first week (sleepy)

Can't believe it but I've only been here a week. It seems that another parallel lifetime has at the same time begun here, my world is different and the person I am becoming is not too different persay, only an expression of me that I've never been able to fully express thus....okay....too deep. Moving on.

I'm so tired but I have a long day ahead of me, and I'm gonna try to keep this briefer but I have a feeling that won't be possible.

We begin early after language class as I head over by myself walking down first kastanien alle, torstraße und friedrichstraße. The destination is Deutsches Theater. The show, is Endspiel (Endgame). I was particularly excited because I had just gone over Endgame with Amy, and the discussion as well as the play left me with a burning desire to see it performed. Who cares if it was in german!

I got to the Theater wayy early. The theatre itself is beautiful. I noticed something quite different about the aura of these berlin theatres. They are large, imposing structures, and all have a very distinct aura of their own. In New York City you see a theatre like that and you expect the worst. I know my most engaging theatrical experiences come from going to small downtown off broadway underground theatres. Being around old stuffy rich people and overactive teenage girls from long island while people sing at me is not my idea of art (horrible generalization, I know, but this is the feeling i get from most mainstream theatre, i.e. broadway. Blame it on my mother whose rampant hatred far exceeds my own disgust).

Anyway. The theatres in Berlin are spread all over the place, and their location says a lot about them. The Berliner Ensemble, once the heart of Brecht's greatest works and moments, is now literally 30 feet away from a tourist trap called "Bertolt Brecht's Restaurant" while an advertisement for boat tours in Berlin are only 10 more feet away. The plaza felt very brechtian. It is where I saw my first sleeping homeless person in Berlin, right across from Brecht's simple statue. I put my arm around the statue, and did as I promised to david and took a photograph. I walked aorund abit more. Mitte in this area is very very European, reminding me of the best of florence or paris. Very well put together,almost too touristy. Berlin still has a considerable more amount of grit, and thats why I love it.

The process for buying a ticket was easy enough. I have come up with a pretty exciting process for my "research" whenever I go see a play. I make sure to show up early so I can see all sorts of people arrive. I get a table at the cafe and drink my coffee. The ambience of Deutsches Theater reminded me of Schaubühne. Volksbühne is definitely more out there in terms of its idea, more ridiculous, more avant-garde, more awesome. This is very refined, more refined than Schaubühne but advertising a similar amount of intensity, certainly. The cafe however is ludicrously overpriced. The schaubühne's prices were modest and mild, here however you could feel even a small coffee eat a hole in your wallet.

Side note, the coffee is absolutely horrible. Syrupy, heavy and sort of cloying, like a nasty little sticky thing stuck to your foot. And the milk and cream dont make it any better. Ah well, it's affordable I guess, except at Deutsches Theater. My advice? A small little cafe that has concerts, the owner makes a mean lasagna, affordable too. mmmm

I relaxed in the park as I reread endgame, and drifted off to sleep, beckett does that to me sometimes. Maybe all that talk of nothing. Anyway, I made my way to the theater and saw all sorts of people. Every now and then I think I hear english and perk up, and realize no...more deutsch. Although my deutsch is getting much better. The group of people I see are young people and then very old people and then very smart looking people, I dont know how to describe it - theyre the type of people who you know have read heidegger but dont like to talk about it. Like the antihipster perhaps. Berlin has tons of them. They are all very german and have stern faces and dress tastefully and love to sit in cafes and talk to their friends about all sorts of things. Everything is done very calmly though, except soccer, but that comes later.

Endgame: Directed by Jan Bosse

First of all, Jan Bosse, how dare you get rid of Nagg, Nell, the dog, and anything requiring props! You killed off my two favorite characters before Beckett had a chance to. That was shameful of you, you should be ashamed. Shame. Shame. Shame.

Second of all, I forgive you, because your actors are quite inspiring. And you managed to do something original to a 50 year old play.

Yes. Endgame is officially a 50 year old man. Published in 1958, it seems strange that a play whose job was to put an official end to theatre (but dont all plays really do that, or at least try?) has lasted this long.

The first moment was a moment of sheer brilliance. You enter intpo the absolutely beatufiul and spic and span small theatre, a place where you might have seen mozart sonatas or quaint arias. And you see a plank of wood that raises itself on a rake, oh and a blinding white light pointed straight at you. YOu shield your eyes, but soon you give up, and soon youre staring straight at the white light, like seeing right into a flashlight. The light slowly raises intself, and as it done so you see all the löight in the room fade as well, until BAM, you see two characters, Clov and Hamm, staring at the theatre, and you waiting for the spots in your eyes to clear before you really see them.


First of all, Hamm is wearing a shiny sequined silver suit. Clov is wearing what looks like an orange mumu. Second of all they are standing on a plank of wood that looks like several doors glued together. Third of all, they spend most of the time looking out, this I like.

I lost track of the beginning and sort of dozed off, but towards the end, the actors really began hitting their stride. The actor playing clov has a devastating physical repetoire of body language. From winding himself up as the alarm clock. to faux sitting next to Hamm on an invisble chair, the actor displayed an absolutely excellent sense of himslef and the character. Their relationship was flawless.

The fact that there is no set, and Bosse haves them staring at the stage for long moments means that the play really tries to hammer the idea of the play being about the theatre itself. Some moments are exceptionally effective. Clov taking ham on piggy back so he can see what the wind outside feels like the repetition of phrses over and ove until they lose all sense of meaning (If they had any meaningt to begin with.

Not surprisingly I had the most trouble seeing Beckett, who is a master of word play, but also a master of none-meaning, in german. I just saw two mne on a stage stsaring for most of the first half, which while an interesting concept, just bore me.

All in all, the show hits its points. Not too sure whzat all the choices were, but feel the director was generous to give us an endgame that had a very clear end, after all it was game night.

The bar in the theatre was showing the game on a projectpor and a bunch of people were watching anhd goin crazy as germany vanquished portugal.

In other news I finally met two germans! Actresses studying at a private acting school. They gave me quite na interesting perspective.

They told me that the majority of people who go to these theatres are theatre people und intellectuals ( a class of people who read these plays and follow these directors). The fact that they keep these theatres consistently full tells me, a) lots of actors in berlin b) lots of intellectuals, c) both - I think it's C.

They were interested about new york but had no interest going there and not crazy abbout the united states in general, I wasn't aboiut tpo argue with them, as I think I may like Berlin more than NY myself. Theatre is extremely competitive in Berlin for actors, but in that same way it also has such a strong traditionm that actors are given top notch training.

The acting training is all Stanislavsky and some Adler. Then danc,e stage combat, physical training, all sorts - what surprises me is that isnt too different from an american conservatory, but the work itself is RIDICULOUSLY different. Perhaps this is the fault of the regie (director)

It was quite nice to talk with them, as it gives me more perspective on my project, and two new friends.

So tred, I am falling asleep as I speak to you. I must bid you all, adieu, and youll hear from me probably at the end of this weekend!

Tschuss!

- J


sleepy entry but needed to get somethin down...there will be more soon, I've been thinkin a lot about theatre, and some concrete ideas will soon be introduced.