Billerbeck open-air stage
The Billerbeck open-air theater is an open-air theater in the Westphalian city of Billerbeck in the Münsterland . Every year in summer, a children's and an adult play are played on the large natural stage, plus numerous guest productions. In winter there is a children's play and a studio play for adults every year.
history
In May 1950, Billerbeck citizens Alex Hesselmann and Bernhard Engbers founded the open-air theater on the outskirts of Billerbeck. In the first year, the new open-air theater was played: Karl-Heinz Koch staged Friedrich Schiller's “ The Robbers ”. In the years that followed, the great classics formed the repertoire before they gave way to the dialect swans in the 1960s. In 1962, Rector Stephan Rüter began to establish children's theater in Billerbeck on the open-air stage with productions of the Grimm fairy tales. In 1971, Bernd E. Bäumer founded the winter theater for children at the Billerbeck open-air theater, which has celebrated its premiere every year since then in the auditorium of the municipal secondary school during the Advent season.
In the 1980s, classic fairy tale theater continuously gave way to modern children's literature. In 1989 a play for adults was shown for the first time in the historic city center of Billerbeck: Hofmannsthal's " Jedermann " (director: K.-E. Wichmann) was shown in front of the main portal of St. Liudger Cathedral . Since then, performances have taken place every two years in front of historical scenes in Billerbeck, for example in 2007, when Beaumarchais' “ The great day or Figaro's wedding ” (director: Matthias Simon) was performed in front of the medieval Kolvenburg , or in 2005 with Schiller's “ Maria Stuart “Directed by Wolfgang Dralle in front of the Johannikirche.
In autumn 2006, the demolition of the old clubhouse was followed by the construction of a contemporary stage home and a modern workshop, in which all workshops are housed. The new stage home has its own theater café with an integrated studio stage on the ground floor . In January 2008, theater was played for the first time here with Robert Thomas' " Eight Women " (director: Detlev Schmidt). The Billerbeck open-air theater has always been able to cause a sensation in its older and more recent history with extraordinary productions. In 1996, Angelika Obers staged Ende's “ Jim Button and Lukas the Engine Driver”, a spectacular children's theater that set a new stage audience record (more than 20,000 visitors). On the 100th anniversary of the completion of the Billerbeck Cathedral, the open-air stage performed “The Passion of Christ” (director: Peter Jahreis) in the interior of the cathedral in 1998, and Dürrenmatt's “ The Visit of the Old Lady ” (director: B. Wachendorf) succeeded in the following summer a similarly big success at the old Billerbeck train station. Director Thomas Nufer caused a sensation in 2008 with Shakespeare's “ Macbeth ” because he let the audience sit on the stage, but played the play in the auditorium, which was built over with steel ramps.
The number of viewers for the 2009 summer season was around 12,200, which corresponds to an average occupancy rate of 66 percent. To date, a total of around one million people have attended the around 2500 events at the Billerbeck open-air theater.
In addition to their own productions, well-known guest artists also appear on the Billerbeck open-air stage. B. In 2005 Atze Schröder with his program “Goldene Zeiten” or in 2000 the ensemble of the Loreley Festival. The Billerbecker ensemble itself frequently appears on other stages, for example at Hülshoff Castle or the Blauer See natural stage (Ratingen) . With “The great day or Figaro's wedding”, the Billerbecker ensemble was a guest in autumn 2007 in the spa theater on the North Sea island of Norderney .
The stage
The stage is embedded in the gentle heights of the tree mountains. The stage area is surrounded by a deciduous forest and a former sandstone quarry. The auditorium is built in a stepped incline, which gives it the character of a Greek amphitheater . Since the new seating in 2000, the auditorium can hold 850 people. The stage itself is divided into the orchestra pit and the main stage; it is segmented by various deciduous trees, which is why it can also be described as a natural stage. The stage is almost completely built with a basement, so that performances from the stage floor are also possible. The cellar also serves as a backdrop store.
Other venues
- In addition to the club's own natural stage, a children's play has been produced every year in the winter months since the beginning of the 1970s in the auditorium of the Geschwister-Eichenwald-Realschule , the auditorium of which can accommodate around 400 spectators.
- Since 1989, pieces in the style of architectural theater have been shown in front of important buildings in Billerbeck's city center . The main portal and the interior of the Billerbeck Ludgerus Cathedral , the town hall, the Johannikirche (side aisle and crucifixion group), the train station and the Kolvenburg have served as the backdrop . In May 2009 the festival “ Liudger . Voice of the Lord “played in the interior of the Johannikirche.
- The Billerbeck open-air theater has had its own studio stage since 2007 .
- Since 2001, the open-air stage has been giving a guest performance in Vreden every spring, in which the current children's play is presented.
The Union
The Billerbeck open-air theater is a registered association and a member of the Association of German Open-Air Theaters . In March 2014 the association had 520 members. The activities of the association are wide-ranging - in addition to acting, the association offers manual activities such as setting sets and costume tailoring, as well as lighting and sound engineering as well as gastronomy and (theater) literary activities. An important element of club life is the promotion of children and young people. The management of the association consists of the general board and the executive board; The latter consists of five people who are responsible for the areas of culture, technology, advertising / marketing, administration and finance. Gereon Rasche has been Executive Board spokesman since February 2008. All members work on a voluntary basis for the association, with the exception of the professional and semi-professional directors who are engaged for the respective productions. Even bands that are used occasionally do not work on a voluntary basis.
literature
- Billerbeck open-air theater (ed.): 50 years of the Billerbeck open-air theater. Festschrift for the 50th anniversary. Billerbeck, 2000.
- Association of German Open Air Theaters (ed.): Open air theater. 40 years of the Association of German Open-Air Theaters VDF - Region Nord eV Hamm, 1993.
- Class WF06A of the Hansa vocational college in Münster: mirror, mirror on the wall, who goes to Baumberger Märchenland? Documentation of the project work . Münster, 2008.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ^ Chronicle of the Billerbeck open-air theater, acts 1996 / I
- ↑ VDF (ed.): Freilichtbühne current: Association and trade journal Verband Deutscher Freilichtbühnen. Issue IX . Hamm, December 2009. p. 36.
- ↑ Class WF06A of the Hansa vocational college in Münster: mirror, mirror on the wall, who goes to Baumberger Märchenland? Documentation of the project work . Münster, 2008. p. 10.
Coordinates: 51 ° 58 ′ 49.2 " N , 7 ° 18 ′ 10.4" E