Entries by Brian Bell

"Festspiele Nächte sind lang,
Festspiele Nächte sind lang.
Erst fangen'se janz langsam an,
Aber dann,
Aber dann!"


Its incredible how the things in life that are really important, that end up changing everything and completely refocusing your life path seem to blindside you when you least expect it. In preparation for my trip to the Theatertreffen, I thought I would hang out in Berlin for a few weeks, enjoy some great theatre, and maybe meet a few new interesting colleagues. Little did I know that those two weeks would end up radically changing my perspective on theatre and become a watershed moment in my emerging career in the arts.

The Theatertreffen in Berlin is the biggest festival for legitimate theatre in Germany. It takes place every May at the Haus der Berliner Festspiele in West Berlin. It consists of ten productions from the German-speaking countries (Germany, Austria, and Switzerland) that are selected by a jury of seven theatre critics as the ten most noteworthy (bemerkenswert) productions of the last season. The ten productions can be seen as a Best-of-the-Best of German-speaking theatre, although the jury constantly declaims that the selection is intended as a display of the current work, not as a competition. Given that the Berliner audience is one of the most theatre-literate and critical in the world, the expectation is always very high. Continue reading "Theatertreffen 2011" »

"Wir haben ein bisschen schnell versucht die Welt zu verändern. Wir sollten damit beginnen, sie genauer zu interpretieren . . ."
-Danton, aus Büchners "Dantons Tod"

Ja, meine Damen und Herren, wilkommen in Stuttgart! Founded in 950 A.D. as a stud farm, it grew quickly and by the 14th century had become one of the most prominent cities in Germany. The 19th century brought tons of technical innovation, and the 20th century saw the rise of Porsche and Mercedes, both Stuttgart companies. It also brought the second world war, in which Stuttgart was pretty much leveled. And after being painstakingly reconstructed, it has now reclaimed its place as an industrial powerhouse and the cultural capitol of southwest Germany.

And what better time for me to show up! I somehow convinced the Goethe Institute to throw some money my way and hook me up with the Staatstheater Stuttgart (one of the largest, and best theaters in the country) to assist on a production of Danton's Death, by Georg Büchner. Dantons Tod, is a play which takes place in the French Revolution, but is really about all of the revolutionary stirrings in Germany in the mid-1800's, as well as having deeper political reverberations through to the present . . .

But that can all wait. First, let's talk about how amazing this city is! And what a wild ride the last week has been . . .

Continue reading "Welcome to the Stud Garden " »