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OBERAMMERGAU PASSIONSSPIELE: EXPLORING A SACRED THEATRE 3
By Jack Paterson | Part 3 of 10
Date: April 2022
Location: Oberammergau, Germany
Activity: Observing rehearsals – Day 1
It’s 6 PM on my first day of Oberammergau rehearsals. I’ve staked out a nonintrusive seat mid- way up audience left. Although the audience area is covered, the evening wind of the Bavarian alps still makes its way over the large open-air stage, and I pull up my collar.
The first performance of the Passionsspiele in 1634 was performed on a simple wooden construction at the cemetery by the parish church. A symbol of victory over the plague in a meaningful location, the passion play took place over the fresh graves of plague victims.
In 1830, the stage was relocated to the northern edge of the village. The new layout accommodated 5000 spectators. Over the years adjustments and additions would be made. An audience roof was added in the 1890s, an iron support structure the following decade, and in the 1930s, the stage was re-built with little alteration since. Despite its 5000 seats, the audience still feels close to the performers. Behind the stage, you can see the cross on Mount Koffel.
The cast of this evening’s rehearsal (6-10 pm) begins to gather in their winter coats, tuques, and boots. Groups of mostly men, a few women, and teenagers gather in conversations across the outdoor stage. An older gentleman with a neat long grey beard sits in conversation with a younger man.
I try to imagine how many Passion Plays he has participated in.? Did he start as a child extra and over the years work his way through the roles to his current position? Is this a spiritual endeavor and he is honoring the vow of his ancestors? Is it simply a community event, one that brings over half the village together in a common cause every 10 years? Perhaps it’s a combination of all these.
Several clean-shaven men and short haired women sit in the front row. These are the director’s support team and creative designers. You can tell. The Hair and Beard Decree was signed by the mayor in February 2021. Applying to all performers, no one cuts their hair and the men let their beards grow for fifteen months. Anyone who has to keep their hair short for work is only eligible for the “short hair rolls” – the Roman soldiers, temple guards, or backstage crew. Only the orchestra is exempt.
No one knows how this tradition began. It’s thought to date back 200 years, to when the Oberammergau season exceeded 50 performances to accommodate larger audiences. According to the people of Oberammergau, this is the decree is the moment when they begin to feel the enthusiasm for the play.
Christian Stückl, the director, wanders on deck from the upstage centre entrance, a cup of tea in one hand and the other casually in his pocket. He strolls from group to group, joining in short friendly conversations.
Born in Oberammergau in 1961, Stückl was first elected “play director” in 1987. At 27, it was a controversial choice. Currently the artistic director of Munich’s VolksTheatre, he is a known innovator in German state theatre and has a long history of equality activism. In addition to his multiple artists awards,, he was awarded the Abraham Geiger Award for “Services to Judaism in its Diversity” in 2020, the Tolerance Award of the Evangelische Akademie Tutzing in 2021, and the Buber-Rosenzweig Medal and the Isaiah Award for Exemplary Interreligious Leadership in 2022.
Stückl grew up here. Directed his first play here. Stood on this stage as a child. Many of the older cast members he would know him from childhood, other cast members he he would have watched grow up over his 4 decades of directing the project.
Despite this 40 years, he is still referred to in the community as the “rebel director”.
“Shall we begin?”
Today they are rehearsing a large group scene set at a temple.
He seems much like a writer trying to get something out of his head. Never leaving the stage, he moves from cast member to cast member, his hand always in his pocket. He gives a short line reading, demonstrates a movement, and points out a position. Then he gets stuck. What do we do about this? It is jovial. Everyone laughs.
No one here is half trying. He stops the actor playing Jesus mid speech. Gently they chat. Amongst the German, I hear him say “Ukraine.” He gestures to the stage beneath him. “Now, this is happening now.” I translate in my imagination.
The cast has been rehearsing for several hours and I duck out for a smoke on what seems like a break. It isn’t. I return to find an army of men in winter coats armed with spears. Oh. Did I mention the camels outside? Horses I have seen on stage before – even elephants – but camels are a first.
NEXT: INTERMISSION
Oberammergau Passionsspiele: Exploring a Sacred Theatre – Part 2
Jack (he, him) is an award-winning devisor, director, translator, and creative producer whose work and practice have taken him across Canada, Europe, the United Kingdom, and around the world. Projects have ranged from contemporary devising, multi-disciplinary, cross-cultural, and multi-lingual experiences to new works & texts, contemporary approaches to classical theatre and main stages. Shows under his direction have garnered over thirty theatre award nominations with many wins. He trained at leading international theatrical institutions including Circle in the Square (NYC, USA), GITIS The University of Performing Arts (Moscow, RU), ISI Indonesian Institute of the Arts (Bali, INA) and received his Masters in Fine Arts from the renown East 15 Acting School and University of Essex (London, UK).
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