Hello Theatre Face readers, this is Grace Godwin, Lecturer in Theatre History at Christopher Newport University in Newport News, Virginia. For the next week or so, I’ll be blogging from the Prague Quadrennial of Performance Design and Space in order to keep you updated on the cutting edge of international theatre. The PQ is the largest performance design event in the world, exhibiting “work in a variety of performance design disciplines and genres including costume, stage, lighting, sound design, and theatre architecture for dance, opera, drama, site-specific, multi-media performances, and performance art.” As a first-time visitor to the event, I’ll share my impressions of the Quadrennial as well as the ancient city of Prague

Every four years since 1967, the Prague Quadrennial (http://www.pq.cz/en/) brings together theatre artists—professionals and amateurs—from all over the world to share work past and network for work to come. The focus of the Quadrennial centers on the “Competitive Exhibition,” (http://www.pq.cz/en/international-competitive-exhibition.html) which features the work of designers from more than sixty countries in curated exhibits that present “the most unique, specific, current trends” in design. The “Architecture Section” (http://www.pq.cz/en/architecture.html) considers not just the stage itself, but also the buildings in which stages are located. The “Student Section” encourages theatre students to come to Prague and take part in “Scenofest” (http://scenofest.pq.cz/en/), a series of workshops, lectures and performances that take place not just in performance halls, but also throughout the public spaces of the city.

Additional “Projects” at the Quadrennial include the “Extreme Costume” (http://www.pq.cz/en/extreme-costume.html) project which, this year, focuses on the use of “unusual, alternative materials or traditional materials with extreme characteristics.” Sound and Lighting design is featured in an additional project (http://www.pq.cz/en/light-and-sound.html) while “Intersection” (http://www.intersection.cz/) explores the connections between the visual and performance arts. In all, over 40,000 artists and visitors are expected to attend the 2011 Quadrennial to share design and performance throughout the entire city and with the entire world.

Although I am now a theatre historian, I have a background in theatre design and technology and I’m thrilled to attend the PQ with a colleague from CNU in order to explore the event with an eye towards bringing a group of students to the next Quadrennial. Both myself and my colleague are experienced travelers, but neither of us have been to Prague—so we’ll be exploring the city as well as the Quadrennial itself.

As I prepare to leave tomorrow morning, I’m brushing up on rudimentary Czech, hoping at least to amuse my hosts with attempts at their language. I focus particularly on a pathetic “Dobry den…Prominte, nemluvím cesky…mluvíte anglicky?” (“Hello…I’m sorry, I don’t speak Czech…do you speak English?”) to be followed by an apologetic smile and a cheery “Dekuji” (“Thank you”) no matter what the response!

My mp3 player is loaded with Czech phrases and the bags are packed. Over the next week I’ll bring you trends from the PQ as well as tips for visiting Prague and I’m excited to share our travels with you!