A comparison of the Slovak laws on radio and TV broadcasting with the new Italian law from 2004 is revealing that even though a definition of the statutory broadcasting is brief, it is elaborated sufficiently and accepted in the most momentous documents not only in other European countries, but also in Slovakia. The problem more or less is how to implement this idea in practice where the statutory media on one side have to broadcast for all groups and minorities of the population (e.g. cultural, religious, sport, national), but on the other side the highest possible ratings are required with all potential percipients. This discrepancy is resulting into a wrong feeling that statutory media still do not have sufficiently defined their roles, it is of course not true, what is true is that ruling management of respective media do not always know how to successfully implement the defined requirements in practice.
This study shows some of the aspects of relation between mimesis and the fiction. This theme has many dimensions also on diachronic and synchronic line. The historical evolution reflects, that similar relation between mimesis and fiction, as exist today, had exist already in the past - in baroque and antique. At the same time we discover, that also in time synchronic comparison of several kinds of the dramatic arts we can find at present the complementary relations of mimesis and fiction within the framework of theatre, dramaturgy, but also opera, operetta and also radio and television dramatic art. Mimetic presentation of the reality is always more or less filling up by author's fiction and can't be say, that one is excluded by the other one.
A prominent Slovak theatrical theoretician and critic publishes a chapter from the prepared monograph on the French director Jacques Copeau. The theatre 'Old Dovecot' (Vieux-Colombier) led by Jacques Copeau had a very successful season in 1913/1914. It brought a new approach to the histrionic art. Shortly before the summer 1914 Jacques Copeau parted with his audience promising to open the theatre again in autumn, with a further development with regard to the programme renewal. But the World War I started. Jacques Copeau and other actors were recruited and the theatre Old Dovecot was closed. Then the French Prime Minister Georges Clemenceau personally suggested to Copeau to make a tour to the United States of America. Jacques Copeau accepted his offer. He left to America in January 1917. He took with him the lectures on his theatrical intentions, which he had planned to offer overseas. By the end of 1917 maecenas Otto H.Kahn, a Francophile, suggested to Copeau the same thing what had done before him Georges Clemenceau – to transfer the whole 'Vieux Colombier' to the USA. The introductory performance of the American era of the 'Vieux Colombier' theatre took place on 27th November 1917. The first part with a name derived from the Molier's play 'Versailles' improvisation', was a small celebration to open the 'Vieux Colombier' in the USA. The 'Vieux Colombier' continued in the first season by the opening night 'Twelfth Night' and by renewing 'The Brothers Karamazov'. The character of Smerdyakov was played by François Gournac, to whom it was a lifetime opportunity. Never before he had got so much appreciation like then. But not just him, also other actors showed to the American audience this philosophical, realistic and elaborated picture of the period produced by a great Russian author. Not often the audience could see such a mature connection between a master in literature and a well balanced troupe. The 'Vieux Colombier' was very different from Broadway - where two or three stars were surrounded just by average or even below standard quality actors. The French actors were acting with enthusiasm, collectively, and often exceeding their possibilities. They were aware of the fact that it was more than just a theatre - they represented a cultural and moral institution. The 'Vieux Colombier' mission in the USA was concluded on 7th April 1919 by the final performance 'Miracle Goblet' by La Fontaine, followed by 'Farewell Improvisation', where the troupe members together with Copeau summarized the basic data on what had been done within the period of two years.
Jaques Copeau dramatised the novel 'The Brothers Karamazov' by Dostoevsky together with Jean Croué in 1911 for Théâtre des Arts. It was then presented several times in his Paris theatre Vieux-Colombier. The dramatisation was reflecting Jacques Copeau's theatrical ideas through which he succeeded to reform French theatre in the middle of 20th century. His dramatisation was presented twice also in Slovakia. By a coincidence, it happened in the same Bratislava theatre - at Nová scéna (New Stage Theatre). First time it was in 1947, translated by Helena Malirova and Zora Jesenska and directed by Drahos Zelenský. The second staging took place in 1967, translated by Katarina Belnayová, directed by Jozef Palka. The dramatisation from 1911 was not anymore suitable for the theatre of the sixties and the Nova scena troupe was not able to perform demanding characters of Dostoyevsky creation.
The author of the first Slovak monograph dedicated to the work of art of Jacques Copeau (in print) is in this study dealing with the investigation of the common features in creation of two great personalities of the European Theatre of 20th century. Both considered the status of the theatre where they had been creating non-satisfactory, and both expressed their rather critical attitudes towards it. This appears to be a quite common phenomenon with many theatrical artists, dissatisfaction is perhaps an inherited feature of each young generation. But Copeau together with Grotowski kept the equal positions when manifesting their dissatisfaction through the gesture of leaving. They left, looking for places where they could create, free from having been burdened by problems like the contemporary theatres. The French stayed contented with the left bank of the Seine, in the ward of the students, the cathedral Saint-Sulpice distant from the big boulevards, where he then established his Old Dovecot. And later on, he went even further - to the Burgundian area. The Polish went away from Cracow, from the second and for many also the first most important Polish cultural centre, to the province, a small town of Opole, where after the war the population had been changed and the cultural structures were renewed. Jacques Copeau did not speak in connection with his ambition to effect the shape of the theatre, about the revolution but about its renewal. He and Grotowski had own main goals not to destroy the old, but construct the new. Their seeming withdrawal, departure for suburban areas was in fact the step forward. Grotowski and Copeau succeeded in creating of three completely identical conditions so that they could devote themselves to their mission. First: they created small theatrical groups out of those who remained faithful, exclusively young actors; Second: they found the theatrical halls designed for a smaller sized audience in order not to run too big administration and difficult technical problems (miniature Theatre of 13 Rows in Opole, Laboratory in Market Place in Wroclaw, and Old Dovecot – a rather small theatre hall when compared with other theatres in Paris that was rebuilt and became even smaller); Third: they did not aim only at running the theatre. Grotowski and Copeau thus created - or they both made their best efforts to - a room for laboratory work. The author is dealing in detail mainly with a contribution of both directors towards the revival of a historionic art and its redemption from the layers made by craftsmen.
In 2006 in the editing house 'L'Age d'Homme' in Lausanne a book consisting of articles, performances, dialogues of the French theatrologist Firmin Gemier (1869-1933) was published. It was composed by Catherine Faivre-Zellner under the title 'Firmin Gémier - Theatre populaire, acte I'. Gemier's reflections and ideas comprehensively compiled together in this book served as an incentive for the author not to write an ordinary review, but based on this ground and with the help of this material, he created a study and where through a universal and versatile personality of Firmin Gemier his most important live achievements like 'Theatre National Ambulant' (National Touring Theatre), his mass performances -sometimes played under blue sky (open air), or in big halls - in Lausanne, Geneva, Paris (Cirque d'Hiver), next his 'Theatre National Populaire' - TNP (National Folk Theatre), as well as 'Societe Universelle du Theatre', which was established by Firmin Gemier and his fellow workers - it was an international association of theatricals between the two World Wars, could have been introduced to the Slovak readers.
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