Design & Production faculty member represents U.S. in PQ23 Exhibition

UNCSA was well represented this year at the Prague Quadrennial (PQ) of Performance Design and Space, held June 8-18 in the Czech Republic. A faculty member of the School of Design and Production (D&P) was a designer on the team selected to represent the United States in the PQ23 Exhibition of Countries and Regions, and 12 undergraduate and graduate students from D&P attended the festival.

Since 1967, the once-every-four-year event has evolved into a platform that explores progressive approaches, new media, virtual spaces and interdisciplinary relations. This year’s event introduced artworks from more than 100 countries, encompassing more than 300 artists through projects curated by an international PQ team and the main competitive exhibitions. The two main exhibitions – the Exhibition of Countries and Regions and the Student Exhibition – are competitive.

Associate Professor of Scene Design Yoon Bae, a scenic and costume designer, was a member of the winning team selected to represent the United States at the Prague Quadrennial. The U.S. exhibit, titled “Our Home: Unheard Voices of Past and Present,” was showcased in the Exhibition of Countries and Regions at PQ23, which featured the best contemporary scenographic works from around the world. The United States Institute for Theatre Technology, Inc. (USITT) oversaw the jury and curatorial processes for all U.S. design submissions for PQ23. 

"America is a quilt"

The winning design team, consisting of eight members, worked on the exhibit for two years and six months. All were volunteers and members of Wingspace, a mentorship/membership consortium for emerging designers in the areas of lighting to sound to scene design, for which Bae serves as a mentor. While five of the winning design team members were scene designers, all had strikingly different ways of working. “There were lots of voices in the room,” Bae said. “Sometimes we had to be directors and dramaturgs since the project had no script.”

Because PQ is more interested in the process, Bae said the team took everyone back to the fundamentals. “What is a performance? How do we tell the story?” she explained. To move the conversation forward, “We asked, how do we want to represent the United States of America in this tiny 20-by-20-foot space?” Bae said. “The answer was borne out of that. … What does home look like, metaphorically? People are from everywhere.”  

We asked, how do we want to represent the United States of America in this tiny 20-by-20-foot space?

Yoon Bae, Scene Design Faculty

The exhibit was in the “iconic shape of what a house looks like.” But it was designed to be imperfect – “it’s deliberately slightly leaning, off-centered; because we’re all learning, collaborating, and that is never straight,” Bae said.  

“The other important aspect for our home,” Bae said, “was that we also wanted to have things that are repurposed, upcycled, using remnant material, because our ‘home’ America is a quilt, made from many stories.” To accomplish this, the team used repurposed material from a 1920s house (such as the floorboards) and remnant fabric ties made from old scenic backdrops from theaters across the country, including several remnants from Director of Scenic Art and Scene Painting Susan Crabtree’s scene painting class. “There were mountains of fabric from everywhere,” Bae added. “Each tells a story.”

The home also utilized wainscotting on both sides of the interior, featuring wax transfers of selected national designers. The team left gaps in the home's windows for translucency, Bae said.

The exhibit

Though resembling a log cabin in some respects, the exhibit also contained advanced technology: projections of video content – the work of 26 national designers selected by a jury – through two projectors in the ceiling; headphones to hear prerecorded audio of the designers speaking; LED lighting; and interactivity via iPad.  

The first trial setup of the U.S. exhibit took place in January at Florida State University, where it was constructed by technical direction students instructed by Bae and other team members.  

The first official reveal of the U.S. exhibit was at the U.S. Institute for Theatre Technology conference in St. Louis in March. It was shipped to Prague in May, where Bae was part of the installation team. Team members also gave workshops while at PQ.

Yoon Bae's approach

Originally from Seoul, Bae was educated and trained in London and has had her designs shown in Tokyo, Seoul, Europe, the United Kingdom and across the United States. She joined the D&P faculty last fall.

“For me, as an immigrant designer, (the project) made me think about and ask, ‘What is the USA?’” Bae said. “It’s so rich, and (the team) didn’t start together, and sometimes we didn’t get on. How do you represent such a complex story in such a tiny space? How do you not misrepresent accessibility? The idea of one house (was) a lot of pressure.”

Still, Bae was excited to see the solidarity of people coming together and understanding the home/exhibit. “I think it’s really relatable,” she said. “We’re hoping it can go to a nice home.” Pun intended.

Bae was also selected as a panelist for the PQ23 "North America Cluster Converstations – Canada." She joined a robust discussion exploring and analyzing scenographic practice in North America. The panel looked at the topic of equity, how Canada, Mexico, Québec and the U.S influence each other, cross-border issues, artists' response to the pademic and more. 

An online exhibition

While the theme of PQ23 was “RARE,” the PQ Studio launched the [UN]Common Design Project this year, calling for original performance design proposals that do not address a script but, instead, explore the RARE. Thirteen works were selected from the 27 submissions by members of the international leadership team for the [UN]Common Design Project physical exhibition at the National Gallery in Prague during PQ.

For 2023, PQ developed a new online gallery – allowing, for the first time, the exhibition of all submitted designs. Participating schools included The Royal Central School of Speech and Drama at the University of London, Colorado State University, National Taiwan University, Hungarian University of Fine Arts, California State University-Long Beach, University of Victoria (Canada) Department of Theatre and more.  

Works from two groups from UNCSA, undergraduate and graduate D&P students, were uploaded on the PQ site and are available for viewing.

First, “The Silenced,” is an immersive experience created by three women who explored the essence of womanhood and its accompanying struggles. Participating students were set and video designers Gisela Estrada (M.F.A. ’23) of Horizon City, Texas, student Mrinali Thanwani of Visakhapatnam, India and costume designer Sarah Webster (M.F.A. ’23) of Pleasanton, California.

Second, “El Chupacabra” equates the mythical beast to the experience immigrants (specifically Hispanics) go through when immigrating to the United States. It also speaks to the feelings of alienation felt by the first- or second-generation children of immigrants; the creators of this piece are children of immigrants directly from the countries of Mexico, Cuba and Puerto Rico. Participating students were set and lighting designers Lucas Becker of Algonquin, Illinois; Nikolas Serrano of Loxahatchee, Florida; and costume designer Maki Niikura of Monument, Colorado.

A tradition in the making

In addition to Estrada, Thanwani, Webster and Becker, also attending PQ23 was Leo Murphy (B.F.A. ’23) of Omaha, Nebraska; student Tierney Brennan of Durango, Colorado; student Maya Batshoun of Alexandria, Kentucky; student Jennifer Kroon-Nelson of Duluth, Minnesota; student Gwen Landrum of Norfolk, Virginia; student Nathan Bowden of Santa Ana, California; student Bridget Tran of Cary; and student Isabella Kessler of Millville, Pennsylvania.

“We went to the last one (in 2019) as well and hope to continue going every four years,” said Professor and Director of Scene Design John Coyne.

The Thomas S. Kenan Institute for the Arts at UNCSA provided funding for student travel and a Faculty Leadership Grant for Yoon Bae’s participation.

"The Kenan Institute for the Arts invigorates and inspires the creativity of people, communities, and society in imaginative and innovative ways through the arts,” said Executive Director of the Thomas S. Kenan Institute for the Arts, Kevin Bitterman. “Supporting the UNCSA Delegation to the 2023 Prague Quadrennial underscores the Kenan Institute’s commitment to creating transformational experiences for faculty and students of UNCSA – including their engagement with the global arts community as artists and audiences navigate a rapidly changing landscape for live performance, design, and extended reality experiences.

“Likewise, we were happy to support Yoon Bae’s ability to explore and develop new approaches to creative learning, curriculum, projects, and research at UNCSA. Taking advantage of such a ‘rare’ opportunity only serves to enhance her creativity and leadership within the global entertainment sector."

by Marla Carpenter

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