Theatre of Expressionism in Vienna

The aim of this project is the scientific research of an epoch of the Austrian theatre which hitherto did not find an adequate appreciation, above all to point out, why this area of neglect in research could arise. The theatre of Expressionism ist nearly wiped out of memory, caused by restrictions through politics, economy and tradition but takes effect until the time after the Second World War and has to be regarded as one of the most important epochs of the theatre in Vienna. This project will give the first comprehensive history of Expressionism in Vienna, including a multiple of stages. The extensive opening and securing of materials in the archives connected with the summing up of the isolated results of research concerning theatres, dramatists, directors, scenic designers and actors will lead to a new sight of the expressionist theatre in Vienna in context with the political situation and develope new methodical approaches in the theatre history of Vienna. A history of staging and reception of the Austrian and German drama and music drama, and the most important scenic designs will show the development of Expressionism in Vienna. The reception of expressionist theatre - like that of painting - takes place between the extremes of >apology and defamation< (Rainer Fuchs). The claim for ethic and aesthetic renewal, which finds resonance in the social democracy, is opposed by the aesthetic conservatism, antisemitism and antiintellectualism of the political conservatives and rights. Here will be given a chronicle of the prohibitions by censorship, the theatre scandals, the discussions about the political engagement of the dramatists and their personal feuds. Further the theoretical reflections of the artists about the social function of theater, the poetics of drama, theory of staging, design and dramatic art and the >Gesamtkunstwerk< as they are documented in the expressionist journals of Vienna will be analysed and the cliché of the lacking in theoretical reflection of Austrian in contrast to German expressionism be called in question. Expressionist drama will be investigated from a specific theatrehistorical point of view, analysing the programs of the theatres and the discussions of themes and forms by the contemporary criticism. The main themes of Expressionism also determine the programs of the theatres in Vienna: War and revolution, the conflict of the generations , the >fight of the genders<, the crises of the subject, the question for the messianic mission of the individual and the confrontation with the fate of the Jews. After the programmatic designs of the >Bühnenkunstwerk< by Oskar Kokoschka and Arnold Schönberg, which remained isolated, at the end of the First World War there was the break-through of expressionism on the main theatres in Vienna. The relevant stage settings will be documented and analysed to obtain together with the results of the archive research, an evaluated conclusion about the style and its development. The results of this project will be published in the Beiheften zu Maske und Kothurn and integrated in the internet portal for the investigation of Austriass theater-history during the First Republic of the Institute of Theatre, Film and Media in Vienna. This project has the target to make a contribution to a new evaluation of the time as one of the most fascinating periods of the Austrian culture in the 20th century, when Austria joins the international avantgarde. Beyond this project wants to remember of the lost jewish-austrian symbiose of culture and make conscious the great loss of creative potential, caused by the expulsion of so many artists working for the theatre.

Vienna has been one of the capitals of expressionism on stage. This fact has not been appreciated by the historiography of theatre for a long time, because one was used to consider above all Berlin and Munich, but also Frankfurt and Mannheim as strongholds of expressive art and essay writing. Vienna`s role as important precursor in the fields of fine arts, in essay writing and scenic experiments was accepted only gradually concerning the fine arts and music. For a long time it has not been recognized that scenic art - in the theatre city Vienna - made a major contribution to help establish the new worldview. The presented research points out not only that many of the artists, who defined the style in Germany at a later time, started their career in Vienna before and after the First World War. There is also demonstrated how many theatres and short-living drama groups in Vienna were involved in the "Experiment Weltuntergang" in the first three decades of the 20th century. The breadth, depth and diversity of scenic experiments and their impact on public opionion is worked out by this investigation. There is also pointed out that many artists of expressionism came to Vienna not only from the Crownlands (for example the scenic designer Alfred Roller from Brno, the author Franz Werfel from Prague), but also from Braunschweig (the actor, stage-director and director of the Burgtheater Albert Heine), from Freiburg im Breisgau (the stage-director and designer Karlheinz Martin) or from the Rhineland (Alfred Bernau, director of the Deutsche Volkstheater). Beyond this project wants to remember of the lost jewish-austrian symbiose of culture and make conscious the great loss of creative potential, caused by the expulsions of so many artists working for the theatre. This project will give the first comprehensive history of Expressionism in Vienna, including a multiple of stages. The opening of primary sources connected with the summing up of the isolated results of research concerning theatres, dramatists, directors, scenic designers and actors will lead to a new sight of the expressionist theatre in Vienna. The project is supplemented by two databases, which want to provide material for further research. The first database is a chronological documentation of above 100 stagings based on analyses of the repertories of the theatres in Vienna. The second database documents these stagings by theatre reviews of the leading journals in Vienna - ArbeiterZeitung, Neue Freie Presse, Reichspost and Die Weltbühne (Berlin).