Staring at the Bin
acts in the public space; world premiere in the forefront of the Munich Biennale form May 18, 2016 and during the Munich Biennale til June 9, 2016
a production of the Munich Biennale
concept, composition, direction: Meriel Price; performer: Karina Erhard, Philipp Kolb, Meriel Price ,Johann Michael Schneider, Christoph Theussl; Video: Aron Kitzig; Camera: Jonas Eisenschmidt;
»Staring at the bin« is where the public, music and theatre directly meet, unannounced and unexpected. A collection of minuscule performances in public spaces, events so tiny they appear to be coincidences or strange chance occurrences.
Musical and theatrical events are seamlessly fused to life in urban spaces, distilled to their essence; the rest, the beat, repetition or variation. Day to day life is framed and focussed as it provides the material for intimate interactions.
Meeting eye to eye without an »art« context allows a new relationship, a direct response as all labels are removed, leaving space for ones own meaning. Disturbances in the rhythm of the day force a pause for thought, an opportunity to reinterpret the everyday routines of urban life.
Something for nothing and unexplained, the events are unexpected, heightening awareness, stimulating a more immediate connection to surrounding people, places and occurrences.
In advance of and during the entire festival these mini events are scattered around Munich capturing coincidental audiences. These are documented and throughout the festival an exhibition space will evolve and develop, a living protocol documenting an ongoing experience.
Meriel Price composition
Meriel Price is a musician, performer and visual artist who creates works of music theatre. She performs with ensembles such as the Berlin Philharmonic, MDR Symphony Orchestra, Stargaze and Redux. She works closely with contemporary composers and has had many works written for her.
Her music theatre works have been performed in festivals such as 150% Made in Hamburg Theaterfest, Crescendo Festival, Berlin, KlangKunstBühne and Labor Sonar. She regularly performs in music theatre a.o. in the Berliner Ensemble, Munich Biennale, Radial System, Berlin and Theater Basel.
She founded the music theatre duo »Aside« (www.asidefromthe.com) who explore the uncomfortable and unintended facets of musical performance, challenging the expectations of the audience. With the ensemble »DieOrdnungDerDinge« (www.dieordnungderdinge.com) she creates staged concert programmes that explore the space between concert and theater/performance in a visual, playful manner.
As a visual artist she specialises in projects that combine visual art and music such as »Wer ist der Mächtigste auf Erden?« (Lucerne Festival, book published by NordSüd). She has also produced installations for festivals such as the Martinu Festtage, Basel, Tempelhof Theater Festival and the Blind Spot Film and Music Festival, Berlin as well as puppet design for the Marionettentheater Basel.
Meriel Price studied at the Royal Northern College of Music, Manchester and the University of the Arts, Berlin. Prior to this she studied visual art at Berkshire College of Art and Design.
Cast & credits
concept, composition, direction: Meriel Price
performer: Karina Erhard, Philipp Kolb, Meriel Price ,Johann Michael Schneider, Christoph Theussl
Video: Aron Kitzig
Camera: Jonas Eisenschmidt
a production of the Munich Biennale
Biographies
Aron Kitzig video
Aron Kitzig was born in 1979 in Berlin; he is a freelance set designer, filmmaker, and media artist. He has produced music videos for, among others, Ensemble Adapter; Ensemble Moderne; Nordlichter, the biennale of Nordic music; and the label Dollkraut.
He and the pianist Marc Tritschler have been managing the artists' label Testklang in Berlin since 2012, which specializes in classical and contemporary music, as well as its connection to film, poetry, and design. Testklang was founded in 2012 and is organized as a cooperative network. Since 2013 Aron Kitzig has been working in the areas of contemporary and classical opera. Notable examples are "Hypermusic" (Hector Parrà, Ensemble Zafran); "Parsifal" (Hamburgersymphoniker); cello suites by Bach (Arne Christian Pelz, cellist); and "Turandot" (by Marco Arturo Marelli, Bregenzer Seefestspiele and Wiener Staatsoper).
Karina Erhard Performer
The Munich based german flutist Karina Erhard mainly works in the field of contemporary chamber music. Above that she regularly searches for the contact point with the other arts.
Karina Erhard studied flute at the Conservatories of Amsterdam and Utrecht.
With her various chamber music groups she played at international festivals and won renowned prizes such as the 'Gaudeamus Interpreters Competition'.
Many composers have dedicated works to her or one of her ensembles.
Philipp Kolb Performer
Philipp Kolb, Trompete, hat natürlich sein Instrument gelernt. Doch dies reichte ihm wohl nicht. Sein Jurastudium verfolgte er intensiv bis zum Examen, „aber nur als Hobby, ich wollte wissen, wie das juristische und behördliche Denken funktioniert“. In Kombination mit verschiedensten Interessen von Autorestaurierung bis Zirkularatmung entstand ein Wissensstatus, welcher ihn das Trompetespielen allein als zu einseitig erschienen lies. „Wenn ich nur Trompete spielen würde, hätte ich das Gefühl, dass mir Input fehlt“. So war er auch tätig als Produktionsleiter verschiedenster Kunstprojekte im öffentlichen Raum, Netzwerkbetreuer einer Rechtsanwaltskanzlei, Motorradrestaurateur, Betriebsratsvorsitzender und Krankenpflegehelfer.
Sein musikalischer Weg führte über vielerlei Orchester- und Theaterengagements letztendlich zur zeitgenössischen Musik, nicht nur als Trompeter und Tubist, sondern auch als Komponist, Darsteller und Organisator.
Produktionen wie "UnterWasser - ein Freiheitsentzug", „Ensemble Finale – Live-Improvisationen zu Fussballspielen“ und „Das Pater Noster Konzert I + II“ tragen genauso seine Urheberschaft wie die szenischen Produktionen „Die Drachenzähler – eine diskursive Prozession“ oder „Isar-quer“. Und letztendlich auch die Gründung von „piano possibile“ mit Klaus Schedl im Jahre 1993. Als dessen Intendant vesucht er, die kreativen Kräfte des Ensembles zu bündeln und zu stärken.
Christoph Theussl Performer
Christoph Theussl is a native of the state of Styria in southeastern Austria, and he now lives in Munich. He works as a singer-songwriter, actor, performer, music cabaret artist, satirist, author of readings, and presenter. His environment is the stage, his instrument is the guitar, his defense strategy is satire, and his main means of expression is a language that is in terms of culture extremely influenced by his Austrian roots.
Theussl won the Liederbestenliste Sponsorship Award in 2014, as well as the Sponsorship Award of the Hanns Seidel Foundation in 2015, and he is a permanent member of the reading stage "Schwabinger Schaumschläger" in Munich. His first music cabaret solo program "Theussl's Welthitz" had its premiere in the autumn of 2013 at Vereinsheim München. His current CD "endlich - Lieder für alle, die noch leben" ("at last – songs for everyone who's still alive") is a double album on the subject of death, and it was released in 2014 by Verlag Periplaneta Berlin.
Johann-Michael Schneider Performer
Johann-Michael Schneider, born in 1966 in Hannover; studied violin from 1989 - 1993 at the Hochschule für Musik und Tanz Köln; in 1994 assistant to the director R. Ciulli, Theater an der Ruhr; from 1995 -1998 actor at Theater Dortmund; since 1998 freelance actor and (theater) musician at several theaters; regular work with people with disabilities; since 2006 also a director; independent music-theater projects. My main interest is – put briefly - the musical aspect of acting and the theatrical aspect of music.