Theaterarbeit. The Archive of the Berliner Ensemble: Cataloguing, Digitasation and Presentation

• Applicant: Werner Heegewaldt
• Subject Area: Theatre and Media Studies
• Term: since 2024
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 541084595

In 2017, the Archive of the Akademie der Künste took over the extensive archive of the Berliner Ensemble theatre. The fame of the stage is based on the work of ist founders, Bertolt Brecht and Helene Weigel. However, throughout periods of subsequent artistic directors, such as Ruth Berghaus, Manfred Wekwerth, Heiner Müller, Claus Peymann, the Berliner Ensemble was recognized for outstanding, internationally acclaimed productions, but especially for the consistent pursuit of the ensemble idea and the establishment of its own style: „epic theater“. The fortunate circumstance that both, the artistic work itself as well as the activities of departments of dramaturgy, technology, public relations and administration are densely documented, allows for the examination and visualisation of „Theaterarbeit“ (theater work) par excellence (the term „Theaterarbeit“ was coined by a book of the Berliner Ensemble, 1952). In coordination with the current theater management, the extraordinary theater archive is to be decripted, digitized and made accessible in a representative selection on a research platform. The cataloguing will encompass the the entire collection and include written material from the creative work, such as the eminently expressive versions of plays, administrative files, model books, photographs of rehearsals and performances, film documentations, schedules of rehearsals and performances, programmes, posters, reviews, sheet music, drawings, and much more. Successive digitisation will comprehensively secure the material through digital preservation. The presentation takes place via a research platform that makes data and documents accessible online and leads to the complete archive. The core of the archive is formed by the documentation of the Berliner Ensemble's productions (almost 400 premieres). The material diversity of the productions, primarily the artistic output, but also documentation relating to its administrative framework, is processed in compliance with established indexing and digitisation standards. The preservation of this cultural asset of international importance will be secured and made available for research in particular. A digital documentation of productions will make the history of this stage and its outstanding „Theaterarbeit“ researchable for scientific purposes whilst making it accessible also to a more diverse audience. The archival description and digitis cation of the archive of the Berliner Ensemble is a desideratum of research in theater history and cultural studies in gerneral, and for Brecht research in particular. The interest of the international community is as exceptional as it is facetted with focusses touching on various aspects, such as the history of the institution, the theatrical form of „epic theater“, the theatrical practice, the functioning of an ensemble, or the cultural-political implications in the Soviet Occupied Zone, in the GDR and in united Germany.

• DFG Programme: Cataloguing and Digitisation (Scientific Library Services and Information Systems)