Theatre Design & Technology - Summer 1993 - 35

it comes to the direction of that change,
one always has to be prepared for surprises. Social processes unfold in a strictly
logical way. The problem is that the logic
is easy to comprehend after the fact, but
not with any certainty before or during
the event.
t is difficult for me to estimate
your assumptions about and
relation to the parr of Germany-now called the five new
BUI/des/fli/der (states)-which
used to be the GDR and which
comain a population of 15 million, a parr of Germany that
was throughout its existence faced with
many internal and external political and
economic tenSIOns.
[ do not have the ability, nor the
imention, to give you an ail-encompassing image of this country. My account is
based entirely on my own life and my
own experiences; it lacks all pretension to
be typical or universally valid. This is
even more true because I saw Ii fe very
much from the perspective of the theatre.
[ was lucky enough, at a very young
age, to pass my exam to become a
Be/eucbterllleister (master lighting technician), and then to find a position as the
head of the lighting staff of a small theatre in the ptovinces. It was a contract for
ol/e whole season (like it's always been in
\'(fest Germany) for artists and technical
personnel at theatres. This was later
changed in the GDR, and all employees
at theatres were given unlimited work
contracts. This was done to reach equaliry between the social starus of artistic and
respected bourgeois occupations; and it
comributed to a large degree to the formation of stable ensembles in the GDR,
which were able to perform excellent
artistic work. On the other hand, it also
led to problems, because it made the
exchange of singers and actors between
the different theatres more difficult.
Many ensemble members became too old
and toO rigid. New positions had to be
cteated for younger artists. This meant
additional COStS, but this was not the primary problem in this situation. But it
also limited the directors in their choices
for an optimal cast.
Still, [ believe that during these years
more productive ensembles were created
in the GDR than in the western part of
Germany. The theatre were not really
overwhelmed with financial help, but the
subsidies were given to all theatres and
thev were sufficient and reliable. The
same is true for the artistic and technical
positions at the theatres.
From this solid position, the whole

question of recruitment and tralnlI1g
could be solved in a very stable and successful way. Ot only were there training
positions for singers, actors, and playwrights, but also for technical theatre
professionals, lighting technicians, theatre technicians, carpenters, tailors,
sound technicians-all were integrated in
the public education system. The same
was true for the important level of master
technicians.
In the GDR, contrary to West Germany, an outstanding training program
was developed. It offered training and
certification ro the novice theatre or
lighting master technician. The program
was based on the technical training
(FflcbflrbeitemllSbildul/g), and consisted
of three branches: technical safery, theatre
technology, and artistic training.
Master technicians who had passed
through this training were well suited to
work with directors and set designers.
And when they left our country (which,
much to our regret, often happened),
they were extremely valued by \X!est German theatres. This makes it seem even
more odd that now, after unification, the
master diploma of the GDR is not recognized anymore, since it does not comply
with West German standards.
I came to Berlin in 1959 to work at
the Maxim Gorki Theatre; later I wem to
the Volksbu/Jlle. I started as head of the
lighting staff. Since 1%8, I have worked
as technical director.
The first twO years of my tenure in
Berlin were some of the most interesting.
Berlin was a divided ciry, and one had to
pass border conttols to visit from the surrounding country. In the ciry itself, it was
still relatively easy to go from one sector
to the other. It was a city with tWO different currencies, tWO different economic
forms, and tWO opposing political systems, working undet the rules and
restrictions of the Cold War. Berlin was
governed by the regulations of the Allied
powers in their sectors: the Russians,
Americans, British, and French. The ciry
government was divided as well: West
Berlin had the Senflt as the German
administration. We, in the East, had the
N!flgistmt of Berlin. Also divided were the
police, postal services, telephone companies, streetcar routes, and bus companies.
The Metro and the Stfldtbfl/JII were still
serving both partS of the city.
The exchange rate of the tWO differem currencies was not stable; it fluctuated between a ration from 1:3 ro 1:5 in
favor of the \'(fest, and later went up to
even a ration of I: 10. I think that this
was at the time the strongest weapon
against the system of the GDR. The

attempt of the GDR to build a planned
economy, which was not to follow the
market fotces but the needs of the working classes, was already a very difficult
effort that, in otder to succeed, would
have demanded better organizational
strucrures than were known then.
Bur to expose this difficult experimem of building a socialist society, with
all its problems of a slow-working statecontrolled economy, to an capitalist
enclave on a daily basis led to distortions
and tensions.
Living expenses, housing, medical
care, and public transportation were very
affordable in the eastern sector of Berlin
and the hinterland. The supply of consumer goods, however, was rather meager
and expensive. Thousands of East Berliners therefore went to the West for work,
took advantage of the exchange rate, and
were able to live well in both parts of the
city. Corruption and speculation flourished. In many theatre ensembles, part of
the workers were from the \X!est and were
paid partly in West Mflrk. This did not
lead to problems at the theatres, and the
relations with these workers were still
good.
he end of this crazy period
began with a steady stream
of our best workers making its way to West Germany. The way through
Berlin was easy to make,
without danger, and the
better economic situation
in \'(fest Germany was tempting. In the
summer of 1961, around 4,000 persons
were leaving the GDR each day. This
resulted in the closing of the borders and
the building of the Berlin Wall. The measure was understandable, but incredibly
harsh. Only a few had believed earlier
that such a measure would be possible.
Disbelief, depression, aggressiveness, and,
in the end, resignation dominated ourmy-feelings during those days.
There was a big media hype on both
sides, with front reports and war hysteria
dominating. Tanks rolled on both sides
of the frontier, last attempts were made
to flee to the West. The work at our theatres was paralyzed. The employees from
the West were missed everywhere. The
choir of the Stflfltsoper, the Stflfltkflpelle
Berlil/, all had to fill their vacancies with
new people from other theatres in the
GDR. For the dramatic theatres, the situation was a little better, since they did
not depend so much on large collective
bodies, like a choir or orchestra.
Walter Felsenstein, the head of the
KOllliscbe Oper Berlil/ who was from West
TD&T

1993 SUMMER

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