Academy Units

Head of: Boris Senker, F.C.A.

Opatička 18, 10000 Zagreb
Phone: +385 01 4895 302
Phone: +385 01 4895 333
Museum theatrical collection +385 01 4895 304
Museum theatrical collection +385 01 4895 307
E-mail: teatar@hazu.hr

Open for the public: Tuesdays and Thursdays 9 a.m. – 1 p.m.

The Division of Theatrology, today the Division of the History of the Croatian Theatre, started operating on 1^st January 1966 as one of two divisions within the then re-named and re-formed Literature and Theatrology Institute. Prior to that, towards the end of 1965, the Academy Literature Institute was integrated with the archives and the museum of the Croatian National Theatre in Zagreb, from which it overtook the non-listed theatrical material until 1950. The Division of the History of the Croatian Theatre engages in studying the national dramatic literature and all forms and professions related to the national theatre. Within the scientific research project entitled The Repertory of Croatian Theatres, led by Dr. Sc. Branko Hećimović, the book entitled The Repertory of Croatian Theatres was listed and published in three volumes, covering the periods 1840–1980 and 1981–1990; the fourth volume, covering the period 1991–2000, is being prepared. In the fifth volume, the list of performances held until 1840 was published. Since 2007, the work on the scientific project entitled The Time and Space of the European and the Croatian Theatrical Engagement of the Actor and Director Ivo Raić, led by Prof. Dr. Sc. Antonija Bogner-Šaban, has been underway.

The Division comprises the Museum theatrical collection, which has since 1988 been included into the registry of museum organizations, and which has diverse theatrical material in keeping. Material on theatrical authors and artists, as well as on Croatian theatres, festivals, companies and troupes is continually added to the collection. It is one of the largest collections of its kind in this part of Europe. The material is borrowed for exhibition purposes and used by scientists and experts. The Division also comprises a library.

The Division is further active in organizing exhibitions, in which it presents to the public the major protagonists of the Croatia theatrical life; the exhibitions include stage design and costume sketches, theatrical posters, theatre cast sheets, as well as other valuable theatrographic material. Accompanying catalogues are regularly published.

Scientists employed at the Division collaborate in the journal entitled Kronika(The Chronicles) of the Institute of the History of the Croatian Literature, Theatre and Music of the Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts; several issues addressing theatrical history topics have also been published so far.

In 1980, the then Literature and Theatrology Institute of the Yugoslav Academy of Sciences and Arts founded the Marko Fotez Award, presented quadrennially for research work regarding the Croatian dramatic and theatrical heritage. The Division of the History of the Croatian Theatre of the Institute of the History of the Croatian Literature, Theatre and Music of the Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts is co-founder of the Award for Promoting Croatian Dramatic Heritage in Puppet Theatres (1991), and of the Croatian Theatrical Stage Award (1992).

Furthermore, the Division of the History of the Croatian Theatre is co-founder of the theatrical and theatrological manifestation Krležini dani (Krleža’s Days), which has been held in Osijek since 1990. For the leading Croatian scholars and theatre workers, it presents a meeting-place where they can discuss topics from the Croatian dramatic-theatrical past and present; the Proceedings of these meetings are published annually.

The material, theatre cast sheets (from 1840 onward), and the published volumes of The Repertory of Croatian Theatres are currently being digitised. The material can be searched on web pages within the Digital Repository of the Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts.

Additional information on the material kept at the Division of the History of the Croatian Theatre may be found in the following printed and/or internal lists:

1. Arhivski fondovi i zbirke u SFRJ. SR Hrvatska, Savez arhivskih radnika Jugoslavije, Belgrade 1984, pp 434-439.
2. Vodič Zavoda za povijest hrvatske književnosti, kazališta i glazbe Hrvatske akademije znanosti i umjetnosti, HAZU, Zagreb 2001 (p. o. „Kronike“ Zavoda za povijest hrvatske književnosti, kazališta i glazbe Hrvatske akademije znanosti i umjetnosti, 8, 2001).
3. Pregled arhivskih fondova i zbirki Republike Hrvatske, volume 1, Hrvatski državni arhiv, Zagreb 2006, pp 1034-1048.

1. Complete list of the material kept at the Division of the History of the Croatian Theatre (available on the internal web pages of the Division).