School theatre of the countries - idea and history

In 1985 a festival entered in the Kampnagel factory of Hamburg the theatrical stage of Germany which has already performed at that time, in the course of his now 22-year-old history and also presently a lot for the development of the showing play at school.

What began once in Hamburg, none of the original ideas has lost till this day. The school theatre of the countries of (SdL) is

- a working meeting with yearly varying central topic of interest and professional aspect
- a festival from and with groups from all federal states
- a meeting without competition, but with a lot of experience character
- a travelling meeting which takes place yearly in another federal state
- a trade conference whose results are made available for from measures, further measures and continuing education measures
- an event with a supporting programme referring in each case on the subject (posttalks, workshops, festival newspaper etc.).

The SdL strengthens the position and quality of the aesthetic-creative fields at the schools and underlines in particular the meaning of the showing play as a cultural education just also at the general schools.

The history of the school theatre of the countries
On an initiative of the federal study group for the showing play at school inc. (today: Federal association showing play inc., BV.DS) and the basket maker's endowment Hamburg was organised there the SdL 1985 for the first time. Thought as a national meeting forum and professional forum for school theatre it should discuss theoretical questions on basis of practise examples. In addition, it was a matter of creating the network "school theatre" about the land borders away on or to developed and for schoolboy's theatre groups a possibility of the nationwide exchange.
The first school theatre of the countries took place more than four days on the area of the Kampnagel factory in Hamburg. At that time all eleven federal states were represented with a group and showed under the motto "school theatre free theatre meets" her productions. Besides there were discussions and workshops — the elements which are found in the structure of all later meetings over and over again.
Were central in the first years v. a. formal main focuses (school theatre and music, body-oriented theatre, own-label records, literary presentations, masque etc.), was steered since beginning of the 90s the attention increasingly on innovative and whole-socially-political contents (school theatre and politics, focus school culture... and it moved to us, nevertheless! etc.).

In 1991 a group from the new federal states could be welcomed for the first time; then in 1994 all five new federal states were represented for the first time. In 2002 the school theatre of the countries had finished his first tour through the federal republic.

A working meeting with nine columns
From beginning the SdL on the development of the field of work at school was directed at showing play. Hence, it aims not at the "great moments" of the school theatre, but at the possibly wide increase of the quality of the school hours at the school theatre. Under this order the abovementioned principles about which years modernise sharpened and always with look at upcoming problem formulations were continuously developed. 300 schoolboys and schoolgirls and her play leaders and approx. 130 professional conference members profit every year from these considerations. For it the columns of the SdL put the frame:

Weight-bearing column I: The subject
The SdL stands under a yearly changing professional aspect which bundles up content and/or formal impulses and deepens. With it it decisively contributes to the qualification of the showing play. The motto forms the frame for all festival events. The performances are selected in view of the central topic of interest by the land study groups and the federal association; the trade conference lights up the subject theoretically and reflects the productions practically orientedly. The Themenbezogenheit of the SdL has left visible results in the federal states: in the preway and afterwards in the advanced training offers of the countries or as a frame for the land festivals.

Weight-bearing column II: The performances
16 theatrical groups - every federal state sends a group - point within the scope of a SdL her productions. They stand in the centre of the meeting and show the formal and content spectrum of the school theatre. The groups come from the different Arbeits and school contexts: Elementary school, secondary modern school and secondary school, high school, lecture; courses of the showing play, project week results, study groups.
Each of the festival subjects combines performances which deliver an essential or apparently less significant contribution to the motto. The performances are an occasion for the reflective thematic discussion; they perform at the same time the practise transfer of the theoretical discourse on the school stage. Only the deliberate perception of a performance under the thematic aspect reveals unexpected nuances and facets with regard to the main settlement.

Weight-bearing column III: The meetings
after the spectator's experience of 16 performances the SdL offers a multi-layered discussion and practise forum for everybody — have young and old participant / inside.
The detailed piece discussions after the performances sit down to the aim to argue with the development and the result of the productions under thematic and formal questions. These posttalks are illuminating not only for the spectators, but also for the playing group. They offer the opportunity to put own theatrical understanding on the test bench, to develop observation abilities, reflecting abilities and feedback abilities on the part of the spectators and to describe the readiness to criticism and the competence, compiled with the playing groups and to defend to train. The discussions are continued in a festival newspaper answered by schoolboys and schoolgirls.
The all-day workshops who are also covered to the subject are escorted by experienced play leaders, theatrical teachers or professional theatrical people. Here the players get to know new forms of the theatre. This theatrical-practical advanced training has the important effect of mutual knowing of learning. A theatrical and communicative imbedding receives the SdL also by a variform supporting programme in the form of an opening event and final event as well as evening parties.

Weight-bearing column IV: The professional discourse
The trade conference integrated into the festival offers a forum for advanced training to teachers, scientists and Theaterpädagog/inside from the whole federal territory. Among them a big group of organizers of land festivals and regional meetings, from persons responsible is for teacher advanced training in this area, board members of the land associations or authors of newspaper articles and specialist books.
In the trade conference the subject is unfolded before the background of the festival results and own school theatre practise of the partners and is developed. Besides, the attention lies on general questions. These are processed in view of aspects of the development by school theatre and the teaching field showing play. The content main focus is with it the determining methodical impulse for the qualification of the school theatre scenery. They have paved the way from the trade conferences to the field.
The theoretical professional input in the form of talks finds out a supplement by a material discourse within the scope of professional forums. These take the performances as an impulse to meet and to inform, to exchange opinions and to qualify judgments, to describe perception, to try classifications, to discuss comparisons.
The claim to help in this subject the school theatre has till this day recognizable results: The notification about professional problems as well as the deliberate integration of the showing play in the professional canon of the schools have got on a whole piece.


Weight-bearing column V: The federal states
School theatre is a land thing — the school theatre of the countries is a common thing. A leading thought of the SdL is the integration of the federal states at different levels: from the countries in the countries. It is not only constituting that every federal state with a group is represented which delates the impulses of the meeting. It is as important that the professional conference members from the whole federal territory arrive to give impulses for the development of the field, content suggestions for the teacher fort log and teacher's continuing education and to take and to guarantee the dialogue with the land festivals.
As a travelling meeting another federal state signs every year for the organisation of the meeting responsibly and uses this responsibility for the stronger implementing of the field showing play and the school theatre in the consciousness of the respective regional politics and public. This regional component entails the content and formal enrichment of the SdL.

Weight-bearing column VI: The partnership
The SdL builds on a strong partnership: The BV.DS and the land association of the host federal state organise the meeting co-operative and use it for the strengthening of the showing play at the respective levels. Besides, the members of the BV.DS at many levels are integrated into the content adjustment of the SdL. By the continuous support of the basket maker's endowment and their engagement for school theatre the action field of the SdL became and is extended. This partnership also puts varied content impulses. With the Inobhutnahme of the school theatre of the countries by the KMK not only the financial basic care of the groups and the festival is protected, but also the recognition as a nationwide working meeting. With the land association on site in the region forces are activated which contribute in theirs Within and outside effect to the fact that the föderative principle of the SdL can prove itself and develop. On this occasion, partners are beside the Ministry of Education and the Arts and the straightening local authority district schools, extracurricular educational institutions and theatres.

Weight-bearing column VII: The outside look
The SdL is integrated into the network of the different youth theatre festivals, e.g., to the theatrical meeting of the youth and the meeting of the youth clubs in theatres. Though it sits down to the aim to satisfy with priority the technical needs of the school theatre, however, the meeting and opening ventures over and over again outwardly: by professional guest performances, by the integration of many professions in the trade conference, by content main focuses etc.

Weight-bearing column VIII: The publications
The long-standing form of the written documentation was removed in 2001 by the professional publication "FOKUS Schultheater" which appears in the in-house publishing company of the basket maker's endowment (edition Basket maker). Their target groups are beside teachers and female teachers for showing play in the federal republic also all the other interested theatrical people. "FOCUS of school theatre" is a mixture of theoretical impulses, didactic suggestions and directly for the lessons of usable materials, play presentations, beside scientific contributions to the didactics and practise are offered to analyses of exemplary performances on the respective subject of the school theatre festival and methodical considerations. ("FOCI of school theatre" on the subjects Time jumps, translate and drama> freshly is to be covered about the theatrical book dispatch).

Weight-bearing column IX: The dynamism
The SdL never has maybe really crises strode through, is still defeated of the meeting of a dynamism, it wants to have grown to the changing demands. Over and over again new groups, new subjects, new multipliers and disseminators, new places, new ideas, new experiences, new basic conditions require the balance between continuity and flexibility. On the test bench are the composition of the professional conference members and the content adjustment of the trade conference, the quality of the shown productions in particular and the SdL as a high-class development measure for the school theatre generally, the valency of the single columns and the linking just of these weight-bearing elements, the aim orientation as well as the event character of the SdLs and the Langfristigkeit of processes of development in school.