History and heritage go hand in hand. Without well-preserved and –documented heritage, it is not evident to conduct research on history, especially when concerning technical elements. This is why the Expertise Centre, together with STEPP and the heritage partners from the sector, promote and support the active preservation of both materials and immaterial heritage.
The history is technical theatre has not been studied and archived thoroughly. The fast-paced evolution of the technology and the more corporate approach of the public administration and companies have led to the lifespan of equipment being reduced to10 to 15 years. Often, the organisations are not aware of the importance of this equipment in their production processes. The size of the machines causes them to not be kept for very long. Furthermore, the witnesses who lived through this entire evolution are slowly disappearing. Besides the importance of the technological evolution in itself, the recording of the technical history remains essential to be able to reconstruct performances. Without the technical and organisational context, we cannot study the stage image.
This segment of the research strand “History of technical theatre” develops methods and tools to describe and archive the technical history of the theatre. By doing this, several milestones of the Flemish history will not be lost either. This concerns both physical witnesses (machines, documentation, working methods) and the testimonies of professional practitioners who lived through this period.
Publications
- Help it’s 3D, Die Fierte Wand #007, 2017 (EN, PDF)
- Heritage, more than a sound mixing board – STEPP magazine #24 (NL, PDF)
- Witnesses of words (boekbespreking) – STEPP magazine #22 (NL, PDF)
- Van Altamira tot heden: het nieuwe audiovisueel museum bij AED-studio’s – STEPP magazine #20 (NL, PDF)
- Herwaardering Theatererfgoed – STEPP magazine #7 (NL, PDF)
- De schouwburg in beeld Amsterdamse toneelscènes 1665 – 1772 (boekbespreking) – STEPP magazine #7 (NL, PDF)
- Het geluid in het theater, een geschiedenis – STEPP Magazine #6 (NL, PDF)
- Oude rotten: Op reis met theater – STEPP Magazine #5 (NL, PDF)
- Oude Rotten: Jerôme Maeckelbergh & John Bogaerts – STEPP Magazine #3 (NL, PDF)
- Oude Rotten Podtechn zkt eign geschied, leeftd onbelngrk – STEPP magazine #1 (NL, PDF)
- Verloren geschiedenis – Proscenium #37 (NL, PDF)
Researchers
- Chris Van Goethem
Partners
- Firmament
- Etwie
- Packed
