Abstract |
The multivolume series titled Bulgarian Theatre: Documentary
Materials was created by a team of researchers and experts from the
Theatre Department at the Art Criticism Institute of the Bulgarian
Academy of Sciences - Dr Kr. Tosheva, Dr Sv. Baychinska, Dr. V.
Decheva, B. Olshevska, N. Chikova, Alla Mateva, and the State
Archive Chief Expert I. Burilkova. After the publication of the
first volume in 2000 the "private" until then project became
"official" as a result of its inclusion in the plans for scientific
and applied activity of the Art Criticism Institute. The project
involving the creation of this series was motivated by a number of
scientific and practical considerations, which were both subjective
and objective. Since we were well aware of the conditions in which
archives and old printed editions were stored in Bulgaria, we
considered the realization of the project to be a "rescue mission"
in which we fulfilled our duty to future generations. Another thing
that spurred us into action had to do with the radical changes
which took place in Bulgaria after 1989. These changes called for a
rethink of both our sociopolitical history and our cultural and
artistic history, including the history of our theatre. These
considerations formed the basis of our creative objectives: to
preserve the still accessible footprints of the past of our theatre
and to "resurrect" them, immersing them into the socio-cultural
contexts that used to surround them "in their lifetime"; to
reconstruct not only the respective show models but also the mental
disposition of the audience; and last, but not least, to put in
place the preconditions for a rethink of the history of our theatre
from a cultural and comparative viewpoint. In line with them we
determined not only the selection criteria but also the
compositional principles concerning the presentation of the
material. In each volume the latter has been organized into 4
separate and interrelated sections: Theatre Archive, Theatre Press
Releases, Comparative Chronological Tables of the more significant
events of the theatre and cultural life in Bulgaria and in Europe,
and Appendices (including bands and repertoires of the existing
theatre groups, as well as alphabetical indices of the dramatists
whose productions are staged, theatrical figures and critics) This
composition not only allows one to "surf" in the large database but
also enables him/her to have free choice when it comes to the
scientific strategy for reading and making sense of the material -
specifically and contextually, synchronously and procedurally, from
a specialized scientific perspective as well as from a cultural and
comparative perspective. And whether, to what extent and how these
potential possibilities will come to fruition is a question that
needs to be answered not by sourcers but by historians - from now
on it's their "turn" . Key words: theatre sourcing, history of
theatre, historical transfer, cultural context, type of theatre -
spectators' "horizon of expectation" Trend: Art and Culture ,
section- the Road to Europe
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