Summary
CAN MIRROR BE A PSYCHOLOGICAL INSTRUMENT: HOW PSYCHOLOGICAL IS SVOBODA’S USE OF MIRROR GENERATING AS A PSYCHO-PLASTIC AND DIGITAL STAGE?
Josef Svoboda believes that the theatre is a living thing; therefore, scenography should not be fixed and tell all at once. Thus he is associated with the kinetic stage in which he uses mirrors, various lighting and projection techniques, overcomes the limitations of proscenium theatre. The mirror differs itself from projectors and lights since he uses the mirror as a substantial element in the stage. More importantly in his scenography, mirror transforms the stage into a dramatic and digital atmosphere even though it is not a digital device itself (analogue). He explores the digital and technological scenographic spaces by combining mirrors with technological instruments. What is reflected in the mirror is not randomly selected objects but connected to context, history, the memory of the plays because Svoboda gives different roles to the mirrors to refer the inner world of the spectators, and their psychology. Lacan finds the mirror as a powerful object to construct identity through the reflection and he categories this self-construction within three orders; imaginary, symbolic, and real. This study examines the mirrors of Svoboda to find out how psychologic his staging is and how Lacanian three orders could be represented by his scenography while investigating the potential of the mirrors to generate psycho-plastic and digital stages.
Keywords
Josef Svoboda, Scenography, Psycho-plastic stage, mirror, Lacan.