The Nuremberg Theater Mummpitz has been showing monthly video performances of the “Jazz Puppet Universe” since March.
The mix of puppet theater and jazz music is well received.
Nuremberg - For around five years now, the Nuremberg * Theater Mummpitz has been showing a format that should be unique in Germany: puppet theater with jazz music.
Gabriel Drempetic aka König Semmelwurst leads through the show, helps write stories, plays the trumpet, stands behind the camera and is also responsible for editing.
He says: "Before the pandemic * we had live performances with around 130 spectators once a month." At the time, children were asked to go on stage, were allowed to move dolls themselves and improvise while speaking.
Then came the coronavirus *.
Simply giving up “jazz for children” was not an option for the theater staff, freelance musicians and staff.
Musician Ferdinand Roscher, actor and author Michael Schramm and Drempetic himself came up with the idea in the first Corona wave in March of last year to let the format live on in the form of YouTube videos - with success.
The next “premiere” is on Sunday, March 7th.
Nuremberg: Theater Mummpitz publishes a new episode of "Jazz Puppet Universe" every month
“At first we were very close to the zeitgeist, recording videos and music at home - sometimes even with webcams,” explains Drempetic.
Over time, the production of films, which usually last between 15 and 20 minutes, has become more professional.
Not least because of two supporters: The “Kulturstiftung der Sparkasse Nürnberg” and the federal government's “Neustart Kultur” fund enabled the theater group to purchase new equipment.
The video production is more work than the preparation of live performances and brings in almost no money - thanks to the funding programs and the short-time work of the team members employed at Theater Mummpitz, the format is still possible.
"We get very positive feedback - including videos of children singing along," reports the production manager.
And: "Every first Sunday of the month a new video comes out - it's like a premiere." The thought that at exactly this time many families press play at the same time is a nice feeling and "reminds a bit of a real performance" .
The stories in the videos are mostly kept simple in terms of content: In episode one, Kasperl had a cough, in the current episode, the eighth episode, the crocodile Hans falls in love with Ferdi's red shoe.
The focus of the films should be the music, similar to the stage: Roscher plays the double bass, Peter Pelzner the guitar, Simon Froschauer sits on the drums and other guest musicians support if necessary.
YouTube videos from Nuremberg: the theater's production leveled off - but there was great hope for a presence
According to Drempetic, artists do not earn money with clicks on YouTube - but there is a link to voluntary donations under each video.
"In the beginning the films were clicked very well, now there are so many digital offers that it has decreased somewhat." Nonetheless: The most recently published episode received over 1,000 clicks - "and behind every click there is usually a family with several viewers" .
The music and videos are now being recorded by the musicians and actors in person.
“We are about three to four meters away from each other - thanks to the great space.” Panja Rittweger moves the puppets in the theater herself and also filmed them there.
While Drempetic takes care of the post-processing and production of the videos, Roscher acts as musical director, Schramm as content-related.
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The trained puppeteer Panja Rittweger is responsible for moving most of the figures.
© Screenshot Youtube / Theater Mummpitz
So all in all, everything worked out well.
“Still, I'm glad that a light can finally be seen at the end of the tunnel,” says Drempetic, referring to the planned opening steps *.
The lack of contacts and the live performances drained its substance.
"And unfortunately we still can't plan properly - that's a catastrophe for the industry."
You can read about the current corona situation in Nuremberg in our news ticker.
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