Toihaus Theater: Performance art: “Imagine a lot with little”
In addition to the well-established children’s performances, the Toihaus Theater in Salzburg also has a number of performance art shows for adults in the autumn programme. “The fact that you have to think independently is what is special and beautiful about performance art,” says Cornelia Böhnisch, co-director of “Toihaus”.
More and more performances for adults are also part of the program at the Toihaustheater. The piece “Tilting Moments” proves that you can imagine a lot with little.
Lots of room for interpretation
Loud breathing, three women in plain black clothes and a large white cloth in constant movement: These are the elements in the piece “Tilting Moments”, which premieres this week at the Toihaus Theater.
It doesn’t sound like much, but it triggers a lot of thoughts: According to Cornelia Böhnisch, people in the rehearsals already associated the climate crisis, sleep phases or peace flags with the piece. For the artistic director of the Toihaus, precisely this scope for interpretation is the beauty of performance art.
“Moult” as a starting point
There was no clear scheme in the development of “Tilting Moments”. It integrated much more rough ideas that you try to integrate step by step into the piece. It was clear that the subject of “molting” should play a role and that a cloth from the children’s play “Flatterland” should be used. The precise choreography is always the result of Cornelia Böhnisch’s performance art, step by step. “I have certain emotions that I want to bring to the stage, certain images,” Böhnisch explains the artistic process.
You can think of the creation of the final piece as a big piece of dough that you knead until you get a satisfactory product. Yoko Yagihara has a similar experience. Yagihara is responsible for the musical component of “Tilting Moments”. “It resonates with certain ideas and themes that come to mind in a chain reaction. I then interpret them musically,” says Yagihara. With “Tilting Moments” they deliberately decided not to have any classical musical accompaniment with instruments. The loud breathing as an accompaniment is more impressive in “Tilting Moments” than an elaborate instrumental accompaniment.
opportunity to think for yourself
“For you, performance art triggers that, for someone else something else,” says Böhnisch. The things they started resonate in their work, but they try to provide possibilities for interpretation. “The performances should offer a projection surface for the viewers,” says Böhnisch. The fact that classical theater is more popular than performance art is explained artistically by the director, precisely through the freedom in the interpretation of the plays.
Excerpts from “Tilt Moments”
Yagihara says it is more tiring to have to think about the meaning of the performances independently than to have the content of the play clearly presented, as in the theatre. “I think there is a lot of fear of not being able to read and interpret these things,” suspects Böhnisch. The artistic director wants to take away this fear with her pieces. “Tilting Moments is 30 minutes of unwinding. The piece doesn’t want anything from the audience,” says Böhnisch.
“Tipping points, circles and hair” in the autumn program
In addition to the well-established children’s performances “Flatterland” and “Tempo Tempi”, the Toihaus Theater’s autumn program also includes more and more performances for adults.
Tilting Moments premieres Friday, September 30 at 7:30 p.m.
“TON -Performance in a circle” will be performed in October in the Kollegienkirche in Salzburg. The piece “FUR” is an encounter with the Japanese dancer Aya Toraiwa and her hair, which reaches her knees.
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