Photos: Florian Model
What if a whole village was to be staged? Every other Sunday from October 2015 through June 2016 Herbordt/Mohren offer theatrical outings to Michelbach an der Lücke. ‘The Theater’ takes the audience on an excursion of theater installations. Vacant space around the central village square becomes archive, guest room, cinema, museum and theater. The audience is invited to a journey between stage and everyday life, between public campaign and art. With the opening of ‘The Theater’ on October 25, 2015, a nearly one-year process has started: The different facilities undergo ordinary use, the citizens of Michelbach organize in constant dialogue with the other activities around ‘The Theater’.
Press
“Michelbach an der Lücke (lit. ‘Michelbach-at-the-Gap’) is an apt name for the town in the district of Schwäbisch Hall: A gap has opened up at the center of it after a centuries-old house was demolished there. Now Michelbach is stage and actor at the same time. Bernhard Herbordt and Melanie Mohren have ‘staged’ the village for Stuttgart’s Theater Rampe: its life, its structure, the notions of the future and the past that surround it. Citizens and visitors become part of a performance, move around through the village whose places and institutions the artists transformed and reflected. Michelbach is on show between reality and fiction, art and everyday life. /…/ The village kids roaming from station to station are as excited as landlady Klara Dietrich and cook Renate Schenkel who serve the guests a sumptuous meal at Michelbach’s one remaining restaurant. The village community experiences the theatrical intrusion into its structure as stimulating. On several different levels the intervention is entertaining, and often fascinating.” (Stuttgarter Nachrichten, October 27, 2015)
“A group of theatergoers from Stuttgart went on their first outing to Michelbach an der Lücke on Sunday: The village has become a point of interest for theater. Melanie Mohren and Bernhard Herbordt have created installations together with citizens of Michelbach. The playwrights have already worked on an extended concept of theater for some time. The unanimous opinion of the opening audience: A very detailed, singular world was created. /…/ The visitors virtually got lost within the project and bemoaned that there was too little time. The people of Michelbach used the opportunity to have a fresh look at everything – and fell for it.” (Hohenloher Tagblatt, October 28, 2015)
“Who would have guessed? You depart from Stuttgart to Michelbach in the Hohenlohe district, and five hours later you find yourself standing on a village square playing an instrument in an orchestra – voluntarily by the way, and enjoying it. /…/ Conclusion? A large-scale installation in the countryside. Not only the theater people, also the inhabitants of Michelbach (72 of which are mentioned in the program) have definitely contributed to a cultural stimulation of their village. /…/ The outing to the theater village of Michelbach is absolutely worth its while.” (Stuttgarter Zeitung, December 3, 2015)
Tickets
Binding registration until the Thursday before the trip:
Phone: +49 (0)711-620 09 09 15
Admission: 35€ / 22€ / 16€ (transfer and snack included)
Meeting point is Theater Rampe in Stuttgart. The five-hour outing to Michelbach an der Lücke begins and ends there. The admission charge contains the transfer Stuttgart – Michelbach an der Lücke – Stuttgart as well as a snack.
Departure and arrival:
Theater Rampe
Filderstraße 47
70180 Stuttgart
www.theaterrampe.de
Credits
With numerous citizens from Michelbach an der Lücke
With artistic contributions from Gabriela Oberkofler, Gordon Kampe, Michael Kleine, Michl Schmidt
Performance: Judica Albrecht and Armin Wieser
Artistic Directors: Melanie Mohren and Bernhard Herbordt
Scenography: Leonie Mohr and Hannes Hartmann
Video: René Liebert
Assistance: Laura Oppenhäuser and Amelie Hafner
Technical director: Norman Thörel
Production: ehrliche arbeit – freies Kulturbüro
Stage design: Dieter Andörfer, Helmut Dietz, Stephen Herter, Michael Schramm
PR: Bernhard Siebert
Graphic design: Demian Bern
Copy-editing: Viola van Beek
A production of Herbordt/Mohren in cooperation with Theater Rampe Stuttgart and the municipality of Wallhausen, supported by the Innovationsfonds Kunst of the Ministry for Science, Research and Art Baden-Württemberg, and the Fonds Darstellende Künste e.V. – three-year conceptual funding, financed by the German Federal Government.