Theatre Academy for Children
Under the patronage of the President of the German Bundestag,
Dr. Norbert Lammert
Theatre can do what seems to be difficult for a single person. It is able to condense a personal experience into an exciting scene or a strong image by saying: I love you, but I don’t love you, for instance. And there we are in the middle of a drama. That way, theatre is constantly inventing stories. Funny ones, absurd ones and such that are close to our daily life. Thereby, it may create an ambient in which actors and spectators experience that they are able to encounter reality in a creative way.
The theatre academy is a school of sensual experience in which children and young people can find out that they do not simply have to accept conditions and situations but that they can take an active role in shaping them. They can make small gestures or large signs, observe, question and experiment.
In the third semester, artist-professors of the theatre academy conceptualise rooms – we may also call them ambients - among them ambients of stages, sound, motion, light, activity and ambients of fantasy. As travelling belongs to the principle study of the world and of art, all students which are to conclude their basic study period are invited to an excursion through the Jahrhunderthalle Bochum.
Schedule of lectures 3rd semester
September 9
Bring mich zum Lachen
Graham F. Valentine: comedy
Graham F. Valentine studied at the Jacques Lecoq Theatre School in Paris, one of the most important contact points for drama students from all over the world. Since many years, he works as a free artist for theatre and film in Great Britain, France, Germany, Austria and Switzerland. He already participated in the early productions of Christoph Marthaler. In the theatre academyhe will talk about the role of the comedian and the clown, about the history of this character which has many names, a sad being and a laughing mask: tomfool, jester, pierrot, pantaloon, white clown –regardless how they are called, in the end they share their succcess by having all the laughters and also a dram of luck and awareness on their side.
September 16
Zwischen Denkfabrik und Papierkorb
Hermann Beil: dramaturgy
What exactly is a dramaturg doing? The answer is to be counted to one of these mysteries that makes the world a bit nicer. Their corporate secret comprise their mighty, sometimes capriciously sorted bibliothecas, their loose notepads, their torn out newspaper articles, their timetables and flight schedules, their meetings and telefon conferences in diplomatic manner, their marks, signs and memos in the world wide web, an unpacked suitcase and the constantly changing address but stabile interest in the world that surrounds them. Summarized into one sentence: Their corporate secret is a chronic curiosity, paired with literary expertise and a critical perception. Hermann Beil, whose curriculum vitae is closely connected to the theatre of Claus Peymann since many years, talks about a profession of flexible personalities whose antennas are ceaselessly switched on for reception but are as well able to transmit at the decisive moment.
September 23
Diva und Drossel
Christine Schäfer: vocals
Mozart or Madonna – she does not have any reservations. Thereby, her passionate calmness is close to miracle. In the theatre academy, the famous opera- and melody singer Christine Schäfer sings a song of the American George Crumb, one of the most fascinating composers of our time. In the song, a throstle gives the note. How this sounds out of a singer’s mouth who is normally jubilated as Papagena or Lulu on the stages between New York and Salzburg – you should not miss it.
September 30
Knöpfe, Tasten, Zeichen
Amidst the stage setting of Die Soldaten, technics team of the RuhrTriennale
The team of technics of the RuhrTriennale leads you behind the scenes of the spectacular opera production of Die Soldaten composed by Bernd Alois Zimmermann – a last season’s highlight. Three orchestras are playing, a grand stand moves through the room, monitors multiply the conductor, a bomb explodes. How, why - and why at this time and this particular moment? Who sets the signals, which signs are agreed on, what kind of role does the computer play, how much time is left for the singer to change her costume? Venue and staging are an occasion for a fulminant festival of inquiries. The Jahrhunderthalle becomes a laboratory for exceptional impressions and experiences.
October 7
Der Theatermacher
Claus Peymann: theatre manager
To be a theatre manager is the most risky one of all professions, because one will be held responsible for everything, especially for the failures. But this is the function such as it is, as he indeed is in charge. There are theatre managers who are very skilled and there are some who are unskilled. And there is the erroneous opinion that love alone for the theatre is enough in order to play the part of the theatre manager. The profession of a theatre manager however is real and hard, no leisure activity, a profession you have to acquire – provided that you are talented. You have to learn for instance how to convert failures into a triumph. Real theatre managers, which means theatre people that work and struggle for their theatre with heart and soul, become more and more rare. Claus Peymann is such a rare splendid specimen. His theatre work in Stuttgart, Bochum, at the Vienna Burgtheater and now at the Berlin ensemble over a period of many years is one good example to demonstrate what a theatre manager has to handle (and is able to handle!) in order to »stem his theatre, day-to-day« (Thomas Bernhard).
October 14
Die Welt ist eine Kugel, aber das sieht man nicht
Raimund Bauer: stage interior
The artist-professor indeed is an artist and a professor. In addition to his work as a stage designer for drama and opera he teaches the subject »stage interior« at the University for Visual Arts in Hamburg. The stage interior is also the topic of his lecture at the theatre academy. Effects let the stage develop into a perfect gimmickry: light effects, painted decorations, built walls create stage sets that want to imitate reality as close as possible or like to be way beyond reality.This is called »Kunstraum«. Whether a stage design has a natural effect or reveals itself as artificial and whether this is of any relevance to the told story is an infinite chapter of theatre history. Some enthralling examples will be presented.
Sundays, 11:00 a.m. Pact Zollverein, Essen
apart from September 30: Jahrhunderthalle Bochum
Interested children, ages eight to thirteen, may kindly apply with this application form (PDF, please print out) until August, 31:
Junge Triennale, Leithestr. 35, 45886 Gelsenkirchen
Places to study are limited. Students of the first and second semester get a guaranteed place. Study fees are 20 € per child and semester. Sisters and brothers pay a one-time reduced fee of 10 €. Regular attendance of the lectures is desired.