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F.I.N.D.10 - The Three Americas Programme F.I.N.D.10 Partners F.I.N.D.10 About the history of F.I.N.D.F.I.N.D in the Repertoire

F.I.N.D.10 - The Three Americas

10th Festival International New Drama
3-7 March 2010

Welcome!

200 years ago the struggle for independence in the Spanish colonies in America began. From Argentina to Mexico, new nations came into being which, from then onwards, fought out a varied and complex battle for democratic, economic and cultural self-determination with Europe and the English-speaking North Americans, something which they are still doing today. The New World, the American continent, a promised land to its European conquerors and immigrants, a hell to its indigenous peoples and enslaved Africans, is today ruled nearly completely democratically. The social, economic and cultural conflicts that result from the continent’s complex migration history are today openly struggled over. These debates concerning decolonization and identity, and the way to resolve extreme differences in social status, make this part of the world a laboratory for the conflict over the future economic and political state of the new, globalised world.

The theatre, a traditional medium for critical analysis regarding current conditions, tackles the struggle regarding miscegenation versus purity and integration versus exclusion between migrants and residents, using ever new unique voices and forms that renew the
theatre and its literature. Whilst the influence of American theatre on European theatre has traditionally been strong, in the last decade, drama in French and Spanish in particular has increasingly received an innovative impulse from the former colonies. A rich, contemporary theatre culture has arisen especially in Quebec, Argentina and Mexico.

F.I.N.D.10 »The Three Americas« makes this new world the focus of its research into the different Latin American, Anglo-Saxon and francophone influenced theatrical traditions of the continent. Within the framework of the festival the Schaubühne will present guest productions from theatre-makers such as the Argentinian-born Spaniard Rodrigo García, the Lebanese-born French Canadian Wajdi Mouawad or the Argentinean with German roots, Rafael Spregelburd. In addition, new plays from the USA, Mexico and Chile will be presented in staged readings. Patrick Wengenroth will be engaged in his new project with a European perspective: »The Americas. War of the Worlds«. This is also the theme of the Debate Room special »The Americas« with guests Daniel Link, Marcia Pally, Rafael Spregelburd and Edgar Chías. The festival ends with the traditional presentation of the winner of the Schaubühne’s Playwriting Competition.

Programme F.I.N.D.10

Here you can download the complete programme of our F.I.N.D.-Festival as a PDF document:

FIND10_deutsch.pdf

FIND10_English.pdf

About the history of F.I.N.D.

March 2009: Digging deep and getting dirty

In November 2008, the eighth F.I.N.D took place with a focus on Palestine, at the centre of which was an engagement with the Palestinian theatre scene.

Through the presentations of the plays and theatrical forms from Palestine as well as the extensive collaborative work with Palestinian artists, an attempt was made to confront the highly explosive reality of life there.

Despite the difficulties of life for Palestinian artists, alongside the Arab-Hebrew theatre in Israel, an interesting theatrical landscape has also sprung up in the West Bank. Theatre makers have developed very different ways of dealing with the daily political situation, as much with as with the conflicts and ruptures within their own society. Their works move along the tightrope of ideology, culture and religion – tradition and modernity.

The »focus on Palestine« festival thus began the highly successful and fruitful presentation of Israeli theatre at the Schaubühne in March 2007.

The focus of F.I.N.D. 7 was on new plays from Israel. The Israeli-Palestinian region is one of the most pressing crises in world politics, one whose history is closely linked to Germany«s past. This was the starting point for our engagement with new plays from the Middle East. Plays by Ido Bornstein, Hillel Mittelpunkt and Yael Ronen, among others, were presented. Yael Ronen«s play was developed the following year as the German-Israeli-Palestinian work-in-progress production Third Generation.

F.I.N.D. 6 took place under the motto »Orient Express« and introduced the young theatre scene from Budapest, Bucharest, Sofia and Istanbul. Alongside staged readings, international authors wrote stories about a fictitious transeuropean train journey for the Schaubühne-conceived project Orient Express. Guest authors also included playwrights from France and England. Falk Richter presented his new play State of Emergency.

The focus of F.I.N.D. 5 was contemporary playwrights from Asia. We presented plays, guest productions, playwrights and directors from Japan, China and Singapore. A recurring theme was the tension between the traditional and the modern. Plays and guest productions from Canada, Scotland, England and Argentina enlightened us concerning the living conditions of the modern city from a western perspective.

F.I.N.D. 4 took place in January 2004 under the motto »Our way of living« and engaged with the phenomena of violence, war, the economy and media-controlled democracy in the present as well as the recent past and the resulting consequences for the individual. We presented new German plays by, among others, Marius von Mayenburg and Franz Xaver Kroetz, new plays from Australia and England and guest productions from Sweden, Spain and Norway.

F.I.N.D. 3 took place in January 2003 and had a four-fold focus: America, Scandinavia, the Dutch/Flemish theatre and the most recent German plays. Staged readings introduced plays from Iceland and Sweden. Guests included theatre groups from Belgium, Holland, Scotland and Spain.

For F.I.N.D. 2 (December 2001), contacts that were made in the first year of the festival were strengthened. Directors from Australia, England and Lithuania were invited to lead the Schaubühne ensemble and work on staged reading of new plays from Japan, Finland and America, among other countries. Four actors went to the Krétakör Theatre in Budapest to work with Hungarian actors and the director Arpad Schilling on a Phèdre project. Additionally, productions from Croatia (ITD Theatre/Zagreb) and Spain (La Carnicería Teatro/Madrid, director Rodrigo García) were invited to the Schaubühne to present guest productions.

F.I.N.D. 1 took place in November 2000 and began the Schaubühne«s collaboration with internationally renowned writers and theatre groups who had already begun working at the Baracke am Deutschen Theater. The festival presented discoveries and developments in international contemporary drama in the form of staged readings from plays from countries including France, America and England, and international guest productions by theatre groups, including ZT Hollandia under Johan Simons and the Russian writer and actor Evgeny Griskovets.

The Baracke am Deutschen Theater and the »Wochen Neuer Internationaler Dramatik« festival

When Thomas Ostermeier and Jens Hillje took over the artistic directorship of Baracke am Deutschen Theater in Berlin in 1996 they quickly began to introduce new international plays. The smaller-scale festivals, the »New International Weeks of Drama«, introduced new French, British, American and Russian drama in staged readings. Smaller guest productions from countries like England, France and Russia made up the programmes of these festivals. In all, from 1996 to 1999, there were six of these mini-festivals held at the Baracke am Deutschen Theater Baracke. These festivals gave the German-speaking public access to hitherto unknown writers and plays that later found their way into the repertoires of many German and European theatres. They contributed significantly to the newfound prominence given to contemporary international drama.

F.I.N.D in the Repertoire

From the international collaboration with playwrights, directors and actors within the framework of F.I.N.D emerged the projects and productions, which constitute the focus of the Schaubühne repertoire.

The discoveries of the festivals and work on new plays have led to countless world- and German-language premieres in past seasons. A selection of the productions and projects resulting from the festivals:

In March 2009, the German-Israeli-Palestinian work-in-progress production »Third Generation« by Yael Ronen & the Company had its premiere. Ronen’s play was presented at F.I.N.D. 7 – focus on Israel.

In November 2007 Falk Richter’s new play »State of Emergency« had its premiere. Richter, who has been a permanent in-house director at the Schaubühne since the 2006/07 season, presented the first draft of his play at F.I.N.D. 6 as a staged reading.

In addition, Debbie Tucker Green’s play »Stoning Mary« was given its premiere here. The Australian director Benedict Andrews, who has worked continuously at the Schaubühne since F.I.N.D. 3, arranged the play at the last festival and directed it at the Schaubühne in spring 2007.

In 2006, Thomas Ostermeier directed the German-language premiere of Mark Ravenhill’s new play »The Product«. The world premiere of the play took place at F.I.N.D. 6 with Ravenhill in the lead role.

In October of the same year, Christoph Nußbaumeder’s new play »Love is just one possibility« was given its world premiere by Thomas Ostermeier. Christoph Nußbaumeder won the second Schaubühne playwrighting exhibition with his play »To the South Seas by Gherkin-plane«. Thomas Ostermeier presented it at F.I.N.D. 5.

Further examples are »Eldorado« and »The cold child« by Marius von Mayenburg (2004/05 and 2002/03), »Stupidity« by Rafael Spregelburd (2004/05), »Electronic City« by Falk Richter (2003/04), »Suburban Motel« by George F. Walker (2003/04), »Supermarket« by Biljana Srbljanovic (2001/02), »Vanishing Point« by Jessica Goldberg (2000/01) and »This Is a Chair« by Caryl Churchill (2000/01).

The intensive collaboration with playwrights within the F.I.N.D. framework like Sarah Kane, Jon Fosse, Biljana Srbljanovic, Caryl Churchill and Richard Dresser have helped to establish these authors in the German-speaking world.

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