Theater is so cool, you check?
Theater AG, under the direction of Sven Reinwald, presented its own production “Total Vergiftet” at the weekend, an extremely varied mix of crime fiction, social criticism and musical theater.
The director made clear the appeal of showcasing different art forms on stage in his short speech to the audience.
There were certainly synergy effects in the development of the piece that had a very positive impact on the end result.
The first image on stage looked very familiar to everyone in the MGB auditorium. A school class awaiting a performance measurement. Tension, frustration, anticipation, fatalism. All of these facets of possible emotional states were visible and tangible. This created a connection right at the beginning between the ensemble and the audience, who followed the further events with excitement and interest.
Despite the criminal plot, there was always reason to smile. When students are allowed to openly show on stage what they think of their everyday activities at school, there is something comical about it in a positive sense.
As the plot progresses, there is a poison attack that various groups try to solve. An exciting competition arises between the boys and the girls, characterized by ambition and busyness. The question of who is better, TKKG, five friends, three question marks or three exclamation marks is very difficult to answer and had to be decided in a rap battle. Bastian Witt aka Brad Witt, rapper and educator, led a workshop in the summer in which his own texts were first created, which were then checked for rhythm and appropriate emphasis on the syllables. Witt then suggested various beats, from which a suitable one was finally selected. Of course, the attitude of hip-hop, including moves and outfits, couldn’t be neglected and all that
four artists showed how crazy they can rap. The fact that youth language was used added an additional appeal. The AG Event Technology was responsible for the appropriate setting of the light show. Tobias Block and Peter Kornblum had meticulously prepared themselves during the numerous rehearsals, which they attended, especially towards the end of the rehearsal period, to professionally stage the lighting technology in the auditorium.
Dance elements also found their way into the piece in the form of some choreographies to music. These were developed by Bettina Forkel in a dance workshop. Above all, the preparation of the forensic investigators remains a positive memory. And the layout of various perpetrator profiles on a screen, which is typical of crime novels, was also original in its execution.
Once a perpetrator was identified, the play showed its educational side, because it was about how to deal with such a situation, which is characterized by competition between two students. Drive jealousy and envy
to an act that still has mild consequences, but needs to be dealt with. Several ways to deal with it were shown and a solution to the problem was attempted. Using Augusto Boal’s forum theater method, the students dealt with different alternative courses of action and ultimately found a sensible and realistic reaction to the conflict situation.
The Theater AG was supported not only by Bastian Witt, but also by two theater teachers (Nelly Sautter and Stefanie Bittner), who shared their ideas
brought into the production and, above all, worked intensively with the leading actresses.
The ensemble gave the audience an impressive and very entertaining drama on the boards of the auditorium, which, as is well known, means the world to the actors and will certainly enable a number of successful theater productions in the coming years.
