Forget me not — English-language theater in Munich
The city of Munich is the proud home to more than 50 theaters. In March, fans of English-language drama will have special cause to rejoice. Three local theater groups, the American Drama Group Europe, the International Outcast Theatre Group and the Entity Theatre Workshop, will present four productions, ranging from traditional to modern.The American Drama Group Europe is the oldest and best-known English-speaking theater ensemble in Munich. Its flamboyant founder and Ohio native Grantly Marshall first visited the Bavarian capital during the Olympics in 1972 and, after finding the city agreed with him, began German and American studies at the University of Munich. The ensemble that started as a student project in 1978, which was initially closely connected to the American studies faculty, soon became independent. Since then the theater group, its founder at the helm, has followed a direct path to success. The company has become a bona fide English-language theater group, whose aim is to perform in as many countries as possible. Thanks to Marshall’s unrelenting search for new venues as well as his talent to persuade, the American Drama Group Europe can proudly claim to have performed in more than 25 countries, in Europe, Asia, the Middle East and the U.S. “The world is my stage,” Marshall offers, with that special actor’s flair.
The American Drama Group Europe presents dramas chosen from the most significant works of world literature. Through the years the group has staged productions of such noted works as Death of a Salesman (Arthur Miller), King Lear (William Shakespeare) and The Beggar’s Opera (Berthold Brecht). This year’s offerings will include Pygmalion (George Bernard Shaw) and The Importance of Being Earnest (Oscar Wilde). The company will soon start rehearsals for its next two, as yet unscheduled, productions: One Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest (Ken Kesey) and 1984 (George Orwell).
In order to maintain his high professional standards and keep his stage alight with fresh talent, Marshall continues to build his ensemble from an ever-changing team of freelance actors. At auditions held in England and the United States English-speaking actors are recruited for each production. While this procedure is certainly costly and time-consuming, the results produce exciting casts for ever-new loyal audiences. During a four- to five-week rehearsal period, actors work intensively with their director. Marshall does not require that certain rules or acting methods be followed. However, he does expect performances that will captivate and enrapture his audiences. But it is not only his ensemble that must strive for excellence. Bold, brash and self-assured, the charismatic Munich theater pioneer pushed himself to new heights in 1984, when he organized another performance group in France to prove defiantly that Americans can indeed direct French theater. “Productions on the road often confront seemingly insurmountable difficulties, so that sometimes,” says Marshall, “my biggest achievement is to have survived the tour!”
Unique highlights for the group are their signature castle tours. Past productions have included performances in the historic castle in Mainau and in Burg Hohenzollern. On Marshall and Co.’s docket for the near future are thrilling plans to put on a show at the home of Queen Elizabeth II —Windsor Castle. Marshall fancies himself a brilliant businessman, a talent that, in addition to the group’s many artistic achievements, surely lies at the core of the American Drama Group’s sustained success.
Formed in 1996, the International Outcast Theatre Group seeks to produce unconventional theater, material that positively challenges its audiences and encourages cross-cultural understanding. An attendance record of more than 2,000 for their last production, Private Eyes (Steven Dietz), attests to the public appreciation of the group’s artistic intentions. A large part of the credit for this success goes to the idealistic work of its founder, Jean-Luc Julien, who was born in Würzburg, is a citizen of France and grew up in the United States. The multi-culti expat worked for several years as an actor, director and producer in Los Angeles before returning to Germany, where he breathed life into the International Outcast Theatre Group in Munich. Julien has played a significant role in all six productions, serving as producer, director and actor. The group’s upcoming seventh production will mount two one-act plays by Edward Albee. Best known for his smash hit Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, Albee startled the American theatrical scene in the late 1950s with controversial, uncompromising plays depicting the agonies and disillusionment of that decade. Julien chose his material — Albee’s The American Dream and The Zoo Story — as an indirect way of answering his critics, who often ask him to share his view of the American way of life. “Germans sometimes ask me why I am here because they think the U.S. is so great,” offers Julien. Both plays buoyantly strip the radiantly artificial values of American living, revealing a bittersweet portrait of life below the surface.
A team of some 30 people involved in the current production was selected through unorthodox auditions and interviews. Following readings from the play, in which all aspiring actors are introduced to the piece, those who wish to remain and try out for the various roles must — in addition to submitting resumes and photographs — hold a short monologue. Most of the actors involved in the current Albee productions are Americans or English, however, one actor from South Africa and an actress from Portugal will also be taking part. German and French artists possessing a sufficient knowledge of the English language have participated in past productions as well. Although most members of the Outcast Theatre Group have prior acting experience, Jean-Luc Julien is open to novices with undiscovered talent.
Rehearsals for an Outcast Theatre Group production are held five nights a week over a two-month period. Julien’s directing technique begins with text analysis and continues with explorations of characters’ emotional lives. The director is convinced that natural gestures and movements emerge from those inner emotions. The unique results of this fundamental acting technique have given the International Outcast Theatre Group its trademark style as well as a run with success.
Julien explains that independent productions are difficult to launch and only possible with the financial assistance of local sponsors interested in staging English-language productions in Munich. He explicitly mentions the Feierwerk Theater (Hansastr. 39), which has been supportive of his ensemble for years and will feature the upcoming production. In addition, the Pasinger Fabrik (August-Exter-Str. 1), another stronghold of independent theater, will take the International Outcast Theatre Group’s production of The American Dream and The Zoo Story into their program.
The youngest English-language theater in Munich, the Entity Theatre Workshop, was founded six months ago by high school youth group supervisor Danny Strike and costume designer Alison Sandford. In order to facilitate the decision-making process involved in selecting a play and undertaking the casting for it, this group holds an unusual sequence of workshops. Following several of such weekly sessions — playfully dubbed the Audition Free Zone, and open to anyone and everyone — each member decides in which way he or she would like to participate in the production. Some prefer backstage responsibilities, such as lighting, set design or marketing. Others, of course, wish to act. After the cast has been sorted out, the group tries to come to a consensus on a play best suited to the ensemble. For their first production directors Strike, Sandford and their troupe have chosen Tom Stoppard’s The Real Inspector Hound, an intriguing play parodying theater on a number of levels. The Entity Theatre Workshop currently rehearses at the European School Munich (Strike’s place of employment) three times a week for six weeks. Each rehearsal begins with a warm-up, including team-building and acting exercises. The play preparations are approached by means of improvisation, a fact that has resulted in the group’s idea to include improvisational parts before and after the actual Real Inspector Hound performances. Indeed, directors see improv as an essential part of their work. “It is all about getting the energy right,” explains Strike. “Improvisation means to explore the energy of the characters, how they react to one another and to the situations in which they find themselves.” During this period in which stage movements and positions have not yet been determined, it is easier to improve the actor’s speech and gestures. Surprisingly, stage direction, unlike that of traditional plays, is only the final step taken in the rehearsal process.
Sandford and Strike are in sync as codirectors. Though the most creative ideas come from the work of the entire ensemble, often one director works with the whole group while the other takes an actor aside to help him or her improve their individual skills. Mutual growth and development are considered to be the most important results of the workshop, with Sandford and Strike keeping a watchful eye on the process. “Sometimes Danny and I have to have the final word,” laughs Sandford.
The 19 participants of the Entity Theatre Workshop come from a wide range of backgrounds. Some had always dreamed of acting but never found a group in which they could confidently take their first steps. Others have been involved in amateur theater for years. While others have become interested in the workshop’s nonhierarchical approach, its role playing, guided improvisation leading to acting skills and its therapeutic elements. At present, the group is a mixed company of English-speakers from Australia, England, the United States and South America. Though a certain level of proficiency in the English language is naturally required, Strike and Sandford warmly welcome people of all nationalities and ages to participate. The Entity Theatre Workshop is a nonprofit organization — all workshops are free and productions are, in large part, financed through ticket sales.
English theater events are a rare pleasure in Munich, arbitrarily spread throughout the year. In March, the aforementioned ensembles will offer a wide selection of delightful entertainment for English speakers. Local stages will be alive with programs that contain something for everyone — from the traditional performances of the American Drama Group Europe to the International Outcast Theatre’s extravagant presentations and the alternative performances of the Entity Theatre Workshop. All three projects are a positive contribution to Munich’s cultural life and should not be missed.
Theaters & perfomances:
American Drama Group Europe
Amerikahaus, Karolinenplatz 3
(S&U Karlsplatz)
Tel. (089) 552 53 70
13—17.03 The Importance of
Being Earnest (19:30)
24, 30, 31.03 Pygmalion (19:30)
International Outcast Theatre Group
Feierwerk, Hansastr. (U4/5 or S7 Heimeranplatz)
Tel. (089) 769 36 00
14—17.03 The American Dream &
The Zoo Story (20:00)
Pasinger Fabrik August-Exter-Str. 1
(S Pasing)
Tel. (089) 82 92 90 78
21–24.03 & 28—31.03 The American Dream & The Zoo Story (20:00)
Entity Theatre Workshop
Aula Theater at ESM
Elise-Aulinger-Str. 21 (U5 Therese-Giehse-Allee)
Tel. (089) 637 11 31
15–17.03 & 21—24.03
The Real Inspector Hound (20:00)
