Free Music Theater in Europe

With the book " Free Music Theater in Europe”, published at transcript in 2020, director and researcher Matthias Rebstock is going on a journey between the worlds of music and theater. Together with Martina Stütz, Thom Andrewes, Falk Hübner and Leo Dick as expedition leaders with local knowledge, he maps the scenes of independent music theater in Berlin, London, the Netherlands and German-speaking Switzerland. Using the lens of empirical description, they provide a detailed view of a field that is "constantly working on its own disappearance [...] the more intensely it engages with its transdisciplinary nature" (p. 7).

 

 

In his previous publications on music theater Rebstock was particularly concerned with the question of the genre itself, its peculiarities and connections to other art forms. Now he explores the scene by looking directly at artistic works. His introduction and "(not) a conclusion” are framing the four case studies, which delve into the commonalities and differences of independent music theater in Europe. The co-authors - all of whom work artistically in the field - examine actual productions as well as the working contexts and processes of the actors in the four selected locations. Guided interviews with over 80 artists from the respective regions provide the starting point for their observations. The contributions by Rebstock, Stütz and Dick, originally in German, are also included in English to ensure international appeal and to support cross-border discourse. This is an explicit goal of the publication.

 

 

Rebstock and the authors consciously and clearly show the limits and dangers of their undertaking: the selection of the plays and authors to include already determines what is understood to be music theater and vice versa. The choice for the four focal points was made based on the following aspects:

 

The four expedition leaders set out on their own individual paths into their respective music theater scene, each equipped with "insider knowledge" and a similar questionnaire. It soon becomes clear that the paths they took were influenced by the respective circumstances for productions at their site. With very different paces and resting places, they construct a temporal line of development of each scene and then direct the gaze to production sites and associated artists, aesthetic fields, funding structures and educational systems as criteria of distinction.

 

With these signposts guiding the reader through the possibly unfamiliar terrain, the diversity and creativity, but also the close conditionality of the funding systems and production processes quickly become clear. Even if the term "independent scene" originates from the specific structure of German theater and its funding system, the publication also concerns itself with "independent makers” in other regions that cannot rely on fixed institutional funding as a fallback option. The authors use many specific examples to show how music theater fares against and in association with other "genres”. In doing so, they illustrate how artists, performance venues, and educational institutions are connected and how their work processes are shaped. For example, Leo Dick studies "Gare du Nord" in Basel, among other places. He illustrates how both the framing of the venue as a "production and performance site for the Swiss and international music scene" and the connection to regional artists - through the funding structure of German-speaking Switzerland - affect production possibilities.

 

On the other hand, Martina Stütz's cartography of Berlin's music theater scenes takes a closer look at the environment the local active ensembles come from. Using this approach, she shows intersections between music and theater and gives a well differentiated description of the field. For example, opera being a conceptual and substantive point of friction for ensembles originating from the context of "musicalized theater".

 

The multitude of examples show how differently the actors of the field pursue inter- and transdisciplinary approaches and why it is difficult to grasp music theater as a genre on its own - even in the context of targeted funding structures.

 

 

In their foray into the thicket of the "independent music theater" scene, the authors clearly state their approach and their respective involvement in the scene itself. However, this does not lead to a clouded, subjective view, but takes the reader on a journey into the scenes by demonstrating a lot of descriptive insider knowledge. In combination with the partial knowledge the reader might already have, this gradually reveals a topography, connecting lines appear and new perspectives (on one's own immediate environment) emerge.

 

For example, Thom Andrewes' remarks describe a structural background explaining the extreme diversity of the British music theater scene, known to the author through the presentations of "New British Music Theatre" at Operadgen Rotterdam. The content venues want to produce and the funding structures are important aspects that influence the development of content itself and make certain performance formats possible in the first place (keyword: gig theater).

 

While reading it is easy to recognize the landmarks that the concluding study by Rebstock examines from a bird's eye view. One landmark are the inter- and transdisciplinary methods that also employ post-dramatic stylistics. Depending on the local scene, very different emphases are found regarding the way they deal with the form and content of the field of opera, as well as with the artistic work with and as a socio-politically motivated agenda.

 

Another landmark is the moment of transition from education to professional life. After reading it seems obvious that programs supporting young artists entering the professional world can contribute meaningfully to the vibrancy of a scene. In addition to specific support programs and performance opportunities, this also includes the involvement of working artists in the training process. Falk Hübner, for example, gives several examples of how young artists and ensembles in the Netherlands come into contact with actors of the scene during their studies and at the beginning of their professional careers are explicitly supported by institutions (such as KASKO in Zwolle or the Diamantfabriek in Amsterdam) as well as the "Nieuwe Makers" support program.

 

Even with these investigations, the question remains open whether funding policies should broaden the definitions for funded genres in order to support music theater or whether music theater should be made eligible for funding as its own genre.

 

 

On a more basic level, the written form seems slightly deficient for a study of the performing arts, due to the diversity of the described works, the descriptions of the local scenes and quoted statements of the artists. This may also have to do with the timing of the publication in 2020, during the worldwide Corona pandemic. How great would it be to be taken on an expedition, to be taken to performances or at least experience the respective performance on a screen! A video database as a reference for the publication or an audiovisual archive as a supplement would be a wonderful idea to make the abundance of examples even more vivid.

 

The desire for mutual exchange, for further establishment of regional and cross-regional networks - the living tension between the international and the local - fittingly concludes the journey. After a thorough reading, the desire to undertake an expedition and set to off into the world of musical theater, guided by the publication's excellent coordinates, remains in the reader’s mind.

 

Therefore, this guide is recommended for: