Carl Schmidt (actor)

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Carl Schmidt , Karl Schmidt or Carl Schmidl , (before 1838 in Stettin - before 1902) was a German theater actor , singer, dancer and theater manager.

Life

The exact dates of life of Carl Schmidt have not yet been found. He was born in Szczecin , and due to his talent for facial expressions and pantomime , he already appeared there at the age of six in a so-called amateur theater ensemble . Since his family did not want to promote the emerging acting career, Schmidt had to complete a commercial apprenticeship with a subsequent study of architecture. Against the will of his parents, he finally gave in to his passion for the theater by successfully debuting in comic roles in Danzig and even as the first comedian at the new theater in Frankfurt ad Oderwas engaged. This theater company also traveled to other cities, so that Schmidt had the opportunity to convince his relatives of his talent and success in Szczecin. He then found engagement in Lübeck , where he was also convincing in the role of character actor , especially the intriguer. In Schwerin , he was also active as a director and then as in Erfurt , Magdeburg , Nuremberg , Amsterdam and Antwerp . This was followed by Strasbourg and Baden, he successively took the Directorate of Bern and Basel .

Theater Basel 1831

In the spring of 1838 Schmidt was put under contract for the management of the Freiburg City Theater , which he was able to maintain for two years until, despite his willingness to make sacrifices, the contract was terminated due to adverse financial and personal circumstances. In the years that followed, it can still be found in Bern, Basel (combined with the theaters in Geneva , Lausanne , Dijon , Chalon-sur-Saône , Chambéry , Aix-les-Bains , Lyon ) and Turin (most recently for the season 1856/57) and was finally only mentioned as the owner of props and books he had carried with him , for which he had already placed advertisements for rental in almanacs in previous years .

characterization

After playing mostly outdoorsmen, adolescent lovers, intriguers, adolescents and old comedians as well as character roles and fathers, Schmidt had grown into the subject of tragedy over the years. B. as Franz Moor , Daniel , Ossip , Claude Frello (by Charlotte Birch-Pfeiffer ). Sharply marked characters suited him best because of his pronounced facial expressions. Schmidt is said to have a great talent, which, however, could not be fully developed due to his lack of assertiveness and the resulting financial worries up to multiple bankruptcies and all possible unpredictability in the theater, also depending on the often lacking loyalty of the actors and authorities involved . Schmidt, however, was not too bad to adapt tirelessly to the requirements: he helped out personally in all subjects, even as a tenorist and dancer; his passion for theater, however, was unbroken, even if in the end he was only able to lead an unsteady wandering life. The year of his death has remained unknown.

literature

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Excerpt from file: CH-NB - Basel, from the north, with marginal vignettes - Collection Gugelmann - GS-GUGE-ISENRING-A-3.tif | mini | Basel 1831
  2. ↑ Almanach for Friends of Drama 1844 pp. 62-63 at Google Books
  3. ^ Almanac for friends of the art of acting , for example from 1846 p. 462 on Google Books or 1848 p. 386 on Google Books

Remarks

  1. ^ Also Karl Schmidt , at Eisenberg Carl Schmidl (probably misprint)
  2. ↑ further volumes and editions in the Wikisource article Theater , section "Lexica"
personal data
SURNAME Schmidt, Carl
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Schmidt, Karl; Schmidl, Carl
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German theater actor, singer, dancer and theater director
DATE OF BIRTH before 1838
PLACE OF BIRTH Szczecin
DATE OF DEATH before 1902