Theater

There are dozens of festivals for figure theatre or puppet theatre. We present a small selection.

Maybe it’s because of its roots in carnivals and funfairs: German figure theatre is in its element at festivals. This is where figure theatre proves its vitality: either by preserving old styles or by branching out into something new. This is where it finds itself or – best case scenario – re-invents itself. The diversity of German figure theatre festivals is also courtesy of the diversity of the people who give great commitment, often voluntarily, to even make this possible at all. The following article can only provide a little insight into a prolific festival scene.

Crossing frontiers

The International Figure Theatre Festival, which was founded in 1979 and is held every two years in Erlangen, Nuremberg, Fürth and Schwabach, is devoted to opening figure theatre up to related arts. With around 120 performances in 10 days it is also the largest German figure theatre festival. Here, image theatre, dance and performance encounter classic hand puppet or marionette plays. Furthermore student projects are shown. Supplementary events include animated film, exhibitions and street theatre. Despite the impressive programme, the Erlangen Festival has remained a public festival that can rely on a regular audience prepared to take risks.

The Bochum-based FIDENA Figure Theatre of the Nations already mentioned at the start is a key trendsetter for the scene just like the Erlangen Festival, with numerous German premiers and self-written productions. The Festival of the Deutsches Forum für Figurentheater und Puppenspiel (dfp; German Forum for Figure Theatre and Puppetry) also offers a platform for newcomers with a promising artistic direction. Installations, conferences and film programmes round off the theatre events programme.

Outlooks

Recently the biennial festival Blickwechsel, which is organised by the Magdeburg puppet theatre and was held for the seventh time in 2007, caused a sensation. The unoccupied houses of an entire city district were used for the festival, and were brought to life with productions of local relevance by international directors and students, as well as with street theatre and exhibitions, in addition to a varied theatre programme on the fixed stages.

The Erfurt Festival Synergura, which is put on every two years by the Waidspeicher Theatre, has been a part of the German festival scene since 1992. The focus of the programme today, as well as German productions with many East German ensemble theatre plays, is on groups from France. The critics’ circle, in which productions they had seen were discussed publicly, encouraged a special atmosphere in discussion and dialogue with the artists. At Synergura 2008 the experts’ podium will be replaced by an animal puppet duo. This criticism is certainly likely to end up being humorous.

It was possible to link the biennial Stuttgart FITZ festival with Mannheim, Pforzheim and Karlsruhe in 2008 forming the Imaginale, to present the open-minded Stuttgart public with a carefully compiled quality programme.

The oldest German festival in Braunschweig did celebrate its 50th birthday in 2007 after all, thanks to the commitment of the little Fadenschein theatre after quite a long break. It restored hope for a new festival tradition in Braunschweig under the new name Weitblick.

Discoveries

Conventions of up-and-coming figure theatre artists are among the most interesting German festivals. Every two years the BerlinSchaubude (show booth) invites students and graduates, mainly of European figure theatre courses, to demonstrate their skill to the German audience and the many young fellow students at the Versuchung festival.

NEWZ, organised in a two-year cycle by the Stuttgart FITZ, has a similar orientation.

The small festivals held by the two German figure theatre training centres in Berlin and Stuttgart offer insight into student projects, the results of workshops and recent diploma productions: the Tage der Hochschule in the Schaubude and the festival founded by students at Stuttgart University, die wo spielen.

Specialists

Unlike the “marketplace” festivals with their broad-ranging, diverse programmes, other festivals concentrate solely on a figure theatre form. Papiertheatertreffenin the small town of Preetz in Schleswig-Holstein has been collecting international stages that have devoted themselves to reviving this small theatre genre so popular in the 19th century since 1988.

The Schattentheaterfestival (Shadow Theatre Festival) in Schwäbisch-Gmünd has also been around since 1988. It is organised by the International Shadow Theatre Centre every three years and it offers workshops, lectures and exhibitions as well as an international programme.

The Berlin Schaubude defines areas of focus through smaller festivals: contemporary hand puppet theatre was the theme at Alles Kasper! in 2007, a jubilee festival is planned for 2008.

That is just a little insight into a festival scene that is impressive thanks to a variety of festivals great and small, which are often only made possible by the huge commitment of individuals. They are unique in their own way and they contribute to the continuing revival of the ancient genre of figure theatre.