Kurzdramenfestival

Dramaturgy of Theater GegenStand, theatre group in Marburg, where I am doing my EVS, is based on performances new theatre projects, fairy-tales for kids but also some projects, which are specific just for exactly this theatre and has been repeating every year. On of them is Sommerprojekt or Kurzdramenfestival, about I would like to write more. Basicly Kurzdramfestival began as competition of new theater texts for beginning writers or amateurs. Few years later develop from this competition a theater festival, which celebrate this autumn its 10 anniversary.

Through all this years innovated and professionalized this festival more and more and also become more famous like every-year theater-celebration in the city of Marburg but also got know between the writers. This year competition attended more than 120 new Theatre text! The professional jury picking every year three best texts of all of them, which are later presenting as theater performances by professional directors with whom Theater GegenStand co-works a specialy for this project. The directors have time to work on text from june, when the jury choose the winning texts till September. They got one dramaturg/assistant from Theater GegenStand, which whom he debates about his ideas of the play. They are analyzing the topic, shorten the text, preparing great conception and visualisation of the future play.  One of the most important condition for directors is that, they cannot have a contact with the author of the Text before Premiere. Cca. 4 weeks before festival arrive directors to Marburg, where together with dramaturg are choosing actors for his play and start with rehearsing. And the Kurzdramenfestival (translated as short-play-festival) is usually happening during the autumn in four days - from thursday to sunday. Every day evening are all chosen texts/theater performances presenting to audience of Marburg. Part of the festival are of course open debates with writers and directors or mornings workshops.

The most important effect in the festival i find in this need to present the written text straightly to audience. This idea of the Theater GegenStand brings opportunity not just for beginning writers but of course for directors as well. The situation for them is bit difficult, because it is very hard to find right balance between artistic self-expressing and right text-understanding and quality transform, interpretation from written text to theater performance and still keep the main topics, what the author wanted to say, what might be his main idea, which he wanted to express to another people. The authors of the plays are of course invited for premiere of the play and fortunately are usually very satisfacted with the result and surprised what everything were able the directors with the analyze find. And which expectation have the jury for the chosen texts? Theater GegenStand is not afraid to go in experiment and include two of the chosen text last year, which were presented moreless in theater-dramatic way, the jury also choose one monolog which was not presented with another text, but it served as basic platform for dance workshop, which was part of the festival as well. Than the audience had chance to see the text being adapted into the dance.