Ruhrfutur: Youth Club
The RuhrTriennale's programme for 2005 is all about Romanticism. The Romantic movement bundled the concentrated energy of a new era. It might almost be described as Germany's first youth and protest movement. Young people took a stand with a culture of their own. They developed new ways of expressing themselves and topics that matched their awareness of life, their anxieties and their aspirations. The strict rules separating different forms of literature began to loosen. The fabric of storytelling became less heavy. Crossover forms came about. There was a new awareness of the first person. Farewell to stereotypes! Each person shapes his or her own fate! The old questions reappear with a new emphasis. Who am I? What do I want? In the Ruhrfutur Youth Club, we aim to pick up the threads of the optimistic feeling of the Romantic period.
Our dramatic research will revolve around two texts from the Romantic school: Peter Schlemihls wundersame Reise (The Curious Story of Peter Schlemihl)(1814) by Adalbert von Chamisso and Der Sandmann (The Sandman)(1817) by E.T.A. Hoffmann. Both authors examine questions about what we mean by our own identity. In doing so, they become intensely and hopelessly entangled. Particularly when it comes to governing principles and love. In the end, there are possible ways of living, not hard and fast solutions. Many questions have to remain open. Was the poet and student of physics, Nathanael, mad or clever? What did Peter Schlemihl lose together with his shadow? His better self, his male self, his subconscious self? We will be working together to develop dramatic interpretations in eight acting workshops between March and October. Whether in the open air, at the steelworks or on the rehearsal stage – we will be looking for people from bygone days and from the present. The improvisational work will be documented on video. The video diary will then be screened during the 2005 festival season.