Richard Weber (theater scholar)

Johann Richard Weber (born January 26, 1944 in Plauen ) is a German theater scholar . He lives and works in Cologne .

Life

After fleeing the GDR and finishing school at the Max Planck School in Kiel , Weber studied theater studies, German, philosophy and art history at the University of Cologne with professors Rolf Badenhausen , Günter Erken , Walter Hinck , Heinz Ladendorf and Ludwig Landgrebe, among others . 1969/70 Collaboration on a concept commissioned by the Ministry of Science of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia for a course of study, which should prepare the conversion of the subject of theater studies into media studies.

1971 together with Jan Berg, Günther Erken, Bruno Fischli, Uta Ganschow, Thomas Koebner and Lothar Schwab co-founders and until 1973 co-editor of the first German-language media magazine : Diskurs, magazine for theater, film and television . From 1969 to 1972 Weber worked as a tutor at the Institute for Theater, Film and Television Studies at the University of Cologne. In 1974 he started working on the subject of proletarian revolutionary theater. PhD on the history of German workers' theater at the Philosophical Faculty under Professors Günter Erken and Walter Hinck. From 1974 to 1984 he worked as a research assistant at the Institute for Theater, Film and Television Studies at the University of Cologne in teaching, research and administration; At the same time he was a lecturer at the former PH Cologne (today the University's Faculty of Human Sciences) in the subject of art education for film, television and photography.

In 1978 he founded the Prometh publishing house in Cologne together with Hannes Heer , Tita Gaehme (managing director), Volker Geißler and Felix Droese , of which he was a limited partner until 1994. a. Editor of the series of cultural policy documents of the German workers' movement . From 1984 various activities for theaters and publishers as well as lecturer at the Institute for Theater, Film and Television Studies in Cologne, at the Folkwang University of Applied Sciences in Essen and later at the Vienna Conservatory . Weber has been working as a freelance writer, festival organizer and under the label plan b Kulturprojekte as an art and cultural mediator since 1990 .

Theater works

During his studies, Weber designed several sets for the Cologne studio . For Erwin Piscator's 90th birthday (1983) he put together an evening program for the play of the Württemberg State Theater in Stuttgart under the direction of Hansgünther Heyme , as well as a supporting program (1985) about Schiller and the women in Heyme's parasite production. For their festival policy in the outdoor theater that drew Federal Agency for Civic Education initially it added as a consultant. After the sudden death of the festival director Karl Reichmann, Weber, together with Margarete Häßel and Hanna Hurzig, took over the programming and overall organization of the 2nd Festival Politik im Freie Theater in Dresden in 1993. He continued this activity for the 3rd, 4th and 5th Festival in Bremen , Stuttgart and Hamburg. For schauspielhannover he curated Scratch Dein Festival - Theater Leben Sounds in 2004 , a four-day theater festival with productions between music, dance, theater, hip-hop and performance, and in 2005 Super Bomba - Theater Leben Sounds from Poland . At the Essen Theater in 2007 he conducted the youth format Streetlife - Theater from Germany, Poland and France . He set up the Zeitzeichen series for the Maxim Gorki Theater in Berlin , which in 2007 reported once a month on events from the GDR's past in the form of lectures, readings, pictures, music, audio / film documents and conversations with contemporary witnesses.

Events (selection)

The events organized by Weber include symposia, workshops, lectures and campaigns such as:

• Swarms - The city is more than the sum of its inhabitants. A themed weekend at the Essen theater. Together with Sabine Reich (2007).
• Free Lukács! Recitations, readings, films, music, panel and audience discussions on the 1956 Hungarian uprising and its effects on the GDR. Literaturwerkstatt Berlin (2006).
• “I can't get out of my skin” - Thomas Brasch 60. Theater, films, music, readings, conversations. Orphtheater , Volksbühne am Rosa-Luxemburg-Platz , Kaffee Burger , Kunsthaus Tacheles (Berlin 2005).
• Va Bene - Understand Europe: Italy. Federal Agency for Civic Education , CAP, Circolo Centro Fiori, Compagnia di San Paolo, European Academy Bavaria, Forum Goethe-Institut , Goethe-Institut Rome, Goethe-Institut Genoa, Cultural Department of the City of Munich , Literaturhaus Munich , Muffathalle, Ludwig Maximilians University Munich , Seidlvilla , Giangiacomo Feltrinelli Foundation , Villa Vigoni . Together with Anja Ostermann, Munich (2004).
• Heroines, Bands & Class Brothers - World Festival ‛73. A retro-active spectacle by the Federal Agency for Civic Education / bpb. Together with Jürgen Schultz, Berlin (2003).
• "The Stolen God" - Back to Faith or Not. A symposium in cooperation between the Federal Agency for Civic Education / bpb and the Thalia Theater . Together with Katharina von Wilcke. Hamburg (2002).
• Politics - power - theater. Symposium as part of the 37th Berlin Theatertreffen . 3sat , Berliner Festspiele GmbH, Federal Agency for Civic Education / bpb. Berlin (2000).
• Culture in the end? Perspectives of a network culture - television - political education . State center for political education in Saarland and ZDF / 3sat . Together with Christiane Görres. Saarbrücken (1997).
• MedienZeitTheater. A symposium . State center for political education. Together with Margarete Häßel. Bremen (1996).
• Authors workshop. Federal Agency for Civic Education. Together with Margarete Häßel and Harrald Müller. Berlin (1992).

Publications (selection)

• "Today we're going to MARXIM ..." Drama directorate at the Schauspiel Köln 1968-1979. In: Theater! Job! Heyme! The actor, director and general manager Hansgünther Heyme. edited by Peter W. Marx and Harald Müller, Berlin 2015, ISBN 978-3-95749-043-8 , pp. 86-105.
• Dog green is everywhere. In: Christian Martin: Vogtland trilogy and other pieces. published and with an afterword by Richard Weber, Berlin 2015, ISBN 978-3-95749-031-5 , pp. 220–228.
• “Yesterday's fabrics, but tomorrow's shape” or theater against the abstraction of exchange. In: TEXT + KRITIK. Journal of Literature. Issue 194 (= Thomas Brasch), Munich 2012, ISBN 978-3-86916-168-6 , pp. 54–65.
• In search of “real” life. Political theater at the beginning of the 21st century. In: Correspondence. Journal for Theater Education. 2008, Vol. 24, H. 53 (= TheaterPädagogik - PolitikTheater - TheaterPpolit - PädagogikTheater), pp. 41–46, ISSN  1865-9756 .
• als (Hrsg.): German drama of the 80s. (= Suhrkamp Taschenbuch. 2114). Frankfurt am Main 1992, ISBN 3-518-38614-X .
• with Lothar Schwab: Theater Lexicon. Compact knowledge for schoolchildren and young adults. (= Cornelsen Librarian). Frankfurt am Main 1991, ISBN 3-589-20893-7 .
• with Margarete Häßel (ed.): Arbeitsbuch Thomas Brasch. (= Suhrkamp Taschenbuch. 2076). Frankfurt am Main 1987, ISBN 3-518-38576-3 .
• Schiller's Lottchen. A collage of letters, diaries, monologues. Prometh Verlag, Cologne 1985, ISBN 3-922009-77-8 .
• Proletarian theater and revolutionary labor movement 1918–1926. 2nd Edition. Prometh Verlag, Cologne 1978, ISBN 3-922009-04-2 .

Editions:

• The worker photographer. Contributions and documents on worker photography 1926–1932. Prometh Verlag, Cologne 1977, ISBN 3-922009-01-8 .
• Film und Volk, organ of the Volksfilmverband. February 1928 - March 1930. Complete edition. (Reprint: Cologne 1975, Verlag Gaehme Henke, ISBN 3-87986-005-7 )
• Workers' stage and film, June 1930 - June 1931. 1930/1931. (Reprint: Verlag Gaehme Henke, Cologne 1974, ISBN 3-87986-005-4 )

In addition, numerous articles in compilations and magazines.

Web links

• Homepage of the Federal Agency for Civic Education / bpb - Politics in Free Theater