Strasfogel, founding member of the renown Solistenensemble Kaleidoskop and it’s artistic director from 2010 – 2015, chose “adult” productions – among them world premieres and Berlin premieres, as well as some older works – by seven contemporary groups from Berlin to create the series SCHRUMPF! She then concentrated on specific ideas or concepts in each piece and used those to adapt the works and make them accessible for children and their families. The resulting series represents the work and worldview of the different artists involved, and the projects taken together paint a vivid portrait of Berlin’s artistic variety.
The adaptations are neither watered down nor infantilized, rather they retain their artistic ambitions and character. The pieces are shortened for SCHRUMPF! and space is made for interaction between the artists, children and adults, as well as for the questioning that naturally arises with kids. The family-friendly start times and the inclusion of even very young children are intended to give both younger and older visitors the opportunity to dive deeply into each artistic world.
The series offers a wide variety of artistic visions and formats: a sound installation that allows the audience to help decide the direction of the piece; a new piece of music theater that ruminates on what it means to grow up; contemporary works for chamber ensemble – fresh from the composer’s pens; improvisations with sound and movement from a trio as well as an orchestra; a dance performance in which choreography, music and light meld together.
The series begins with „SCHRUMPF! Adapter“. Since 2015, the Ensemble Adapter has curated „Adoptions“ – an international composition workshop in Berlin. For SCHRUMPF! the ensemble invites the young audience into it’s workroom and presents these newly written pieces in specially developed, short formats. The families have the chance to get to know the composers and musicians and are given a taste of what happens when completely new music is played for the first time. Harp, percussion, clarinet and flute are woven together with electronics and video. The result is always a surprise!
The second production, “SCHRUMPF! Bob’s Company” is an adaptation of Michael Rauter’s performance piece/song cycle “THE GAP”, which examines childhood and growing up. Young and old are invited to dive into Rauter’s deeply personal world of gesture, sound and movement and find a way to express their own ideas about what it means to become an adult. In this special performance, between workshop and show, the audience will hear songs, learn why a yoga mat lets you dance like a bird and quite possibly stomp it out themselves on the floor!
SCHRUMPF! Musik&Theater&Tanz in Klein
23.2.2020 | Doors 15:00 CET | Starts 16:00 CET
ExRotaprint | Gottschedstrasse 4 | 13357 Berlin
Five further performances will be shown over the course of the year. As soon as the details are confirmed, we will provide all necessary information.
https://loudsoft.de/schrumpf | Event @ Facebook
Picture: Solistenensemble Kaleidoskop by Sebastian Bolesch
