Join international theatre artists
and scholars for a three-day weekend conference celebrating the
work of the late German playwright Heiner Müller at the Castillo
Theatre on April 1-3, 2005.
This enriching weekend of workshops and panel discussions will
explore the cultural and political impact of the theatre of Müller,
one of the most significant Western writers of the second half
of the 20th century.
Presentations will include:
•
A keynote address by Carl Weber of Stanford University,
the leading translator of Müller’s work into English
• A joint presentation by two of the leading producers of
Müller’s work today: Theatre au Point du Jour (Lyons, France)
and the Castillo Theatre
• A panel discussion on Müller in the post-9/11 world
• A presentation by renowned photographer Brigitte Maria
Mayer on the visual creativity of Müller’s stage work
• A panel exploring Müller, Memory and History
For a complete
schedule of conference panels and events, click
here.
HEINER MÜLLER, a life-long
Marxist and experimental playwright who spent most of his adult
life in the German Democratic Republic, has been dismissed by
some as an historical and political anachronism. The production
of his work in Europe has declined in recent years. Yet Müller's
popularity continues to grow in the United States and Canada.
What is it about this very German and intensely political playwright
that increasingly fascinates American theatre artists, audiences
and scholars?
The general question to be addressed
by the conference is: "Do Heiner Müller's plays and
poems, taken as a whole, articulate a political and/or philosophical
perspective and/or methodology? If so, what is it and what does
it have to say to America today?" Within this framework some
of the topics that might be addressed include, but are not limited
to:
• Are Müller's cultural
politics relevant to our post-communist, post-9/11 world?
If so, in what ways?
• What is the relation between Müller's radical aesthetic
experimentation and the content of his texts?
• What political and artistic challenges do Müller's
texts present for American actors and directors and why
are they worth engaging?
• How much should Müller's lineage in the German political
theatre influence how he is produced in America and elsewhere?
• Müller, more than any other 20th century playwright,
has brought poetry back to the stage; what is the significance
of Müller's poetics, in what ways does poetry impact
on the nature of the theatre experience?
• Is Müller's
work the completion of modernism or a precursor of post-modernism
and does it matter?
• Is Müller just for intellectuals,
or can he become a popular writer in America? If so, what
are some strategies for reaching non-specialized audiences?
•
Can an American audience, nurtured on narrative and psychological
realism, appreciate a Müller production? What is the
value of engaging American audiences with Müller?
The First Müller in America
Conference is being organized by Müller in America,
the only journal dedicated to the work of Heiner Müller in
the Americas, and the Castillo Theatre, the most prolific producer
of Müller in the United States. The conference will be held
at the All Stars Project's arts and education Complex on 42nd
Street, in the heart of New York City's theatre district. In conjunction
with the conference the Castillo Theatre will be presenting Revising
Germany, a play by Fred Newman, that looks at the conflicted
legacy of German political theatre. Müller is a character
in the play, as are Brecht, Helene Weigel, Elisabeth Hauptman,
Ruth Berlau and Margarete Steffin.
