Q&A Stifters Dinge mit Heiner Goebbels

Stifters Dinge

Saturday night: premiere night! We picked up the jury and headed to Duisburg for the opening of Heiner Goebbels' Stifters Dinge at the Kraftzentrale. But first...

here's Pascal riding an adorable pink bike

Das Mädchen, round two

It's the weekend! And on Friday we went back for a second round of Das Mädchen mit den Schwefelhölzern, starring Robert Wilson and Angela Winkler. Here we are, meeting at the Jahrhunderthalle, ready to make our VIP entrance (and before about 5 spins around the roundabout...)

Silence, Exile, Deceit: Verstecken spielen

A letter to Robert Wilson

Nachdem die Jury vergangenen Samstag Robert Wilson mit Fragen über Das Mädchen mit den Schwefelhölzern löchern durfte, schrieben sie ihm einen Brief, um sich dafür zu bedanken. 

Lara als Postbotin

CRAY at the fault lines

On Thursday night we went to Pact Zollverein to see the fault lines, with Meg Stuart, Philipp Gehmacher and Vladimir Miller. This jury is a bit CRAY and we had quite a bit of fun running around the Zollverein before the show even started....

I think picture sets the tone.

VIP

Englisch?

When Kids Are Loud/Wenn Kinder laut sind

- Die deutsche Fassung befindet sich weiter unten -


When Kids Are Loud

On the whole, the Children's Choice Awards' jury repeatedly impresses both us and the public who sit around us with their behaviour at the shows they see. We've shown this year and in past presentations of this project that not only can kids go see theatre and performance that we "expect" them not to get; that they can enjoy shows we don't think they will; and that they won't ruin the experience of them for the rest of us.

But sometimes... kids are loud. Or distracting. Or annoying. Last weekend, the jury went to a couple of shows where this was the case. Fidgeting, whispering, laughing... it happens, especially when kids are with other kids, in a group of 15, out of school and away from parents, with their friends. We know some of the people around us were annoyed. But this discomfort is part of what the project is about. And ultimately, we want to remind you: it's up to YOU to tell them how you feel.

In 2011, in response to some problems we encountered while doing CCA, Mammalian Diving Reflex's Artistic Director Darren O'Donnell wrote the Mammalian Protocol for Collaborating with Children (click for link), a document that, in effect, outlines the working method we use with the CCA jury. All of Mammalian's collaborations with children have, at one level or another, the theme of the full recognition of children as rights-holders who are “not only entitled to receive protection but also have the right to participate in all matters affecting them, a right which can be considered as the symbol for their recognition as rights holders. This implies, in the long term, changes in political, social, institutional and cultural structures,” that in effect, will create “a new social contract.” This is what all of Mammalian's work with children is about.

Q&A Partita 2

Silence, Exile, Deceit (errrrrr the haunted house?)

The jury went to the Mischanlage on Monday to check out Douglas Gordon's "industrial pantomime," Silence, Exile, Deceit. We hoped we'd figure out what that means....

Audio Graffiti (meeting of the CCAs!) and Partita No. 2 (talkativity?)

Sunday: another double header. We started first by bringing the jury to the final presentation for Hidden Mother's Audio Graffiti; after a food break, we headed to Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker and Boris Charmatz's performance of Partita No. 2. 

There was a lot of discussion about whether the CCA jury should attend Partita; last year, the jury was a bit... interruptive... at two of Anne Teresa's performances, and there was some debate about whether they should attend again--especially considering the long periods of silence in this particular performance. In the end, we decided to go; and in the end, the jury behaved WUNDERBAR, proving once again that their presence in the audience doesn't have to affect the show any more than if it's only adults. We are glad we went!

But first: we gotta put the magnets on the car. Rojhevi knows how to do it RIGHT.

Q&A Das Mädchen mit den Schwefelhölzern

Das Mädchen mit den Schwefelhölzern

On Saturday we headed to the premiere of Das Mädchen mit den Schwefelhölzern, with music by Helmut Lachenmann and direction, stage and light by Robert Wilson. We knew the musicians would be all around us and that the stage was a square... but other than that, we had no idea what to expect!

Here are the kids from Mülheim getting ready for the ride to the Jahrhunderthalle in Bochum...

Situation Rooms and Freitagsküche

On Friday the 13th (!) we headed back to Rimini Protokoll's Situation Rooms and to the related Freitagsküche at the Jahrhunderthalle in Bochum. We split into two groups: 1 headed for Situation Rooms, 1 for the küche, and then we switched.

Here's the first group from Duisburg, at and around the Freitagsküche...

Test Pattern

100 KIDS AT TEST PATTERN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Today we did something HUGE: 

WE SAW TEST PATTERN WITH THE WHOOOOOLE JURY!!

100 kids, 3 buses and 2 cars from 4 different cities met at Duisburg's Landschaftspark. 

Here they are!

rAndom International: Tower

A few more pictures by Stephan Glagla of the Jury checking out the Tower

Situation Rooms & Agora / Arena

On Sunday we took the jury in two groups to Rimini Protokoll's much anticipated "Multiplayer Video-Play," Situation Rooms. Since we couldn't take any photos inside... this is all we got. Here's some of the first group with their (much coveted) tickets.

Laughing Hole

On Saturday night we had a double bill: La Ribot's performance, Laughing Hole, running for SIX hours at PACT Zollverein, and rAndom international's Instant Structure for Schacht XII, installed at one of the Zollverein's towers. It was a rainy miserable evening, but we didn't let that stop us from having fun... if it's gonna rain, let it pour!

Here we are doing the wet red-carpet walk...