International Association of Libraries and Museums of the Performing Arts
Société Internationale des Bibliothèques et des Musées des Arts du Spectacle
The Attitude of Theatres Towards Documentation
Sinisa Janic
The Theatre and Theatre Collections / Le théâtre et les collections de documents
International
Association of Libraries and Museums of the Performing
Arts
16th International Congress, London, 9-13 September 1985
Proceedings of the Congress
Société Internationale
des Bibliothèques et des Musées des arts du spectacle
16ème Congres Internationale, Londres, 9-13 september
1985
Procès-Verbal
London 1986, pp. 92-94, [French abstract], p. 94
In principle, one could say that there is no such theatre which does not express its goodwill to preserve its documentation; however, there exist differences in the degrees of attention paid to the collections, then in methods of preservation and of cataloguing the documents, in the experience acquired in those fields, in financial and technical capabilities, in qualified personnel, and in the attitude of archives and collections of theatres towards the central institutions for theatre documentation, like theatre museums, libraries or institutes.
The majority of theatres have archives at the elementary level of development, without complete documentation and without planned methods of work. Their collections consist of classical documents which are produced and stay as documents almost automatically, naturally, as for instance placards and programmes, administrative and financial documents, official letters, photographs, sketches of stage sets and costumes, etc.
These archives lack developed systems of more adequate and more complete documentation, or systems of preservation and cataloguing of the collections. Documents rather often leave the archives since they are borrowed by the theatre itself or outside the theatre, and they stay in private collections. Therefore it can happen that a long-existing theatre is not able to offer the placards of the premières of recent seasons for the celebration of its jubilee.
As concerns the photographs, especially those taken at dress rehearsals, when photographic documents of the stage are usually made, they do not represent true documents made during the performance, but special arrangements and compositions of the photographers who are usually allowed to choose by themselves what pictures to take. As concerns the classification of the photographs, the simplest and quickest way of division into two groups is most commonly used: these are group pictures and individual portraits, and then each performance and each artist get their own files, which are then put into one of the two groups and arranged according to alphabetical order, according to the name of the performance or the name of the artist. Such a system makes possible the retrieval of information, but with incomplete data about the content and the origin of the photographs.
A similar, assessment would apply to all other kinds of documents, for instance to the inadequate documentation about the components of the stage set, which is usually limited to the preservation of sketches, neglecting the drawings of the stage as a whole or of its details and the photographs of the stage set in all phases of its changes.
It is well known that the specific atmosphere and circumstances in the theatre hamper the development of the collection toward richer contents and modern methods of work. The traditional idea of the transient and almost uncatchable nature of the stage and of acting are such that after the last fall of the curtain a performance is left just to a few documents, to memory, and finally to oblivion. Such a course of events is enhanced also by the nature of the theatre: almost each day, again and again, almost all financial and other resources are mobilized for new rehearsals and performances and everything which does not serve the new event is pushed into the background. Therefore it often happens that a professional who works in the collection spends most of his time working on advertisement, on the composition and printing of new placards and programmes, on secretarial jobs, etc.
However, some theatres succeed in enriching their collections, in finding more sophisticated methods of work. In such theatres collections are more diversified, methods more modern, and the criteria about the functional value and the broad applicability of the documents are well developed and precise. The work in the archives is not performed by people to whom such work is only one of several jobs, but by experts specialized in documentation and assigned exclusively to the work on documentation. In such theatres, for instance, the choice of pictures to be taken is not left only to the photographer; it is also the task of the stage manager, of the dramaturge and of other artistic directors. People are not satisfied with photographs of the performances taken usually at dress rehearsals, with special arrangements and compositions chosen for their attractiveness: in order to be faithfull, pictures are taken during the rehearsal or during the performance. Moreover, the work of the photographer is not limited to such pictures; it must include, beside the pictures of the stage, the everyday life of a theatre behind the stage, in the corridors, at meetings, on solemn occasions, jubilees, etc. As concerns the classification of the photographs, they use the system of cards with small format prints and accompanying rubrics, in order to protect physically the original and to provide complete information about the content and origin of the photograph, with technical data about the format, prints, negative, call number, etc.
In well arranged archives special attention is paid to documents in form of recorded tapes and video tapes as the best method of preserving the until recently uncatchable event of acting. Such archives follow the experience of similar institutions in the country and abroad, in order to overcome the problems which arise when one wants to present one medium by another, in this case theatre by a film.
There is a large field of various events in the life of theatres; however, little attention has been paid to those events in the past, maybe because they were out of reach of the classical documentation. Here we mean the atmosphere in a theatre and around a theatre, and the factors which influence that atmosphere. These are, in theatre, research, hesitations, changing of original ideas and other details which make the portraits of creative people. One of the essential factors in the theatre - the audience -- is also left out of reach of the traditional documentation, and other factors as well: social, political and cultural ones, then the relationships with the authorities, with those who finance the theatre, with the critics, etc. Therefore, an expert for documentation in a theatre should also be a chronicler who would record all events in diaries, or encourage people from the theatre to record material which could be a precious source of knowledge for future research.
In a number of countries there exist national or regional institutions for theatre documentation (museums, archives, libraries, institutes) and one of the questions is the question about the relationship between such institutions and the archives of the theatres. Some theatres maintain the wrong attitude that the existence of such institutions means that theatres should not be concerned at all with the collection of documents. However, such central institutions can be physically very far from the theatres, and an efficient collection of documents, understood in the modern way, must take place on the spot, in the theatre itself. Besides, the central institutions usually direct their activities to broader fields and subiects, for instance to the studies of national theatres in a certain era or in a certain style. In such research programmes a theatre represents only one element of the entity and it has to offer to that entity only a selection from its documentation. Moreover, it is difficult to imagine an institution which could gather together and study all collections from all theatres, collections which increase in size almost every day and require a lot of expert personnel, of space, technical facilities and finance.
Bearing in mind the very broad applicability of the documents to various purposes, theatres should have especially rich collections. Primarily for their own use and routine information, and also as a basis at which the creators of the performances - dramaturges, stage managers, stage designers, actors and others - could create new concepts, e.g. about classical dreams, using the documents about old performances as a kind of a catalyst for their own ideas. The documents represent the necessary basis of theatre exhibitions, studies, biographies, history and compositions of theatre collections. Therefore the methods of their processing can not be in the exclusive responsibility of the theatres, but also of a broad circle of theorists, practicians, historians, and other people concerned with the theatre.
Therefore, the Museum of Theatre Art in Belgrade, as the central institution for the studies of the history of Serbian theatres, maintains close contacts with Serbian theatres and with their documentation departments at the basis of contracts, with the aim to enrich the theatre collections and to improve the methods of work in the theatres. In that way, both parties initiate and implement joint projects: exhibitions, almanacs, reviews of repertoires, monographies, illustrated collections and histories, audio-visual programmes and all other activities which enhance the collection, processing and preservation of documents, data and other material from the past, the present and the future. In these activities, the Museum follows carefully the experiences acquired in this field abroad, and especially the international gatherings which deal with such problems, which are of the greatest importance in all theatres.
L'Attitude des Théâtres Envers la Documentation
Les théâtres différent par le degré d'attention prêtée aux collections propres des théâtres, par le contenu, la forme et les méthodes de travail - ce qui dépend des qualifications des professionnels qui v travaillent, des conditions de sauvegarde et de protection des fonds documentaires, des moyens disponibles et surtout de la conscience des possibilités d'application de tels fonds à des fins différentes.
Dans la plupart des théâtres les archives sont au niveau élémentaire de développement, se contentant des documents qui arrivent automatiquement, sans collection planifiée des documents et n'utilisant pas les méthodes modernes de documentation. Cependant, certains théâtres développement des archives substantielles, bien organisées, qui ont une large application dans l'informatique, la pédagogie et la publicité, dans le travail quotidien des créateurs du théâtre, ainsi que dans l'organisation des expositions, la publication et les recherches historiographiques
Une documentation adéquate et complète est possible seulement sur place, dans les théâtres, et non dans les centres éloignés comme sont les musées, les archives, les bibliothèques, les instituts, etc. Cependant, la collaboration entre les théâtres et ces centres est indispensable afin de trouver les solutions meilleures pour les problèmes spécifiques de la documentation du théâtre. A cet effet, Le Musée de l'Art Théâtral à Belgrade, comme institution centrale pour l'étude et la présentation du théâtre serbe, a entamé la collaboration avec les théâtres sur le territoire qu'il représente, sur la base de contrats, et d'activités communes, comme sont, par exemple, l'organisation des expositions, la publication des almanachs, de monographies, les études historiques, etc.
Les expérience acquises
dans ce domaine au niveau international suscitent
l'attention de tous les théâtres, ainsi qu'aux réunions
internationales, surtout quand ils représentent le thème
principal, comme est le cas au 16ème Congrès de SIBMAS.
URL: http://www.theatrelibrary.org/sibmas/congresses/sibmas85/london85_17.html
Last updated: 27.11.2002
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