Theatre is a living art form that is always in motion. But its relevance and the wealth of its expressive forms are not always reflected in the text-orientated school curriculum. Theatre visits are e.g. often simply: Faust, Sandman, Werther. Familiar material, predictable forms. This training aims to enable teachers to visit currentt theatre pieces with pupils and to provide access to the contemporary art form of theatre.

The three training days build on each other, but can also be attended individually. The training course includes at least one group visit to a theatre performance close to the training date.

The training takes place at the “Junge Theaterwerkstatt am Zoo” in Frankfurt's Zoogesellschaftshaus, a new theatre for young audiences in the former Fritz-Rémond-Theatre. It requires little or no prior knowledge and is primarily aimed at teachers of German, politics and economics, ethics, art and drama, but is generally open to all.

ATTENTION: The training is based on a group visit to a theatre performance. Attending the performance is a prerequisite for participation.

For March 2025, this will be “Karlsson on the Roof” by TheaterGrueneSosse. Performances are on 9.3.2025 at 3 pm / 10.3.2025 at 10 am in the Junge Theaterwerkstatt am Zoo.

Part I: The Inner Map - exercises for watching theatre

11. Mär. 2025, Di 09:30 bis 14:30
30. Jun. 2025, Mo 15:00 bis 19:00

The experts from TheaterGrueneSosse and the Junge Theaterwerkstatt am Zoo will guide you through basic approaches and artistic methods of perceiving art. How can a visit to the theatre with pupils be prepared if the teacher is not yet familiar with the piece? What methods can support pupils and teachers in taking their individual observations seriously and developing complex interpretations?

Part II: Method Kit - follow-up of theatre visits

13. Mär. 2025, Do 09:30 bis 14:30
02. Jul. 2025, Mi 09:30 bis 14:30

What methods are there to provide a framework for a theatre visit, from the warm-up to the follow-up discussion? How can teachers and pupils exchange ideas about pieces and become artistically productive themselves beyond resorting to snap judgements? How can the tools of contemporary art be communicated? And how can we deal with it if a piece of theatre does not appeal to the teacher or the class? How can we still engage in productive dialogue?

Part III: Theatre as Research - from viewing to practice

14. Mär. 2025, Fr 15:00 bis 19:00
03. Jul. 2025, Do 09:30 bis 14:30

After Parts I & II, we have been inspired and carried away by daring hypotheses about the theatre pieces we saw. Now we want to try the experiment of working in a “contemporary” (i.e. performative/post-dramatic/research-based) way with the students. But what setting do I need for such an artistic experiment? What could the results of artistic research look like? Which performative methods could inspire young people? And how can performative actions be framed?

The experts from TheaterGrueneSosse will present experimental methods from their own practice and give impulses on how to work performatively with pupils.

Instructors: Christiane Alfers (theatre pedagogue), Kim Willems (director)