Rainer Reusch
Rainer Reusch (born April 19, 1939 in Neuenstadt am Kocher ) is a German shadow player , initiator and former director of the festival for contemporary shadow theater and the International Shadow Theater Center.
life and work
Rainer Reusch grew up with four siblings in the rectory of Laufen (Albstadt) during the Second World War . His inclination towards the arts (music, art and theater) became apparent early on. Even in elementary school he played puppet theater for his friends. He later attended the Evangelical-Church Advanced High School in Michelbach / Bilz and studied after graduating from the University of Education in Esslingen (elective art). From the marriage with the church musician Heide Reusch come three sons and a daughter.
The encounter and friendship with the actor Alfred Peter Wolf brought Reusch, who since then had only played with hand figures, marionettes and stick figures, in connection with the art of shadow theater. Fascinated by the artistic and technical possibilities of shadow play, he founded the Gmünder Schatten Trio (today: Schattentheater Sandkorn) together with his sons and the jazz saxophonist Dieter Seelow. The first staging "created and exhausted" (1982) dealt critically with the biblical creation story of the earth and its exhaustion by the hand of man. In the following productions, Reusch also resorted to biblical themes, ideas and images. He found and finds in the mythological texts a reservoir of concise values, basic principles of human existence and spiritual experience. Further full-length productions were created:
- "The Man in the Fish" (2004),
- "Josef and his brothers" (2009),
- "Strong Women of the Bible" (2013).
The trio has been invited to many international puppet theater festivals at home and abroad.
Reusch belongs to a small group of shadow actors in Europe who set out in the 1980s to research the essence of shadow, to gain new technical and artistic possibilities from shadow theater and thus to establish a specific form of European shadow theater. The shade, the figures, the lighting, everything was put to the test. The since then relatively rigid, beauty-conscious shadow play gained in dynamism, liveliness and expressive expression. At the same time a time of exchange between the arts began (cross over). Elements of dance, pantomime, drama, music, visual arts and architecture were included in the shadow theater. After long attempts, Reusch succeeded in merging the modern art of sand painting and that of shadow theater into a total work of art.
What this innovative shadow theater lacked was a podium, a forum on which the shadow actors could show their rousing productions to a large audience. This lack gave Reusch the idea of founding an international festival to which only contemporary shadow theater would be invited. He received financial support from the city administration of Schwäbisch Gmünd and so in 1988 an international festival for contemporary shadow theater took place there for the first time . Despite all prophecies of doom, thousands of visitors came from Germany, but also from other European countries, the USA, Japan, Israel, South Africa and Australia. All events were sold out. Finally the shadow artists had a forum where they could get to know each other, discuss with each other and make friendships that unite people.
Since even the World Association of Puppeteers (UNIMA) had little knowledge of contemporary shadow theater, Rainer Reusch founded a contact point together with UNIMA: the International Shadow Theater Center (ISZ) . The most important task was to research modern shadow theater. The results were published in 1991 in the book "Die Wiedergeburt der Schatten" in German and English. Another 4 specialist books followed in the book series “Shadow Theater”. At the same time, the ISZ set up an archive with films, photos, correspondence, posters and programs.
Out of gratitude for the voluntary work, Rainer Reusch was repeatedly given shadow figures. Over the years, this has resulted in an extensive collection of over 400 shadow figures, which give a comprehensive overview of the development of contemporary shadow theater. Reusch offered this collection in his hometown for exhibition. A new, interactive shadow theater museum is now being planned.
Reusch ensured that his work was continued in good time and in 2009 handed over the management of the festival to the Schwäbisch Gmünd cultural office and the cultural manager Sybille Hirzel. The handover of the management of the ISZ took place in 2013 to the sand artist Christian Kaiser. Reusch himself is responsible for equipping the planned interactive museum, which will open its doors in 2019.
Honors
- 1992 Honored by the Schwäbisch Gmünd Culture Working Group.
- 2006 Award of the shadow theater Sandkorn in the competition of the Württemberg regional church “Bible and Congregation” for the production “The man in the fish”.
- 2013 Award of the citizen medal by the city of Schwäbisch Gmünd.
- 2015 Appointment as an honorary member of the World Association of Puppeteers by the Executive Committee of UNIMA.
Publications
- Rainer Reusch: The Rebirth of Shadows, Schwäbisch Gmünd, 1991.
- Rainer Reusch (Ed.): Authors and Actors, Vol. 1 of the book series "Schattentheater / Shadow Theater", Schwäbisch Gmünd, 1997.
- Rainer Reusch (Ed.): Art and Technology, Vol. 2, Schwäbisch Gmünd, 2001.
- Rainer Reusch: Theory and Practice, Vol. 3, Schwäbisch Gmünd, 2005.
- Fabrizio Montecchi: Beyond the canvas. Vol. 4, Schwäbisch Gmünd, 2015.
- ISZ film: SchattenWelten (first documentation of the development of contemporary shadow theater in the past 30 years).
literature
- Encyclopèdie Mondiale des Artes de la Marionette, Montpellier 2009, Rainer Reusch “The Development of Contemporary Shadow Theater” and “The International Shadow Theater Center”.
- Dolls, People & Objects, Issue 100, 2009, "Rainer Reusch for the 70th"
- Öpus (Austrian puppet theater magazine), No. 76, 2009/10. Review of the film "SchattenWelten" by Rainer Reusch.
- Puppetry Journal (US puppet theater magazine), “Shadow World-A video production from the International Shadow Theater Center” (Germany).
- Puppetry Journal, "Like a Phoenix Rising from the Ashes".
- The Daily Telegraph, Jonny Morris, “Shadow Theater,” June 14, 2003
- Gmünder Tagespost, Birgit Markert: “The shadows brought out of the shadowy existence”, 2009.
- Figura (Swiss puppet theater magazine), No. 44, "Magic shadow theater", December 2003
- Teatr Lalek (puppet theater magazine Poland), No. 4, Zuzanna Glowacka: “W krainie cieni”, 2003.
- Ostalb Einhorn, No. 95, Schwäbisch Gmünd, “Between light and dark. Shadow theater in Gmünd ”, 1997.
- Stuttgarter Nachrichten, Norbert Piontek: “A Mecca for shadow players”, June 7, 1994.
- Südwest Presse, Wolfgang Fischer: "Off for the Festival of Shadow Theaters", March 14, 1998.
- Stuttgarter Zeitung, "Gmünder Schattenfiguren are looking for a museum", July 8, 1998.
- dpa, Norbert Piontek: “Shadow theater dispute. Schwäbisch Gmünd in front of a pile of broken glass ", March 18, 1998.
- Rems-Zeitung, “Shadow theater remains in Gmünd”, April 7, 1998.
- Gmünder Tagespost, “Makers of the shadow play capital”, May 30, 2013.
- Animations (UK puppet theater magazine), March 1998, “Shadows in the Spotlight”.
- Dockteater-Eko (Puppet Theater Magazine Sweden), “Ett Mekka för den moderna Skuggteatern”, 02/1996.
- The other theater, “Like a phoenix from the ashes”, (Thoughts on the development of shadow theater), No. 17, 1994.
- Puppet Play Information, Special Section: Shadow Theater, No. 62, 1990/1.
Web links
- www.schattentheater.de (Official website of the International Shadow Theater Center)
- www.schattentheater-sandkorn.de
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Reusch, Rainer |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | German shadow player |
| DATE OF BIRTH | April 19, 1939 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Neuenstadt am Kocher |