Summer School: Out Into the Fresh Air. Site-Specific Producing in Berlin (fully booked)

August 16 to 18, all-day

How does working in public urban space work? How can the performing arts bring themselves into urban life? How do we conceive of a project in a site-specific way? How can places that are far removed from being theaters, such as parks, shopping malls and public pools, be transformed into stages? What audiences do we meet when we leave theaters and what discourses are of relevance for them? What funding and cooperation opportunities exist for working in public space and what bureaucratic hurdles are there to overcome?
Over the course of our three-day summer school workshop, Martin Stiefermann and his guests will share insight from the long-standing practice of creating events in public space as culture makers and project managers. They will present a variety of site-specific projects, share their experiences and knowledge regarding production-relevant questions such as the financing, planning and organization of projects that go beyond working in classic theater spaces as well as how to take site-specific audiences into consideration and will also provide practical tips for the specific realizations of different types of events, including mobile formats taking place out in the fresh air.

Please note: The participants are asked to please bring a specific concept idea for a site-specific project in public urban space to the workshop with them, as well as a laptop or other end device that they can use to work on their concepts. Supported by the instructor, they will become acquainted with potential locations in public space and will further develop their concepts on the basis of specific engagement with the locations, their conditions and their potential audience.

In German spoken language, it is possible to ask questions and make comments using English spoken language.

Overview of the Schedule of Programming

Day 1: Thematic Block 1: Site-Specific Work – Why Are We Doing This Again?
Why do we want to work in public space? Am I planning a performance, an intervention, an installation, an audio walk and how do all of these vary in terms of the approach and planning? What is my motivation for presenting my work in public urban space and what challenges does this setting bring along with it?
On the first day, we will take a look at how site-specific production processes differ from working within theater spaces as well as how the respective formats differ from each other. We will immerse ourselves within the world of permissions and insurance policies, in technical requirements and questions about the availability of electricity and running water as well as the measures required to ensure the occupational safety of the team as well as the audience members. We will discuss the differences that it can make within the organizational process if our desired location is public municipal property or if it is privately owned.
With this in mind, the participants will plan the production process of their project, specify the organizational tasks and create a realistic timeline for their projects. On the basis of a variety of best practice examples, they will learn how to overcome the special organizational hurdles of site-specific work.
 

Day 2: Thematic Block 2: On Places and People
Squares, parks, monuments, fountains, cemeteries, swimming pools, shopping malls, community gardens, businesses, libraries, clubs – the possibilities seem just about endless. But where do I see my project – and why? What other spaces and places are out there and how can they be performed in and brought to life? What audiences are already located near my location of choice and does my project planning take them and their lived reality into account?
On the second day, we will concentrate our attention on the specific locations of the planned projects and consider how one can find a suitable location and think about not only the concept and performance location but also the target groups and local audiences from the very beginning onward.
On the basis of these considerations, we will conduct field studies at a variety of selected locations in Berlin that are suitable for the concepts of the participants and confront the respective project planning with the given circumstances and conditions onsite. In this part, the participants will concentrate on the specific realization of their projects and will clarify practical questions regarding their potential event such as admission, walk-up audience members, the technical realization as well as the implementation of safety measures for the performers as well as the team.
 

Day 3:  Thematic Block 3: “Let’s Walk Alone” – Organizing Mobile Formats in Public Space
On the third day, the participants will enter the field once again and will research formats in public space where multiple locations are performed in and in which the performers and audience travel together using the example of the audio walk format “Let’s Walk Alone” (Ms Schrittmacher). What special characteristics do mobile formats such as audio walks, audio rides, performative walks and processions bring with them in terms of the planning and organization? What do you have to keep in mind if audiences have to be moved from point A to point B? What technical challenges can arise here? How do I found suitable partners with whom mobile formats can be made public and maybe even made available on a long-term basis?
To close things out, the participants will once again receive the opportunity to incorporate everything that they have learned into their concepts, present the final status to the group and receive feedback from the instructor as well as from the group.

The Instructor

Martin Stiefermann is a choreographer, mentor, curator and developer of concepts. Following his training and engagement at the Hamburgische Staatsoper, he worked as a choreographer, alternating between positions as a dance director at repertory and ensemble theaters (Theater Kiel, Oldenburgisches Staatstheater) and as a choreographer within the independent performing arts community, especially with his Berlin-based group MS Schrittmacher, which has now existed for twenty-six years. He directed the residency program at Schloss Bröllin from 2018 to 2021 and has been part of the leadership team of the TANZPAKT projects MECKLENBURG-VORPOMMERN TANZT AN since 2018. He has served as an artistic partner of the label Art Hacking® since 2019 and realizes workshops on the topic of transferring artistic processing to economic questions. He launched the project BRUCHSTÜCKE in 2022, which is dedicated to establishing the fields of dance and performance in the rural area of Oderbruch. He is a co-founder and board member of MS Schrittmacher-Landgang e.V. He is a founded member of ZTB e.V. and a member of LAFT Berlin e.V., where he also served on the board of directors from 2014 to 2018. He was a member of the Bundesdeutschen Ballett-und Tanztheaterdirektor*innen-Konferenz (BBTK, the German Federal Association for Ballet and Theater Dance Directors). He has been a member of schloss bröllin e.V. since 2015 and a member of the board of Tanzregion Mecklenburg-Vorpommern e.V. since 2018; in addition to this, he is also a representative within the network TANZ WEIT DRAUßEN. Since 2022, he has been a member of the core group responsible for establishing TANZINITIATIVE Brandenburg and has been a member of the board of the newly founded association Tanzinitiative-Brandenburg e.V. since the spring of 2024.