History of Western Performance Space. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press Wilson, R. (1977). Theatres and Staging. Milton Keynes: The Open University

Journals  Architecture Quarterly: Rzut +14 Film. (2017). Warsaw: Faculty of Architecture at Warsaw University of Technology  Bowman, N. (1965). Bauhaus Influences on an Evolving Theatre Architecture: Some Developmental Stages. Theatre Survey, 6(02), pp.116-133.  Tallon, M. (1984). Appia's Theatre at Hellerau. Theatre Journal, 36(4), p.495-504 Websites  Cambridge Online Dictionary. Available at https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/  Espacios escenicos. (2014). The theatre projects of Walter Gropius. Wendell Cole - Observatori espais escènics. Accessed 24 April 2018. Available at http://espaciosescenicos.org/The-theatre-projects-ofWalter-Gropius-Wendell-Cole  Essential drama. (2018). Tim Etchells on witnessing. Accessed 3 January 2019. Available at http://essentialdrama.com/2018/06/18/tim-etchells-on-witnessing/  Filler, M. (2018). The Cutting-Edge Art of Matta-Clark. Accessed 2 January 2019. Available at https://www.nybooks.com/daily/2018/01/16/the-cutting-edge-art-of-matta-clark/

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M HKA Ensembles. (2019). Performances & Interventions by Gordon Matta-Clark. Accessed 2 January 2019. Available at http://staging-ensembles.10to1apps.be/ensembles/performances-interventions-bygordon-matta-clark The Builders Association. (1995). Master Builder. Accessed 1 January 2019. available at https://www.thebuildersassociation.org/prod_master_info.html The I.B.Tauris Blog. (2015). Gordon Matta-Clark, Splitting, and the Unmade House. Accessed 2 January 2019. Available at https://theibtaurisblog.com/2015/01/26/gordon-matta-clark-splitting-and-theunmade-house/

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