Young Theater Bonn

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Young Theater Bonn

The Junge Theater Bonn (JTB) is a private children and youth theater with a permanent professional ensemble in Bonn - Beuel . It is considered one of the most successful German children's and youth theaters .

history

The theater was founded in 1969 by Helmut Tromm (* May 12, 1922; † May 4, 2007) and his wife Heidi Scholz-Tromm (* June 2, 1941; † August 22, 2005) under the name Theater der Jugend . On September 16, 1969, the "TdJ" celebrated its first premiere in the auditorium of the Ernst-Moritz-Arndt-Gymnasium in Bonn with the then politically red-hot piece The fantastic journey of Kim van Dong by Joachim Jomeier .

During the first production, people tried out what became known as the “Bonn Model” and which remained controversial among some theater colleagues for a long time: alongside adult professional actors, the characters of children and young people were played by their peers who recruited the drummers from schools.

Initially, various rooms, such as the lecture hall of the Bonn State Museum , were used as a provisional venue. In 1979 the ensemble was able to move into the former “Rheingold” cinema on Hermannstrasse in the Beuel district. The 19th century building can seat up to 409 spectators.

On its 25th birthday in 1994, the TdJ was renamed and has been called the “Young Theater Bonn” (JTB) since then. In autumn 2003, shortly after the Tromms had given up the management of the theater for health reasons, the theater was on the verge of insolvency; however, the insolvency could be averted with the help of the insolvency administrator and the increased commitment of local companies, for example through commissioned work and use of the premises of the company T-Mobile Deutschland GmbH . The JTB is now back on a solid financial basis. In the winter of 2003, the stage and safety technology was comprehensively renewed.

Moritz Seibert (* 1967) took over the management in 2003, which he still holds today. He quickly succeeded in leading the JTB into the top league of all German children's and youth theaters. In the summer of 2013, the more than 30-year-old seating in the theater hall was replaced with the help of "chair sponsors". In order to secure and sustainably support the work of the Junge Theater Bonn, the JTB Foundation, founded in 2014, bought the theater building in Hermannstrasse. In the summer of 2016, the foundation thoroughly renovated the theater and made it barrier-free.

ensemble

The ensemble of the Junge Theater Bonn consists of around 30 permanent employees: actors, technicians, equipment and administration. With this team, the JTB produces five to six new pieces a year for viewers of all ages. In addition, around 40 children and young people play in the youth ensemble (each in one to three productions) of the JTB. In its repertoire program, the theater offers around 400 performances in Bonn every season, both almost daily in its 400-seat theater in Beuel and on its studio stage, the domed hall above the Thalia bookstore on the market. Another 100 performances will be played as guest performances in other cities across Germany.

Work and performances

A way of working that is perfectly natural at theaters in England or the USA makes the Junge Theater Bonn an exotic one among German children's and youth theaters - and one of the most successful with over 500 performances and around 150,000 spectators in 2017. The roles of children and adolescents are played in many JTB productions by children and adolescents who are carefully selected, professionally instructed and continuously supervised and encouraged.

The theater had some of its greatest successes in recent years with the productions Tschick (2014 to today), Geheime Freunde (2010 to today), the German-language premiere of Der Grüffelo (2010 to today), the world premieres of Cornelia Funke's Ink Heart - The Musical ( 2006), Drachenreiter (2005), Lord of Thieves (2004) or Monsieur Ibrahim and the Flowers of the Koran (2005) based on the monologue by Éric-Emmanuel Schmitt . In its first season, Drachenreiter ran over 70 times in front of a sold-out house. With the second part of Cornelia Funke's ink trilogy , Ink Blood - The Musical , the theater once again brought a great audience favorite to the stage in 2007.

In January 2008, the Junge Theater Bonn attracted nationwide attention. With the German-language premiere of the English play Beautiful Thing about the first love between two boys, the theater landed a great success under its artistic director Moritz Seibert. For the first time, the two main roles were cast with young actors of the same age as the characters.

In the meantime, a large number of the young actors can be recruited from the course participants of the JTB-Werkstatt, founded in 2001, the drama school for children and adolescents of the Junge Theater Bonn. Around 960 participants of all ages take part in 90 different workshops and acting / musical courses. Nevertheless, young actors are also sought in open castings for many productions .

The Young Theater Bonn is of a non-profit association operated as a private theater and receives subsidies from the city of Bonn and the state of North Rhine-Westphalia. However, the JTB has to generate over 80% of its total budget itself, through the sale of tickets, guest performances as well as donations and sponsorship income .

Awards

Web links

Commons : Junge Theater Bonn  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ The Junge Theater is on the verge of bankruptcy , report in the Bonner General-Anzeiger from September 19, 2003; and: The key to the solution lies with the insolvency administrator , report in the Bonner General-Anzeiger from October 18, 2003.
  2. ↑ The viewers like the new seats , General-Anzeiger from September 9, 2013
  3. ^ JTB Foundation , The Foundation for the Young Theater Bonn
  4. ↑ Elisabeth Einecke-Klövekorn: Young Theater Bonn sets a new visitor record . In: General-Anzeiger Bonn . Bonner newspaper printer and publishing house H. Neusser GmbH, Bonn April 30, 2009 ( general-anzeiger-bonn.de [accessed on May 15, 2018]).

Coordinates: 50 ° 44 '11.4 "  N , 7 ° 7' 0.7"  E