Training for the future of the theatre
Training for the theatre takes place in the context of social change, which is characterised above all by the economisation of all living conditions and by the digital revolution. Training for the stage not only has to take into account the demands of classical ensemble and repertory theatre, but also has to deal with a transformed concept of theatre, changed structures and ways of organising it as well as with new forms of presentation. On the one hand, there have been significant changes in the way theatre is produced and artistic work is organised and provided with social protection; on the other hand, theatre has allied itself with other arts and opened up to performative, non-text-based aesthetics. Training, or to put it in an apter, less utilitarian way: an education at the Theaterakademie August Everding takes these social and cultural transformations into account without merely affirmatively adapting them. An education at the Theaterakademie not only has to prepare students for the broad spectrum of theatrical forms already in existence, but also has to anticipate how the theatre scene and employment opportunities in the performing arts are going to develop, and has to train young talent for the theatre of tomorrow. Any discourse about artistic training for the stage always includes the discourse about the future of performance and about performative practices, not only in theatre, but also in film, television and the digital media.
The Theaterakademie August Everding sets itself the task of devising and practising the best forms of artistic education and promoting students’ development to become self-confident artistic personalities. It has the ideal prerequisites to do so, in that it combines theory and practice in a unique way. On the one hand, the Academy cooperates with the University of Music and Theatre, the Ludwig Maximilian University, the University for Television and Film and the Academy of Fine Arts, facilitating and promoting cooperation between the disciplines; on the other hand, it is integrated in a playhouse which, with its Prinzregententheater, Akademietheater and Akademiestudio, provides every possible performance opportunity.
Professor Hans-Jürgen Drescher
