2024-07-22 08:22:36
In the summer of 1874, a theater group from the small Thuringian duchy of Saxony-Meiningen embarked on a major European tour. Meininger’s art is still influential today – in the US and around the world.
Coming from southern Thuringia and inspiring people in southern California: Sandra Hülser, born in Suhl, achieved this at the Oscars in Los Angeles this year. The same star started 150 years ago; from Meiningen – the city is only about 20 minutes by car from Suhl. In 1874 the guest performances of the Meininger Court Theater began. “The Meininger” inspired Europe’s stage art with their historicizing-illusionist theater – and laid the foundation for the acting method, which is still important today.
“Without Meiningen, there is no Hollywood,” is a popular saying in the south of Thuringia. But what does that mean? At the end of the 19th century, Meininger’s naturalistic style of acting inspired the Russian theater creator Konstantin Stanislawski to develop a teaching and management method that emphasizes the collective experience of the role. Stanislawski experienced Meininger’s two guest appearances in Moscow: in 1885 as a 22-year-old and in 1890 as a 27-year-old.
In 1923, the young Lee Strasberg saw a guest performance by the Moscow Art Theater under the direction of Stanislavki in New York. Strasberg was enthusiastic, studying with Stanislavsky’s former actors and setting up a studio where he learned “acting”. Actors should blend in with their role in a strong natural way. Motto: believe fully in what you think and say.
Formula Hollywood stars such as Marlon Brando, Robert De Niro, Al Pacino and Dustin Hoffman later began their careers under Strasberg (1901-1982). To this day, many movie stars love the style, but other actors still despise it. The Meiningers have not once developed a scientific basis, but the method of practice and individual work on the role goes back to them.
The Meiningen Theater was opened in 1831. At first, touring companies played at home – until George II, the founder’s beloved son (Bernhard II), took over in 1866 and took control of the it was a courthouse then.
“At its foundation, we created a permanent theater ensemble, but the opera has disappeared. George II came to renew the performing arts,” the theater said on its website today. Its main concern is to combine drama, wonder and elements of decoration into the overall artwork.It attaches great importance to detailed story materials and realistic gameplay.
Intensive rehearsals and directing work began under the direction of the “Theater Duke” George II (1826-1914). The focus is on Shakespeare, but George II also sets Schiller, Kleist and Goethe right. He is considered the founder of modern theater director. The conflicting productions eventually went on tour.
Within 16 years there were almost 2,900 games in 38 cities – between Dubai and Trieste, London and Odessa. The game was played in German, but more important than the text was the commentary, which became known as a must-see (like a must-see movie or a must-see series today). The Meiningers also performed in Hamburg, Munich, Berlin, Vienna, Brussels, Basel, Copenhagen and Moscow – hitting the German export market.
Jens Neundorff von Enzberg, the current director of the Meiningen State Theater, wants to honor the aura that Meiningen once had. He also sees this memorial as a federal government project. He is currently thinking about how to celebrate the 200th anniversary of the birth of George II in 2026. There are also very popular ideas in Thuringia to set up a German Theater Museum in Meiningen.
Back to the beginning: Sandra Hülser (46) is the first German actress to be nominated for Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role at the Oscars in Los Angeles in March for the first time since Luise Rainer 86 years ago.
Before the gala on the red carpet, a reporter asked her how she prepared for her dramatic anger scene in the movie “Anatomy of a Case.”
Hülser, who studied in Berlin at the Ernst Busch Academy of Dramatic Arts, answered dryly – and not at all in the style of acting, but rather in the style of Brecht’s theory of far-reaching drama: “I have to be really disappointed.” You are not much. I write the lines.” In other words: you just write your lines. (dpa)
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