Gerhard Jelen

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Gerhard Jelen (born April 23, 1935 ) is a former German actor , but above all a theater director .

Life

Gerhard Jelen's professional path began in 1957 with a job as a correspondent at Anker-Werke AG in Bielefeld. In 1958 he switched to theatrical art. His training as a director and actor lasted until 1960. From 1960 to 1962 he was Werner Kraut's personal assistant and director of the Folkwang drama studio . He had directing and acting obligations in Essen, Düsseldorf and Bielefeld, among others. From 1962 to 1964 he was the first director at the Rheinisches Landestheater Neuss . Next he held the position of senior director of the drama department and deputy director in matters of drama at the Pforzheim Municipal Theater from 1964 to 1968 . This was followed by a move to the Staatstheater Oldenburg , where he worked for many years as artistic director, senior theater director and deputy general director.

It stayed with the house until the 1990s. There he mainly staged classics and modern classics such as Bertolt Brecht , William Shakespeare , Friedrich Schiller , Gotthold Ephraim Lessing , Jean-Paul Sartre , Henrik Ibsen , Anton Chekhov and August Strindberg . At the same time he gave guest appearances at various theaters in Germany. This is where his Faust productions stood out. The 1983 full version (parts I and II were shown in Oldenburg on two evenings and one evening) enjoys a legendary reputation. In the Frankfurter Rundschau it was said at the time that the “idiosyncratic handwriting” had “caused a sensation” and that Jelen surpassed Claus Peymann's Faust spectacle “by a considerable amount”. In Oldenburg, the production was on the program for three years. Jelen in Oldenburg gave rise to negative press twice. The first time in 1977, when the premiere of Albert Camus ' drama Die Gerechten coincided with the kidnapping of Hanns Martin Schleyer by the RAF and the play had to be canceled. The second time in 1989, when a good half of the ensemble no longer wanted to work under Jelen, who required improvisation and situation analysis.

style

The director Gerhard Jelen tended “towards aggressive parody and cabaret exaggeration”. The intentional drastic use of language and gestures could also appear comical and pathetic to embarrassing and tasteless. In 1968 the Weser-Kurier admired “the director's talent, which was just as sensitive as he was hands-on” and characterized him as “unconventional”.

Awards

  • 1960: Folkwang performance award for directing work

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Redaktionsbüro Harenberg: Knaurs Prominentenlexikon 1980. The personal data of celebrities from politics, economy, culture and society . With over 400 photos. Droemer Knaur, Munich / Zurich 1979, ISBN 3-426-07604-7 , Jelen, Gerhard, p. 205 .
  2. ↑ Regina Jericho: Look back with all serenity. He was employed at the State Theater for 31 years, an institution and known for his mouth. He gushes out anecdotes, but he doesn't miss the stage. In: nwzonline.de. Nodwest-Zeitung Verlagsgesellschaft mbH & Co. KG , July 12, 2016, accessed on October 11, 2018 .
  3. ↑ Horst Köpke: A (predominantly cheerful) day with Goethe. "Faust I and II" in Oldenburg . In: Frankfurter Rundschau . March 1983 (due to the announcement of the next performance, the article must be dated before March 6th).
  4. ↑ Hans Begerow: Oldenburgisches Staatstheater: Opinions are divided on Faust. The successful piece was on the program for three years. Director Gerhard Jelen staged both parts of the classic, for Goethe fans they were shown in special screenings on one day. In: nwzonline.de. Nordwest-Zeitung Verlagsgesellschaft mbH & Co. KG, June 10, 2016, accessed on October 11, 2018 .
  5. ↑ Jonas Hennicke: A piece is canceled. Albert Camus' "The Righteous" - the story of an Oldenburg premiere in the German Autumn '77 . In: BühnenSeiten . Magazine of the Oldenburg State Theater. April - June, April 2017, SchauspielSeiten, p. 14th f . ( issuu.com [HTM; accessed October 11, 2018]).
  6. ↑ Manfred Protze: Ensemble split. Oldenburg drama dispute: full house and a small uprising in the ensemble over Gerhard Jelen. In: taz.de. May 24, 1989. Retrieved October 11, 2018 .
  7. ↑ HW: Aggression as a culinary pleasure. Brecht's “Threepenny Opera” in the Pforzheim City Theater . In: Pforzheimer Zeitung . April 4th 1966.
  8. ^ Brecht's youth work was disappointing . In: Schaumburger Zeitung . October 21, 1968.
  9. ↑ -tz-: Brecht: "Drumming in the Night". There was an interesting performance in Pforzheim . In: Pfälzische Volkszeitung . April 30, 1965.
  10. ↑ H [ans] K [retzer]: Brecht's price song on selfishness. “Drumming in the Night” in Pforzheimsa City Theater . In: Black Forest Messenger . April 30, 1965.
  11. ^ Wilhelm Herrmann: Decision against the uprising. Gerhard Jelen staged Brecht's “Drums in the Night” at the Oldenburg State Theater . In: Weser courier . October 21, 1968.
personal data
SURNAME Jelen, Gerhard
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German actor and theater director
DATE OF BIRTH April 23, 1935