Theater Documentation Past and Present

Zbigniew Raszewski

Abstract

This article discusses the definitions and typology of theater documentation. The author comments on the existing distinction between: 1) documentation of theater performances, which, according to his 1970 concept, is divided into process records (giving insights into performance preparation) and product records (enabling the reconstruction of a performance); 2) documentation of theater life, comprising variously arranged inventories of performances, referred to as repertories (e.g., of a given historical period, city, theater or ensemble, artist, etc.). He proposes a new distinction: between passive documentation (comprising various library, archive, and museum collections) and active documentation (comprising all types of elaboration). He also distinguishes between current and historical documentation. He analyzes the relationship between documentation and interpretation, emphasizing that while active documentation always involves a degree of interpretation, it remains credible provided that it is characterized by interpretive restraint, so that different, even contradictory interpretations of the material are possible. The article discusses institutions in charge of current and historical theater documentation (the Institute of Art of the Polish Academy of Sciences) and collecting historical documentation (Warsaw theater museum). The author also indicates the most important direction for this strand of theater research: the urgent need to undertake documentary research on pre-photographic and photographic iconography of actors.