Dear all,
as we are slowly approaching the end of the year, with the abstract submission deadline around the corner, we strongly advise you to start researching about visa regulations. On our website you will find a first link to check whether you do or do not need a visa to enter Germany and the Schengen area. If so, do keep in mind the waiting periods for appointments at your respective missions are strikingly long. Do not hesitate to make an appointment beforehand – simply schedule it after the 14th of February; by then you will have received the acceptance/rejection letters.
CC: After getting to know the vividly colorful Cologne Christmas markets, a hotspot to drink mulled wine (»Glühwein« as ›glowing whine‹), and culinary specialties such as ›Printen‹, there is one other tradition accompanying the festive period from the 1st of December onward, which many across Germany look forward to: the Advent calendar. Many love to take their time to create handmade, often very elaborate calendars, with 24 so-called little doors, »Türchen«. This points out the importance of using Advent time as an opportunity to show appreciation to their loved ones and celebrate »Vorfreude«, the joyful anticipation of what is yet to come.
FOW: Anyone who is already familiar with us and keeps up with our annual TWS calendars – advertised and packaged for mailing during this time of year –, will certainly recognize the motif of this Fool of the Week: the set design by Oskar Laske for »The Servant of Two Masters« (»Diener zweier Herren«), directed by Max Reinhardt, with Truffaldino Battochio as the central character. As we observe more than one Harlequin on stage, this design may yearn to display the significance of Commedia dell'arte in Western theatre. Furthermore, it invites us to consider theatre in all its dimensions and stories: the actors on stage with their bodies and acting traditions, the set designs, the stage, the building and its architecture or geography, the audience, and much more. As the Theatre Collection Cologne embraces this exact extensive approach to understanding theatre, we are especially excited to host the IFTR 2025 – an event where diverse, multi-layered narratives and bodies of knowledge can converge and interact.
Alaaf - meaning as much as au fou de partout, to fools everywhere, we greet you!
More soon, yours
Sona Petrossian
for the Cologne Team