Ballet and Drama: the Peculiarities of Expressive Scenographic Means in the Post-Classical Theater

Abstract

A characteristic feature of the theater
of the Post-Classical Era, which has lasted from
the early 20th century up to the present time,
is the interpenetration of elements pertaining
to different art forms in the course
of a ceaseless search for forms and means
of impact on the audience. The interaction
between ballet and drama theater leads
to the result that one of the genres is enriched
by the scenographic solutions of the other.
From a broad spectrum of examples,
it is possible to highlight a number
of techniques characteristic for both
the dramatic and the ballet stage.
In the present work such scenographic
techniques are determined and described
as the changes of the parameters
of the stage by means of a curtain system,
the use of a curtain as a full-fledged member
of the action, simultaneity (the simultaneous
demonstration of several different places
of action in one scene), the multi-leveledness
of the stage space, adaptation for the cinema (use of elements of cinema, video-recording
or the technique of “recording in real time”
in the performance), as well as the change
of decorations occurring in front
of the viewer’s eyes.