European Dramaturgy in the 21st Century

Today's theatres have to work harder than ever to develop new event formats which attract audiences in a constantly changing cultural and media landscape. At the same time, they are expected to "educate the masses" in order to justify the enormous subsidies they receive from the federal government. As a result, dramaturges are faced with a number of daunting challenges, e.g., to develop new performance and production forms, create concepts that appeal to new target groups, establish international networks connecting various artistic fields, etc. However, dramaturgical education rarely focuses on the necessary qualifications required to master such challenges. This international conference aimed to generate more intensive institutional cooperation between theatres, academies, universities, etc., to meet the educational requirements for dramaturges today.

Conference directors: Hans-Thies Lehmann, Patrick Primavesi
Participants / artists: Christian Biet (F), Gabriele Brandstetter, Laurent Chétouane, Geoff Coleman (GB), Tim Etchells (GB), Erika Fischer-Lichte, Heiner Goebbels, Carl Hegemann, Marijke Hoogenboom (NL), Emil Hrvatin (SLO), Jean Jourdheuil (F), Stefan Kaegi, Marianne van Kerkhoven (B), Jan Lauwers (B), Matthias Lilienthal, Dea Loher, Gerard Mortier (F), Mike Pearson (GB), Luk Perceval, Tom Stromberg, Theodoros Terzopoülod (GR), Barbara Weber, Klaus Zehelein and others

Venues in Frankfurt am Main: Johann Wolfgang Goethe Universität, Oper Frankfurt, schauspielfrankfurt, Künstlerhaus Mousonturm
Other venues: Staatstheater Darmstadt
Schedule: 26 - 30 Sep. 2007