DRAMATURGY

(SELECTION)

LA CLEMENZA DI TITO

von Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Libretto von pietro Metastasio.

Vorarlberger Landestheater Bregenz, 31. Januar - 19. Februar 2020

Director Henry Arnold Musical Direction Karsten Januschke Set Design Bartholomäus Martin Kleppek Costumes Gabriele Kortmann Lighting Arndt Rössler Dramaturgy Birgit Schreyer Duarte Performed by Christopher Sokolowski, Narine Yeghiyan, Sophia Körber, Annelie Sophie Müller, Sarah Romberger, Thomas Stimmel, David Kopp and Zoe Hutmacher

ENGLISH Titus, the Roman emperor who was popular with the Senate and the people at the time of Vesuvius eruption, seems to be defying the zeitgeist today, as he was then. He defends the idea of ​​kindness, charity and forgiveness against the principle of tyranny. Undeterred, he believes that mutual loyalty and love between the people and the regent strengthens their position as rulers, rather than obedience enforced through violence and fear. In an environment of political intrigue and instability—a belief defying reason? When Titus is betrayed by his closest friends, he has to decide anew how law and justice can be reconciled with his worldview, in which the good in people can ultimately triumph.

The conflict between the two principles of domination is also reflected in the figures of Sesto, Titus' best friend, and Vitellia, who, spurned by Titus, will exploit Sesto's total devotion to her to the extreme. In a heated atmosphere of high emotionality, the confusion of love also plays a central role in this opera by Mozart. Two actors will complement our ensemble of singers in a new version of the recitatives.

GERMAN Titus, der bei Senat und Volk beliebte Kaiser Roms zur Zeit des Vesuvausbruchs, scheint heute wie damals dem Zeitgeist zu trotzen. Er verteidigt den Gedanken der Güte, der Wohltat und des Verzeihens gegen das Prinzip der Gewaltherrschaft. Unbeirrt glaubt er daran, dass gegenseitige Treue und Liebe zwischen Volk und Regent dessen Position als Machthaber festigen, anstatt ein durch Gewalt und Angst erzwungener Gehorsam. In einem Umfeld der politischen Intrigen und Instabilität—ein Glaube gegen alle Vernunft? Als Titus von engsten Freunden verraten wird, muss er aufs Neue entscheiden, wie sich Recht und Gerechtigkeit mit seiner Weltsicht, in der das Gute im Menschen letztlich siegen kann, vereinbaren lassen. 

Der Konflikt zwischen den beiden Herrschaftsprinzipien spiegelt sich auch in den Figuren des Sesto, Titus’ bestem Freund, und der Vitellia, die, von Titus verschmäht, Sestos völlige Hingabe zu ihr bis ins Extrem ausnutzen wird. In einer aufgeheizten Atmosphäre von hoher Emotionalität spielen auch in dieser Oper Mozarts die Verwirrungen der Liebe eine zentrale Rolle. Zwei Schauspieler werden hierbei in einer Neufassung der Rezitative unser hochkarätiges Sängerensemble ergänzen. 

UNSAFE

by Sook-Yin Lee

Berkeley St Theatre, Canadian Stage, March 12-31, 2019

Director Sarah Garton Stanley Collaborative Consultant Zack Russell Dramaturgy Birgit Schreyer Duarte Performed by Sook-Yin Lee and Christo Graham Set Design Christine Urquhart Costumes Ming Wong Lighting Steve Lucas Video Design Roxanne Luchak Sound Ali Berkok Assistant Director Clayton Lee

AN INVITATION TO UNSAFE TERRITORIES: DRAMATURG’S NOTE Making theatre is unsafe. Theatre makers are at risk the moment they embark on a creative endeavour. They risk their own sense of self, in literal and figurative ways. They risk being absorbed by the process so fully, they neglect looking after themselves; they invite conflict with collaborators through the differences in their approaches, convictions or aesthetics; they may unearth personal truths during their journey that may affect their mental state and stability; and, of course, they risk “failure”, be it in their own eyes or in the public’s view, and its—perceived or real—consequences. 

In the creation of Unsafe, the collaborative process itself became emblematical for the project’s themes. From its inception, it brought about insecurities and unmasked “safe” assumptions as false. Although a commission by Canadian Stage under former Artistic Director Matthew Jocelyn, Unsafe was largely developed after the company changed its leadership: inevitably, the paradigm in which the piece evolved shifted. The commission itself was first handed to one artist and via various detours, ended up with another. Most notably, the dynamics between art and censorship, the thematic starting point from which Unsafe unfolded, affected its evolution in unforeseen ways. Uncertainty around ownership shaped how we handled and viewed the material. We experienced first-hand how mechanisms of censorship, some subtle and some explicit, influenced our thinking and our actions. Who gets to tell which story? Is there a correct way of telling it? What are we saying if we are or aren’t saying it? What is safe to take as the truth?

Making difficult choices is a crucial part of making art, a method echoing censorship itself (of oneself or others). The final work will include some positions while excluding others. Each of these decisions, more or less overtly, reflects back on the creators’ places they occupy in the world. Thus, exposing or withholding our politics this way can make us feel acutely unsafe. And yet, daring to step onto unsafe territory, naming it and saying out loud what it does to us, can reveal new vantage points, new positions we weren’t aware we could claim. Moreover, allowing for unsafety inevitably also invites us to consider what makes us as individuals, and as a society or culture, feel safe. Despite its dangerousness, the creative process itself can become a place where we feel closest to our selves. Making Unsafe unveiled unexpected truths, opened old wounds and caused fresh injuries; but it also provided new clarity, moments where we sensed our priorities changing, our focus sharpening on what is worth arguing for—whatever it is that offers us safety, and what we are willing to do to keep that safe. 

As audience members, you are partners in this collective effort of performing Unsafe. You, too, may find your boundaries shifting and your convictions built on shaky ground. Welcome to Unsafe.

Botticelli in the fire & Sunday in Sodom

by Jordan Tannahill

Toronto Theatre Critics Award for Best New Canadian Play 2016

Governor General's Literary Award 2018

Berkeley St Theatre, April/May 2016

Directors Matjash Mrozewski and Estelle Shook. Sets and Costumes James Lavoie. Composition and Sound Design Sam Sholdice, Lighting Steve Lucas. Dramaturgy Birgit Schreyer Duarte. Performed by Salvatore Antonio, Valerie Buhagiar, Nicola Correia-Damude, Stephen Jackman-Torkoff, Christopher Morris and Alon Nashman.

THE EMANCIPATION OF MS. LOVELY

Written and performed by Ngozi Paul

Dora Award for outstanding new play 2017

Crow’s Theatre, Toronto. March - April 2017

Director Zack Russell. Original Workshop director Keira Loughran. Original Dramaturgy Birgit Schreyer Duarte. Sound Design/Composition Waleed Abdulhamid and DJ L’Oqenz. Choreographer and Assistant Director Roger C. Jefferey.

TO A FLAME

by Erin Shields

Project inspired by THE FALL OF THE HOUSE OF USHER, with deaf and hearing performers, for deaf and hearing audiences.

Director Josette Bushell-Mingo, Dramaturgy Birgit Schreyer Duarte. Performed by Dawn J Birley, Lisa Karen Cox and Anna Hardwick. Video Design Denise Karn. Workshops supported by Nightwood Theatre, Toronto and Tyst Teater, Stockholm.