Archaeology of concepts and ambitions: performing structuralism through the field of scenography (Czechoslovakia, 1970s)

This paper presents the partial results of the ongoing research of scenographic theory. It discusses the institutionalized support of the Structuralist approach to scenography that culminated in Czechoslovakia in the first half of the 1970s under the auspices of the Institute of Scenography. Its head, Miroslav Kouřil, repeatedly claimed allegiance to Structuralist thought. Particular attention is paid to the methods and strategies through which Structuralism was performed within the SI, its projects and platforms. The topic is also treated from the historical perspective.