Short Plays About Life In The Shadow Of The Berlin Wall, 1961 – Today
On opening night, October 18th, the “Freedom without Walls” symposium will feature a collection of short plays. We are now inviting students to submit a 5-10-minute script on a topic related to the Wall, focusing on any moment from its inception up until today. Our goal is to reflect on the Wall’s enduring significance in the lives and everyday routines of German people.
Authors will be responsible for presenting their work at the symposium. Performances may be script-in-hand or fully produced. (see Production Considerations below)
Requirements:
- Primary Language: English.
- Total Running Time: Between 5 and 10 minutes.
- Research on the chosen topic is highly recommended, but informed submissions are equally welcome.
Production Considerations:
- Plays should be conceived for ease of production. Lighting will be a single wash, with only lights up/lights down control.
- Basic tables and chairs will be available. All other set, props, or costume elements are the responsibility of the author.
- Rehearsal time in the performance space will not be available before October 18. Actual times will be announced when scripts are chosen.
Timeline:
Submission Deadline: Monday, October 5th, 9:00 a.m. via e-mail to Bettina Matthias (bmatthia@middlebury.edu)
Notification: Friday, October 9th
Final Draft Due: Friday, October 16th
Performance: Sunday, October 18th, 8:00 p.m.: Opening night “Freedom without Walls”, McCullough Social Space
Suggested Short Play Topics
Here is a list of suggested topics. You are welcome to choose your own one as long as it deals with the German-German realities between 1961 and today.
1. August 13th 1961 in an apartment on Bernauer Straße 48.
2. The 65th birthday of an East-Berlin woman whose grandson is a border guard in Berlin. (late 1970s)
3. A day in the year 1996. A woman in West Berlin finds out that her husband was a so-called “IM”, an unofficial collaborator with the Stasi.
4. A first date between two students of the Humboldt University, one from East, one from West-Germany. Time: 1994.
5. July 6th 1990 at an East-German car dealer.
6. After a German-German swim meet, in a disco. Place and time: a West-German city in the mid-eighties.
7. July 21st 1969, a meeting of the editorial board at the East German newspaper Neues Deutschland.
8. November 10th in the West-German city of Hof. A family receives the visit of relatives from just across the border.
9. November 13th 1976. East German Songwriter Wolf Biermann performs in Cologne./ The “Biermann-affair.”
10. A new border guard on his first day at the border in December 1989.