The School of Drama participates in the 15th Prague Quadrennial of Performance Design and Space with a double project on Rethinking Cities: Performing places and stories of resilience as a response to the PQ2023 Student Section theme RARE – Stories of Unique Places along with other nine university departments from four Greek cities.
This theme was developed within the framework of the Scenography laboratory courses of the School of Drama, in two phases as follows
THE CITIES AND THE CITY (graduate course)
The city as a synthesis of material and immaterial elements made of history, topography, architecture, social and spiritual life.
Thessaloniki, a city with many faces: from the multicultural city of the early 20th century to the modern city of the 21st century.
The historical city with its imprint in time: the Ancient city, the Roman city, the Byzantine city, the Ottoman city, the Jewish city (once the Jerusalem of the Balkans).
The metamorphosis of the city through milestones: the fire of 1917, the arrival of refugees in 1922, the elimination of the Jewish community in 1943.
The modern city as a living archive and as a unique experiential, exhibition space.
Part 1
From the imaginary city to the real one, from Italo Calvino’s Invisible cities to the Visible city, Thessaloniki.
Art forms: collage, assemblage, maquette.
Final synthesis: a collective artwork
Exhibition sites: the Port, the site that hosts the International Film Festival, and the Umbrellas, George Zongolopoulos’s iconic sculpture, a landmark of the city’s coastal promenade.
Part 2
The city after…
On February 28th, 2023 a fatal accident caused by the collision of two trains shocked the country and especially Thessaloniki, since it was the final destination of the passenger train. The city was in mourning. Among the 57 dead were 13 students returning from the short Carnival break.
Spontaneously, citizens in all cities took the streets to demand accountability for the unjust loss of so many young people. Thousands of inhabitants participated in unprecedented mass protest marches.
The tragic event and its tremendous impact on the city of Thessaloniki are reflected in a series of works that were filled in to the work already done by the team.
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EXTENDED VIDEO: School of Drama Auth_The cities and the city_P Q 2023_3 33 min
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Curator: Lila Karakosta, Professor of Scenography
Students: Eirini Agianniti, Stavriana Dolme, Eirini Zahariou, Eiriri Theodosiou, Anna Ischnopoulou, Stella Karanasiou, Dioni Karkaletsou, Niki Ledaki, Panos Mitselis, Panagiota Mourou, Toulin Osman, Stefania Pantazopoulou, Despina Papadimitriou, Sofia Melina Papadopoulou, Eva Parlani, Rafaella Prodafika, Theodora Sarri, Dimitra Tsintsini, Konstantina Tsolakidou, Vivian Fliouka, Evangelia Fotiadou, Olympia Charalampidou, Louiza-Maria Charalampous, Ernesta Chatzilemonidou, Chrysa Chatzimichail, Maria Orologa.
Photos-video: Anna Agianniti, Eirini Agianiti, Leonidas Papadopoulos, Chrysa Chatzimichail.
Student Exhibition Space: A Tent Stage
Design: Lila Karakosta
This lightweight, assembled, polymorphic, metal structure was designed to act as an “umbrella” literally –in the outdoor PQ23 Student Exhibition Space- as well as metaphorically, housing the exhibits and performative actions of the several participants in the Greek Student Section of PQ.23 (10 Schools/Departments).
When it functions as an exhibition space, the viewer can walk around it to see the exhibition banners or watch the videos of the Schools.
During P.Q. 2023 each School has in turn one day to present their live work using or transforming the construction in any performative way they can imagine.
photo credits: Alkis Ischnopoulos & Lila Krakosta
On June 8, 2023, in the context of the “live events”, the students of the School of Drama created an ephemeral art installation.
The -about 80- collages that had been created in the context of the project The City and the Cities were suspended from the skeleton of the exhibition pavilion, transforming it as a facade and structure.
photo credits: Alkis Ischnopoulos
CREATURES WHISPERING (postgraduate course)
The project named Creatures whispering is on-going and it is being developed within the framework of the Scenography workshop of the Postgraduate Program of Studies on Scenography and Costume Design, held by the School Drama, School of Fine Arts, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki.
The project began under the guidance of the supervisor, Professor Emeritus Apostolos Vettas, as an experimentation on the formation of scenic images using various methods, mechanisms and materials. The key idea on which the project focuses is the concept of transformation. Beckett’s Happy Days, Ovidius’ Metamorphoses, Ionesko’s Killing Game, some of Sachtouris’ poems and many other theatre plays, poems, literature and mythology inspired the storyline and the images that will be created on stage.
All the elements that will eventually come to result in a performance, from the aesthetics of the images, music and props, to the specific stage directions and acting, are being formed through the process of experimentation.
The students involved in the creation of this project come from different disciplines and artistic fields and work in teams with the final goal of a complete artistic composition. In order to achieve this, they rotate through the responsibilities required by the creative process and production management, thus receiving the overall experience of a theatrical performance.
Supervisor professor: Apostolos Fokion-Vettas, Professor Emeritus of Scenography
Props supervisor Olympia Sideridou
Students: Marina Dolcetti, Anneta Imprisimi, Marina Konstantinidou, Christina Nikolaidou, Lida Simota – El Tzagiousi, Andronki Tsagkarakou, Nikos Tselikos, Zoi Vezyri, Eleni Zografou
Official Website of the Greek Exhibition at PQ23: https://greeceatpq.gr/
Website of the Student Works in the Student Exhibition PQ2023: https://segreecepq23.wixsite.com/rethinkingcities/
VIDEO STUDENT EXHIBITION – Greece @ PQ23: https://youtu.be/rd2itdN-qD0
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photo credits: Alkis Ischnopoulos
