Reading theater

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Under readers' theater can be generally understood as a dramaturgical practice, which "aspires to read presentation of plays and other texts assigned roles as their own paradigm." The texts read out can, but do not have to be, reading dramas , i. H. Texts that were written from the outset for reading performances. The reading stage is also to be distinguished from the reading theater , i. H. the staged reading of self-composed pieces by a permanent ensemble. Rolf Schwendter in particular contributed to a renaissance of the reading theater in theory and practice .

history

The practice of reading performances probably goes back at least to Seneca . It can be traced back to medieval schools and monasteries, and it flourished again in the literary salons of the 18th and 19th centuries. Reading theater performances can also be found in the context of Dadaism as a place of experimentation beyond the official theater business, and, in the absence of German-language theater, as a cultural manifestation among German exiles. The more recent history of reading theater in German-speaking countries begins with the Hamburg reading stage founded by Rolf Italiaander (1950–1953); Here unperformed plays from Hamburg authors were read out by professional actors in the Hamburger Kammerspiele. The reading theater of the informal group in Vienna followed a different approach (from 1959): at unconventional venues (suburban building ruins, storage and basement rooms as well as private apartments), texts were mainly read that did not appear in the official cultural scene. Under the influence of Rolf Schwendter, this tradition was continued and further developed in the “open living room” in Kassel (since 1981) in the First Viennese Reading Theater (since 1990) and in the Bremen LitQ (since 2001).

Another variant is the reading marathons, for example as part of the Open-Ohr Festival in Mainz (2000 and 2001).

Another variant are the script readings, in which actors read unfilmed scripts in front of an audience (see also readings ).

Practical examples

Informal group (Vienna)

For the informal group in Vienna, reading theater was just one example among other self-organized cultural activities (record evenings, poetry readings, performance-like events, political-cultural discussions, etc.). Its structure was based on three lists, originally kept by Rolf Schwendter: one with event proposals, one with possible event locations and an address list of those interested. The reading theater consisted predominantly of "spontaneous", unpredicted reading performances. Most of the participants came from the “intellectual proletariat” (Schwendter): pupils, students, budding artists. Between 1959 and 1967 there were "around 40 reading performances". The main readings were plays, with classics like Friedrich Schiller's Kabale und Liebe (which ended in a scandal) and avant-garde pieces by Samuel Beckett , Eugène Ionesco and Pablo Picasso . The proportion of reading performances within the activities of the informal group has increased over the years, with the average number of participants, according to the statistics kept by Schwendter, being 37.5.

Open living room (Kassel)

The open living room culture and communication center is not subsidized and exists because of donations. It opened on June 17, 1982 with a reading performance of Peter Weiss' Marat . In the following 18 years there were “well over 200 reading performances for which 30 to 40 people were responsible”. The pieces listed included: Rainer Werner Fassbinder's Der Müll, die Stadt und der Tod (at the time when the piece was not played in Frankfurt), Karl Kraus' Die last Tage der Menschheit (during the first Iraq war), and much more besides others from Jean Anouilh to Johann Nestroy to William Shakespeare and Frank Wedekind , but also film scripts ( Woody Allen , Ingmar Bergman , Federico Fellini ) and prose “orchestrated” for reading performances ( James Joyce , Robert Musil , Raymond Queneau , Antoine de Saint-Exupéry , Antonio Tabucchi ).

First Viennese reading theater

The first Viennese reading theater differs from the previously mentioned ones in that it is formally organized as an association and has received "annual subsidies from various branches of the public sector" since 1995. Since then, the number of reading performances has risen considerably and has stabilized at a level of almost a hundred per year. At the same time, however, the principle of decentralization was retained: “Every person interested in reading theater had the opportunity to be responsible for a reading performance at almost any time. The leading three-party committee could (and can) veto it, but has never done so before ”. The pool of people reading along fluctuates between 300 and 400; A third of these are authors, actors and other interested people. Decentralization also means that different styles of reading theater are practiced: from un-rehearsed “spontaneous reading performances” to a more or less large number of rehearsals. The audience varies on average between 40 and 50 people.

Literary Quarter (LitQ), Bremen

LitQ is the name of a group of friends with a literary interest in Bremen. Self-organized readings / reading theater have been taking place under this name since 2001. A reading on the occasion of the death of Hans Carl Artmann resulted in a practice of holding readings at irregular intervals, which seem suitable to supplement the official cultural program. Almost all of them are “spontaneous reading performances” in the sense of Rolf Schwendter. Everyone can suggest topics and put together a “company” for the reading. The readings will take place at different locations, with preference given to locations that can be used for free. As far as the weather permits, readings will also take place outdoors. The readings are public and admission is free. While these readings initially took place every two months, the frequency has now increased so that twelve events can be expected per year. Planning meetings take place twice a year.

Screenplay readings

Before filming, there is always a reading sample in which all actors (except day roles) read through and discuss the entire script with the director in a staged reading. Inspired by this, readings of unfilmed scripts developed in front of an audience, often in theaters or cinemas. A trend that came from the USA (1994–2002 New York Nuyorican Poets Cafe ) and was continued in Germany (1999–2004, Barbarella Entertainment) and Austria (2005 Rabenhof, from 2011 Witcraft-Various stories).

References

  1. ^ Rolf Schwendter, Lesetheater, In: Sven-Uwe Burkhardt / Christine Graebsch / Helmut Pollähne (eds.) Correspondences. A reading theater as Feestschrift, Münster: Lit-Verlag 2005, p. 299
  2. ^ Rolf Schwendter, Lesetheater, Vienna 2002, p. 29 f
  3. ^ Rolf Schwendter, Lesetheater, Vienna 2002, p. 30
  4. ↑ Rolf Schwendter, Lesetheater, Vienna 2002, p. 33 ff
  5. ^ Rolf Schwendter, Lesetheater, Vienna 2002, p. 47 f
  6. ^ Rolf Schwendter, Lesetheater, Vienna 2002, p. 49
  7. ^ Rolf Schwendter, Lesetheater, Vienna 2002, p. 59 ff
  8. ^ Rolf Schwendter, Lesetheater, Vienna 2002, p. 59 ff; see. also Rolf Schwendter, Subcultural Vienna: the informal group (1959–1971), Vienna 2003
  9. ^ Rolf Schwendter, Lesetheater, Vienna 2002, p. 67 ff
  10. ^ Rolf Schwendter, Lesetheater, Vienna 2002, pp. 90ff
  11. ^ Rolf Schwendter, Lesetheater, Vienna 2002, pp. 73 ff; see. also Inge Buck, "Permitted, Schas, very hot please!" Or: Scenes from the "Literary Quarter". In: Sven-Uwe Burkhardt / Christine Graebsch / Helmut Pollähne (eds.) Correspondences. A reading theater as Feestschrift, Münster: Lit-Verlag 2005, pp. 289–296
  12. ↑ Cf. from the perspective of one of the people involved in Kassel and Mainz, Rudolf Messner, texts on the theater - four small essays. In: Christiane E. Winter-Heider (Ed.) Festschrift for Rolf Schwendter. Fragments of an encounter - elements of a response. Kassel 2005, p. 173 ff.
  13. ^ Rolf Schwendter, Subcultural Vienna: the informal group (1959–1971), Vienna 2003, p. 16 ff
  14. ^ Rolf Schwendter, Lesetheater, Vienna 2002, p. 59
  15. ↑ detailed lists in Rolf Schwendter, Lesetheater, Vienna 2002, p. 60f and Rolf Schwendter, Subkulturelles Wien: die informelle Gruppe (1959–1971), Vienna 2003, p. 31 ff
  16. ↑ Rolf Schwendter, Subcultural Vienna: the informal group (1959–1971), Vienna 2003, p. 56
  17. ^ Rolf Schwendter, Lesetheater, Vienna 2002, p. 67
  18. ↑ detailed information from Rolf Schwendter, Lesetheater, Vienna 2002, pp. 68–73
  19. ^ Rolf Schwendter, Subcultural Vienna: the informal group (1959–1971), Vienna 2003, p. 90; for further details cf. the article First Viennese Reading Theater and Second Impromptu Theater
  20. ↑ Rolf Schwendter, Subkulturelles Wien: die informelle Gruppe (1959–1971), Vienna 2003, p. 91
  21. ^ Rolf Schwendter, Subkulturelles Wien: die informelle Gruppe (1959–1971), Vienna 2003, pp. 90ff, with a compilation of all performances from 1990–2002
  22. ↑ Harriet Dreier: Script readings: Red Plush and Pommesmief . In: Spiegel Online . September 5, 2000 ( spiegel.de [accessed September 9, 2018]).
  23. ↑ readings press service. October 13, 2007, archived from the original on October 13, 2007 ; accessed on September 9, 2018 .
  24. ↑ Script reading in the Rabenhoftheater - derStandard.at. Retrieved September 9, 2018 .
  25. ↑ Staged reading - various stories - scripts, inspired by cultural diversity. Retrieved September 9, 2018 (German).

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