When the winter semester begins on Thursday, October 4, we will be welcoming students from a total of 40 countries. They have come here to learn, to develop artistically, to be creatively active and to stimulate developments, ask questions and spark discourse. International encounters and a fruitful exchange with one another are a daily and natural practice in our house. Our own otherness in the mirror of others is enriching and opens up opportunities for self-awareness and reflection, without which our creative processes would be unthinkable and would become desolate.
In these times, we would like to show our colors all the more strongly and present a global series of concerts of very different facets right at the beginning of the semester. We are looking from EAST to WEST, from TODAY to THEN, showing ourselves politically, sensually, traditionally and experimentally in the spirit of a peaceful and appreciative coexistence of cultures.
Michelle Affolter was born in Biel (CH) in 1990. After completing her bachelor's degree in theater and musicology at the University of Bern, she began her studies in directing music theater at the HfMT in 2014, which she expects to complete in April 2019. Her latest directorial work "Hurenschnack" can still be seen tomorrow, October 3, as part of the Kiezstürmer Festival at the St. Pauli Theater. Your recommendation:
As an event for the month of October, I recommend the third study project Directing Musical Theater (Oreste and Simplicius Simplicissimus), staged by my fellow student Johanna Neutzling and my fellow student Maurice Lenhard. The event announcement suggests that both of them question the unambiguity of good and evil in their projects and set today's frightening social upheaval in relation to the time when their different works were created. With Georg Friedrich Händel's Pasticcio, Johanna Neutzling examines how dangerous a person dominated by fear can become and Maurice Lenhard shows the cruel consequences of unresolved memories with the post-war opera "Simplicius Simplicissimus" by Karl Amadeus Hartmann. The scenic realization of the musical model based on these contemporary and urgent issues shows the potential of music theatre direction: it makes the immortality of music visible. Both works are completely unknown to me. I am very curious to see what aesthetic approach Johanna Neutzling and Maurice Lenhard decide on with the help of their exciting teams, and what scenic ideas they use to make the theatricality of the music tangible for all the senses.
A PORT FOR THE THEATER ACADEMY AND THE INSTITUTE FOR CULTURE AND MEDIA MANAGEMENT (KMM)
Former machine factory Heidenreich and Harbeck
Foto: Maria Pallasch
My name is Finnja Denkewitz, I'm a second-year Master's student in Dramaturgy and part of the "Hebebrand generation": in other words, we won't be experiencing the new rooms in Wiesendamm during our studies. The entire Theaterakademie moved to its interim location in CityNord for the 2018 summer semester. For the first time, all Theaterakademie students are working together creatively under one roof. But as placeless as the Theaterakademie has been in recent years, we feel the harsh consequences of living in a temporary location. We therefore stand in solidarity with the generations of theater students who will come after us and look forward to the fantastic conditions that will be created there. The plans promise great spaces for performances, rehearsals, teaching and research. There will be opportunities to exchange ideas across courses and institutions and to realize projects together. For me, the news about the new theater center on Wiesendamm is definitely very welcome, and I feel that after years of struggle, a common port for the Theaterakademie and the Institute for KMM is finally in sight! Full speed ahead, Your Finnja
