While actors the likes of Jamie Foxx and Russel Crowe attempt careers on the microphone, and singers such as 50 cent attempt to make a dollar or "die tryin'" on the big screen, an evolution of "starchitects" have resorted to shift their sights on the built forms of the theatrical arts.
A multitude of theatrical performances in New York City this spring - ballet, opera, and theatre - incorporate architectural design in various ways. Thematic or set design, it is perhaps not entirely surprising that this synchronistic phenomenon comes at a time when development continues to wain, employment remains stagnant, and hope for the advancement of investment in the public realm remains cautious. Architecture of Dance, The Glass House, Attila, The Bilbao Effect, and Theatre for One are architectural interventions that provide an exciting new layer within the performance arts, and instigate a new dialogue with their respective audiences.
Calatrava's kinetic designs for the 'Architecture of Dance' - inspired in part by the condition of the human body - creates scenery that activates the dancers of the NYC Ballet; orchestrating and choreographing a distinct interplay between humans and the built environment.
The 'Bilbao Effect' by Oren Safdie, puts contemporary architecture on trial. Socially constructed notions of what art is are often perpetuated through our misunderstanding of architecture and landscape, and its significant role in the cultural evolution of society - both positive and negative. Rather than perpetuating our notions of architecture and art as inanimate objects that that hang in a gallery or embrace a plaza, the effects of contemporary architectural design may also encompass visual acts or a theatrical event.
There appears to be great potential for stages - theatrical or urban - to become works of art in and of themselves. These theatrically constructed landscapes have the potential to “quicken our senses, stir our emotions, and convey aesthetic integrity . . . Each links us to the people who created it . . . Each holds our history” (Lipske). Like the designed landscape, theatrical 'art'chitecture seemingly presents itself as becoming a contemporary medium for the expression of wealth, discontentment, and political criticism.
Perhaps through our exposure to and understanding of theatre-andscape analogs we might better establish and associate relationships and similarities between the processes and intentions of theatrical space, with those of the designed landscape. Arguably, it is necessary to understand these relationships as a way of better informing the processes of landscape design, and the architecture of the urban environment. The brick wall, billboards, and the public washroom stall have all become galleries for the art of our era. As our culture moves further away from public art traditionally associated with the statuesque, it is important to acknowledge this change, designing our urban landscapes as canvases for the future. Dated tableaus, and replicated images of nature do little to invigorate urban life.
"Theatre for One is a portable performing arts space for one performer and one audience member, that turns public events into private acts, making each performance a singularly intimate exchange." Erected in Times Square, the surrounding landscape and public space are more poignantly articulated as settings, or ‘scenes’ of urban event. 'Landscape as Theatre' enhances the memorable qualities of public spaces, enhancing our experiences within a constant state of flux, and changes in scenery. Like the theatre, the individual affects, and is affected by changes in their environment. Through this interaction, the urban landscape frames its own presence, and defines its relationship within and to the city.
It obvious that architects are finally recognizing the potency that historical and contemporary notions of, and meanings associated with the theatre to inform the designed environment; for the “theatre itself not only had the architectural meaning, derived from the ancients, of a playhouse and the performances staged there, but also meant a conspectus: a place, region, or text in which phenomena are unified for public understanding” (Cosgrove).
While our attention here in the 'Big Apple' may be captivated by the accessible and nearly tangible qualities of 'starchitecturally' designed performance environments, the tableaux of urban life still struggle to facilitate civil action, recreation, and public awareness, and at the same time allow for the flexibility and continuity of scenographic transitions over time. Like stage designs, however, we may draw from this present phenomena, an understanding that the ephemeral nature of the life of urban spaces requires design solutions that serve current needs, while remaining flexible enough to accommodate future uses.
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