Theatre Stage and its Role in Dramatic Art

This bachelor thesis presents changes in the way of thinking about the theatre stage in the work of three key figures of Czech aesthetics and theatre studies: Otakar Hostinský, Otakar Zich, and Jan Mukařovský. The comparison focuses primarily on the definition of the theatre stage itself, on the role attributed to it within the overall structure of the dramatic work, and on the characterization of the relationships between the theatre stage and the other components of the dramatic artwork. The thesis first draws on an analysis of Otakar Hostinský's conception of dramatic art, which he understood as a composite artwork in which performing is combined with poetry, while all components remain subordinated to the dramatic text. Hostinský's ideas were subsequently developed by Otakar Zich, particularly in his work Estetika dramatického umění (The Aesthetics of Dramatic Art). In contrast to Hostinský, Zich places much greater emphasis on the acting component and on the experiences and perceptions of the audience when watching theatre plays. Jan Mukařovský perceives the theatre stage from a structuralist perspective, building on both Hostinský's and Zich's theories. He conceives of the theatre stage as a sign functioning within a complex theatrical structure. The aim of the thesis is to describe how...