On the 100th anniversary of the birthday of Bertolt Brecht, the Goethe-Institut Atlanta is proud to present a series of special events - a theater production, documentary exhibition, lecture, extraordinary film presentations, and workshops.
Bertolt Brecht was one of the greatest German writers, poets, and dramatists of this century. He was a theatrical reformer whose epic theater departed from the conventions of theatrical illusion and developed the drama as a social and ideological forum. Brecht's influence on the theater of the 20th century was enormous.
Brecht abandoned medical studies for the theater. His military service in World War I made him a pacifist for the rest of his life. In the late 1920s his antipathy towards middle-class society took the form of Marxism.
Bertolt Brecht's greatest success and the most famous theatrical event of the 1920s was The Threepenny Opera (1928), composed by Kurt Weill.
After the rise of Hitler in Germany, Brecht emigrated to Denmark, Sweden, Finnland, and the United States. Among his important mature works are: The Life of Galileo, The Good Woman of Setzuan, Mother Courage and Her Children, and The Caucasian Chalk Circle.
Bertolt Brecht returned to Europe in 1947. From 1949 - 1956, he directed the Berliner Ensemble, a company of actors in East Berlin.
JUNGLE OF CITIES KICKOFF EVENT
Friday, January 23
Goethe-Institut, 7 p.m.
Meet the artists and actors who will be leading the theater production of "In the Jungle of Cities" at 7 Stages in Atlanta from February 18 - March 15. The director Falk Richter and the scenographer Martin Kraemer will arrive from Germany that week, along with Philip Boehm from the U.S., who has been commissioned to write a new translation! The artists and actors will talk about their work and read a few samples from the new script.
Come celebrate the beginning of this very special production with us.
Refreshments will be served.
Parking ticket at Colony Square validated at the Goethe-Institut.
THEATER
In the Jungle of Cities (Im Dickicht der Städte)
Director: Falk Richter, Berlin
Designer: Martin Kraemer, Berlin
"It is the year 1912 in the City of Chicago: you are witnessing an inexplicable wrestling match, and the destruction of a family that has come from the prairie lands to the great city jungle.... Do not rack your brains for motives: concern yourself with the human element, evaluate the antagonists' fighting spirit impartially and concentrate your interest on the showdown"
-- Bertolt Brecht
In the Jungle of Cities begins with a Faustian Pact: Shlink, a successful lumber dealer, makes an arrangement with George Garga, an impoverished librarian. The two men, in effect, exchange their lots in life. From that moment on, the battles they wage irreparably tear away at George's family while deluding Shlink to believe he has found love. This production will bring to life Brecht's timely story about the harsh realities of the American Dream. In the Jungle of Cities is a rich, jazzy story that leads one to question how much times have really changed.
7 Stages will bring to Atlanta two of Germany's rising theater stars to lead this production. Director Falk Richter won critical acclaim at a young age, and has worked at prestigious theaters across Europe. Scenographer Martin Kraemer (designer of sets, costumes, and lights) designs with major theaters in Berlin, Vienna, Hamburg, and Brussels. Philip Boehm, a renowned translator of German writers, will create the new translation.
This event has been cosponsored by Lufthansa German Airlines.
February 18 - March 15
7 Stages Theater
1105 Euclid Avenue, Atlanta
Wed & Thurs 7:30 p.m.
Fri & Sat 8:00 p.m.
Sun 5:00 p.m.
Tickets are $15 & $18 adults, $8 & $10 FoG members, students and seniors, $5 "passport" holders. Box office (404) 523-7647, group sales (404) 522-0911.
January 29, 30, 31
Bertolt Brecht Workshop, Film Series, Exhibition Opening, Lectures
Brecht and Film
"There are only two directors in the world," Brecht once said during a debate, "and the other one is Charlie Chaplin!" Regardless of whether or not this anecdote is true, it is not as immodest as it sounds. He was a theatrical genius. Remembering Brecht, in this year of the 100th anniversary of his birthday, is more important than ever before.
Among the numerous ways of presenting the topic Brecht and Film, this program shows a rather authentic picture of this man. Film material still in existence which Brecht produced as director has been collected and will be shown for the first time. The film package is designed to give an idea of how Brecht worked as a director and how he shaped and organized the process of theatrical production with his own texts and with the actors, actresses and other people who worked with him in his workshop.
A catalog with detailed information is available.
Thursday, January 29
Goethe-Institut, 7 p.m. Film
Kuhle Wampe or Who Owns the World?
1932, 75 min., b/w
Screenplay Bertolt Brecht; Director: Slatan Dudov; Music: Hanns Eisler; Cast: Herta Thiele, Ernst Busch, Martha Wolter, Adolf Fischer, Lilli Schönborn, Max Sablotzki.
Friday, January 30
Goethe-Institut, 1 - 4 p.m.
Brecht Workshop (in German)
Prof. Gudrun Schulz, Hochschule Vechta, Germany
Prof. Martin Kagel, University of Georgia, Athens
Prof. Gerd Bräuer, Emory University, Atlanta
"Mit Gedichten muss man sich etwas aufhalten, um herauszufinden, was schön daran ist" (Brecht)
A literary workshop (Poetry, Prose, Theater) of Brecht and his work for students of Emory University and the University of Georgia, Athens.
Additional limited space available. Please call (404) 892-2388 for reservations before Jan. 25.
Goethe-Institut
4:30 p.m. Film
Galileo
1947, 30 min., b/w, silent with intertitles
Play by Bertolt Brecht; Director: Joseph Losey; Cast: Charles Laughton
Goethe-Institut
6:30 p.m. Exhibition opening
Brecht's Theater Work
Bertolt Brecht 1898 - 1956. Zeit - Leben - Werk
A documentary exhibition from the Literaturforum (Brecht Zentrum) in Berlin.
Introductory remarks by Dr. Sigmar Gerund (Literaturforum im Brecht-Haus Berlin).
The exhibiton will be on display through February 20, 1998
Gallery Hours: Monday - Thursday 9 a.m. - 5 p.m.
Friday 10 a.m. - 2 p.m.
Saturday noon - 4 p.m.
7 p.m Lecture
Brecht in America
Prof. Siegfried Mews (University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, N.C.)
Goethe-Institut
8 p.m. Film
My Name is Bertolt Brecht
1989, 16 mm. color and b/w, 95 min., directed by Norbert Bunge and Christine Fischer-Defoy
This documentary film traces the bitter experiences of Brecht in his American exile years. Film courtesy of Inter Nationes Bonn.
Saturday, January 31
Goethe-Institut, 9 a.m. - 1 p.m.
Brecht Workshop
Prof. Gudrun Schulz, Hochschule Vechta, Germany
This workshop is primarily for American teachers of German. A creative interpretation of Brecht and his work.
Please call (404) 892-2388 for reservations before Jan. 25.
Goethe-Institut
2 p.m. Film
The Mysteries of a Hairdresser's Shop
1923, 24 min., b/w, silent with intertitles, 35 mm
A film by Bertolt Brecht and Erich Engel. Cast: Karl Valentin, Blandine Ebinger, Erwin Faber, Annemarie Hase, Kurt Horwitz, Liesl Karlstadt, Carola Neher
A Man's a Man
1931, 15 min., b/w, silent film, no intertitles, 8 mm
A play by Bertolt Brecht. Cast: Peter Lorre, Helene Weigel, Theo Lingen, Wolfgang Heinz, Alexander Granach
Señora Carrar's Rifles
1953, 54 min., b/w, 35 mm
Play by Bertolt Brecht; Director: Egon Monk; Cast: Helene Weigel, Ekkehard Schall, Erwin Geschonneck, Regine Lutz, Norbert Christian
Short Film
1953, 3 min., b/w filmed during the making of Señora Carrar's Rifles
4 p.m. Film
The Threepenny Opera
1931, 131 min., b/w, 35 mm
Based on Bertolt Brecht's play. Director: Georg Wilhelm Pabst; Music: Kurt Weill; Cast: Rudolf Forster Carola Hener, Reinhold Schuenzel, Fritz Rasp, Valeska Gert, Lotte Lenya, Ernst Busch
Private Films
1928/29, 5 min., b/w, silent, 8 mm
Personal films from Brecht's estate showing him in various situations
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