Die Vierte Sache

The art of the theatre needs, it is sometimes claimed, dictatorship to thrive, since collaborations on equal terms only delivers mediocre results. Yet this is a fallacy. What could a „brilliant mind“ create and breed collaborating with authoritarian characters who are full of fear and therefore unimaginative? The Soviet social psychologist I.S. Kon liked to crack the following joke: „A professor confronted with the question: What is more important, the collective or the individual?, answered: The collective, of course! But only if it consists of individual personalities. Because, you see – summing up ones [individuals] always totals more than one, while summing up zeros always totals zero.“
The question is how to organise a bunch of unique individuals with huge personalities. Theatres in the GDR reflected on the relationship between leaders and collectives in scientific terms when it came to the formation of ensembles. The more anti-authoritarian nurtured, participation claiming individual personalities in FRG theatres used to bring themselves and others to the brink of exhaustion. Some found relief in focusing on „the third cause“ in these cases – could this still be a remedy in present times?

Impulse and discussion with Anna Volkland and guests: Susanne Bredehöft, Paul Flagmeier, Leander Hagen, Sabine Zielke

Supported by Rosa Luxemburg Foundation.