On January 1, 2019, Matthias Spaniel hands over the artistic direction of “Die Bühne” to Alexandra Wilke

Vivian Herzog

It’s autumn. The leaves are turning red and yellow, and even though the warm days feel like summer, the first showers and cold snaps give signs of the year’s end. On January 1, 2019, Matthias Spaniel will hand over the artistic direction of the student theater “Die Bühne” [The Stage] to Alexandra Wilke. He took over the role from Andreas Mihan five years ago and since then has produced and supported pieces, forged plans and organized festivals. Under Matthias Spaniel, “Die Bühne” has changed. Or better put: with him.

“I see ‘Die Bühne’ as a space that brings together people from different backgrounds at the university to play,” he explains. For example, the project “China Tower” in 2015 drew attention to the more than 1000 Chinese students at TU Dresden. Likewise, the talk show “(Prof)Session” – in which professors introduced themselves and answered questions from the audience – or the reconception and moderation of the matriculation ceremony bridged the gap between lecture hall and theater.

The perception of the theater from outside has changed as well. “We can’t compete with professional theaters, but we now receive bookings beyond cooperation requests from other university organizations. This development was very important for me,” Spaniel stresses. Moreover, he explains that “Die Bühne” can respond more quickly to current events than large theater institutions with their long-term scheduling. For example, “Prometheus 2.0” (2013) was able to grapple with the Snowden Affair only months after it was uncovered.

Under the leadership of Matthias Spaniel, “Die Bühne” has become a bit more grown-up and professional. Administration, advertising and programming have been restructured. They even created part-time positions for the technical leadership and press work because “these are areas of responsibility that can’t be tended to alongside your studies whenever you have the time and inclination.” It’s therefore important to him to show appreciation for the people he works with so that they are not only happy to help as a hobby , they are also prepared to take on real responsibilities “that are often managed exclusively via an employment contract in a professional context,” he explains.

Spaniel is constantly inspired by the creativity of the students, such as in “Burning Walls and Urgent Calls,” which won the German Amateur Theater Prize in 2018. “The entertaining yet profound development of this piece with its choral scenes impressed me,” Spaniel says with a smile, his eyes lighting up.

The next few weeks will be stressful for him – his final production “Attacking Anne,” based on a piece by Martin Crimp, is celebrating its premiere on October 13. “What really fascinates me about the material is that after twelve scenes, you still don’t know who Anne is. It invites the viewer to reflect on our perception and construction of reality,” he explains. Theater should first and foremost pose questions, not offer answers. Theater is not simple.

And what does the future hold? Spaniel will remain in his position with the Theater program at the Institute of German Studies still runs until 2020. A project at the Erlangen Theater is being planned and a conference on the topic of “Posture(s)” (Haltung(en)) is supposed to take place in fall 2019. “You will no doubt see me again at ‘Die Bühne,’ but for now I have to say my farewells – it’s a bit like the end of an intense relationship,” he grins. “I’ve given a lot over the past few years, but also learned a lot for and about myself,” he says with an air of bittersweetness.

Since the time of writing, “Die Bühne” has received the German Amateur Theater Prize, which it was awarded this spring. It is accompanied by 2000 euros in prize money (UJ reported in Edition 10, page 12).

This article was published on October 16, 2018, in the 16/2018 Dresden Universitätsjournal. You can download the full issue as a PDF for free here. You can also order the UJ in print or as a PDF from doreen.liesch@tu-dresden.de. More information is available at universitaetsjournal.de.