Stadttheater New York at the Here Arts Center

German Theater Abroad (GTA) returns to New York City with STADTTHEATER NEW YORK, a month-long German theater experience. The festival will present a month-long repertory of two mainstage productions, four staged readings, three panel discussions and more throughout the month of May (3 - 26 May 2006) at the HERE Arts Center.

The STADTTHEATER NEW YORK presents:

Two plays in repertoire on the mainstage

• Slipped Disc - A Study of the Upright Walk
  Playwrite: Ingrid Lausund, translated by Henning Bochert
  Director: Simone Blattner
  Cast: Andrea Ciannavei, Sanjit De Silva, Ron Domingo, Paul H. Juhn and Daniele Skraastad
  Synopsis: In times where you can be downsized faster than you can photocopy, the spine quickly becomes a very expendable part of the body. Five office workers, three men and two women, are outside the Boss' office waiting for their daily execution.
  Dates: 3 - 23 May
  
  
• The Woman Before
  Playwrite: Roland Schimmelpfenning, translated by David Tushingham
  Director: Daniel Fish
  Cast: Christen Clifford, Cynthia Mace, Ronald Marx, Jeremiah Miller and Diana Ruppe.
  Synopsis: What happens when someone insists on love above all other bonds? Everything is packed. A family is moving. Frank and Claudia, along with their nearly grown son, Andi, are leaving the place where they have enjoyed nearly 20 years of marriage and raised their son. Suddenly the doorbell rings. Frank opens the door. Standing there is Romy, Frank's first love: 'You swore that you'd love me forever. Now I've come to hold you to that promise.'
  Dates: 5 - 26 May
  
  

• Electronic City
  Playwrite: Falk Richter
  Director: Christoph M. Gosepath
  Cast: n/k
  Synopsis: This fairy tale of electronic times takes place in the electronic Metropolis, a global city, completely controlled by the ubiquitous service industries. This world calls for the flexible human being, slowly dissolving between digital communication and global standardization. All that remains is someone who can only identify themself as a 0 or 1 in ever changing chains of numbers. The only escape from this endless flow of data and capital is a power failure, an error in the system, and the hysterical idle motion that kicks in when everything fails.
  Dates: Thu 8 May 8:30pm
  
  
• The Ballad of the Pine Tree Killer
  Playwrite: Rebekka Kricheldorf
  Director: n/k
  Synopsis: A clash of generations: Baby boomers versus "thirty-somethings" versus today's "network children". Jan Mao is the victim of anti-authoritarian upbringing and in search of limits. His father Franz, a former hippie, has become the head of a flourishing advertising agency and wants his son to succeed him, but Jan doesn't want that. Elvira, formerly Franz's companion and now his best customer, is supposed to put Jan on the right path, but is stressed out by her daughter, Anna, who plans her life purely in terms of success measured by cost-benefit formulas. Finally, there is Tine who sells both herself and mobile phone contracts for cash.
  Dates: Sat 13 May 4pm
  
  
• Dog Eats Grass
  Playwrite: Meike Hauck
  Director: Daniel Brunet
  Cast: Gecko
  Synopsis: It's a hot and wet summer night at a small rooftop cocktail-party and in the house across the street, Vera and Paul's marriage is falling apart. As time passes, the small talk on the roof plods along as everyone watches Vera and Paul. The voyeurism of the guests on the roof gets intense: even the neighbors' intercourse is observed with cheerful commentary. The voyeuristic gaze crosses boundaries, and ease gives rise to something sinister. All this is followed by a visit to the neighbors' house, where what happens can't be anticipated. Then suddenly, it's over. A little party on a roof, some rain, and everything seems unchanged.
  Dates: Mon 15 May 8:30pm
  
  
  
• The Cold Child
  Playwrite: Chris O'Connell
  Director: Marius von Mayenburg
  Synopsis: Henning, a small-town exhibitionist, is climbing the social ladder. After years in highway service areas, he's finally made it to the big time, the ladies' room of the hip cafe Polygamous populated by a chance crowd of people: Lena, a student of Egyptology, her family, a young couple with a strangely silent baby, Silke and Werner, and their friend Johann, whose girlfriend has just left him. When Lena flees from her family to the bathroom she becomes the chance victim of Henning's attempt at flashing, allowing Johann to rise to the occasion and save her life. Henning accidentally becomes a matchmaker, winning the affection of Lena's little sister, Tine. The four libertine couples meet again for Johann and Lena's wedding, a celebration of perverse passions, and again at Daddy's funeral, where they all prepare for a final malicious fight.
  Date: 22 May 8:30pm
  
  

• Panel I: Creatives - Input & Content
  Moderator: Roberta Levitow (Theatre Without Borders)
  Guests: Ingrid Lausund (Playwrite - Slipped Disc), Roland Schimmelpfennig (playwrite - The Woman Before), Daniel Brunet (Director/Translator) & Andrea Ciannavei (Actor, Slipped Disc)
  Date: Thu 4 May 8:30pm
  
  
• Panel II: A Debate: Critics - Outside Perspective
  Moderator: Andrian Kreye (NY Correspondent of the S¸ddeutsche Zeitung)
  Guests: Georg Diez (Die Zeit) & Hilton Als (The New Yorker)
  Date: Fri 5 May 10:30pm
  
  
• Panel III: Creators - Frame & Structure
  Moderator: Jonathan Kalb (Hunter College, NYC)
  Guests: AmÈlie Niermeyer (Artistic Director, D¸sseldorfer Schauspielhaus), Thomas Irmer (Dramaturg, Berliner Festspiele), Ronald Marx (Artistic Director, GTA) & Kristin Marting (Executive Director, HERE Arts Center)
  Date: Mon 22 May 10:30pm