Jochen Hörisch (GER) / Philipp Gehmacher (AUT)

Jochen Hörisch (D) / Philipp Gehmacher (A)
Theater, Theologie, Theorie - Was gibt\'s denn da zu schauen?

Date: Fri, Dec 14, 18:00
Location: TQW / Studios
Free admission

Jochen Hörisch (GER)
Theater, Theology, Theory - What´s there to look at?

The words theatre, theos and theory all together and equally go back directly to the Greek θεωρεiν; theorein or θε?ομαι; theaomai (observe, consider, look [at]). Théatron (θ?ατρον) means the scene that allows something to be watched as a result of a clear difference between spectators and the stage. Theós (θε?ς) means the god who observes other gods and non-gods from an Olympian distance and can at any time venture across the boundary between the proscenium box and the world stage. Theoría (θεωρ?α) above all means the observation over great distances, that is, the \"sight of the gods\", of the theos. Precisely because they are involved in the same core business (observation), theatre, theory and theology regard one another with mistrust and declare the other observation perspective to be sensitive, frivolous or misleading. The lecture seeks to go into this field of tension and into the question of whether there can be an ultimate observer of all observations.

Jochen Hörisch is Professor of Modern German Studies and Media Analysis at the University of Mannheim.

Philipp Gehmacher (AUT)
Giving Shape to Thought

Artistic work is always the materialisation of thought, consequently a practice that seeks to create temporary, if not permanent, realities. I think that dance and performance have not yet given up this claim and form realities that are experienceable and shareable. The expressive forms of thought here go beyond the body. The theatre space appears as a site of observation, it exhibits and presents me. And that is the difficulty, the responsibility and the excitement in finding forms of expression for this thought and letting it become an event in this observation. Thinking is then theory and practice, and no longer speaks/ dances for itself alone.

Philipp Gehmacher is a choreographer and dancer and lives in Vienna.

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