As the first farmer's theater in the district, Mittenwald is back on stage.
120 visitors enthusiastically followed the three-act act “The Fire Brigade Meeting”.
That's how it went backstage.
Mittenwald - Renate Hofbauer looks at the floor.
She is concentrated, whispering sentences to herself.
Otherwise it's quiet a few moments before the performance begins.
Then Georg Brennauer junior rings the cowbell for the fourth time.
Hofbauer stands up behind the wooden backdrop.
Take a breath and dash out.
On the stage.
In the spotlight.
For the first time in a year and a half.
Wednesday evening was a special one in and for Mittenwald. It wasn't just a performance with amateur actors in a gym that Florian Stieglmeier and his group had put on their feet. It was a real breakout. An announcement against the Corona Depression. A sign that neither the Mittenwald Farmer's Theater nor the heartfelt joy and passion on, in front of and behind the stage have died with the virus. The fire department meeting is a nice, but long-known and often played piece. But on Wednesday evening it had an unprecedented magic, a completely new and important message: The pandemic will not get us down. As the first farmer's theater in the district, the people of Mittenwald dared to go on stage with a performance. With success.
The last performance was on January 11, 2020 in the TSV gymnasium - since then it has been stagnant
Hofbauer plays as if January 11, 2020 was just yesterday.
There was the last performance before the global outbreak of the epidemic.
One and a half years of compulsory pause naturally leave their mark.
“We couldn't rehearse either,” says Stieglmeier.
All the more the theaters had to step on the gas in the past few weeks when they finally got the green light for the event from the district administration.
Rehearsals took place several times a week.
The people of Mittenwald have forgotten nothing.
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The actors like Theresia Rieger have to put on make-up in front of the mirror.
© Josef Hornsteiner
Kathrin Fütterer is the second to take the stage. The audience laughs, especially children can be heard. Almost 80 percent of the spa guests sit in the TSV hall. Despite the distance, there was room for 120 people. “I think I've forgotten a bit,” says Fütterer with a laugh as she slips out of the spotlight behind the scenes. The audience doesn't care. They are simply happy to be able to attend an event again, to order beer and food from a waitress, and to watch with relish how Georg Brennauer senior, Heini Dobler, freshly baked fire brigade commander of Dimpfelhausen, stumbles drunk with his comrades in his good room . It consists of stage sets that were inches of dust, says Stieglmeier with a laugh.
But they were set up the same way.
“It all works so well.” He's behind the stage, has an artificial beer belly strapped around himself and dyed his hair and beard white.
“There were no problems at the entrance.” Nobody listed themselves, everyone adhered to the 3G rule, had vaccination or test evidence with them, or was demonstrably recovered.
It took a while.
That is why the guests were allowed to enter the TSV hall a quarter of an hour earlier than usual. But Stieglmeier is perfectly happy there too.
"Everyone got to their table in time."
All punch lines ignite, the laughter in the hall is liberating
He has to go.
On the stage.
Together with the mimes Jakob Sprenger and Georg Brennauer, he lifts his comrade Matthias Wurmer (Schmitzer) onto a ladder.
With a “syringe”, he successfully simulates an emergency: and at the same time watering the audience.
Ignite all punch lines.
Laughing in the hall is liberating.
Nobody thinks about viruses, bans or delta variants anymore.
The pandemic will be left at the door for two and a half hours.
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Inward-looking and highly concentrated, every little corner behind the stage is used for learning.
© Josef Hornsteiner
Brennauer now calls his men for a report. Everyone has prepared intensively for this scene. Because there is singing. A problem since Corona. But the men cover it up perfectly. They diverge almost imperceptibly. “Exactly two meters,” says Stieglmeier. “We measured it.” The audience does not even notice this difference to the original pieces from earlier. "It should be exactly like this."
Meanwhile, the other actors get ready behind the stage. Theresia Rieger stands in front of the mirror. Like everyone else, she has to do her own makeup. Because there is no mask due to the corona, everyone takes on Monika Schandl's job himself. Otherwise not much has changed from before. The actors who are not playing are scattered all over the stage, reading the manuscript, learning by heart. They just have to wear face masks outside of their role. “But there are worse things,” says Stieglmeier. When at the end everyone sings again and raises beer bottles, the chairman really smiles. He had hoped that the courage of the theater makers would be rewarded. But the fact that the evening turns out to be such a great success amazes even the experienced performer. It's an emotional gain. Because in numbers, very sober,financial success can of course be ruled out. Of course, 120 instead of 300 paying guests make themselves felt. "But as long as we don't pay for it, that's okay too," says Stieglmeier. JOSEF HORNSTEINER
Next appointment
The play "The Fire Brigade Meeting" will be performed again on August 4th.
Tickets are available at www.mittenwalder-bauerntheater.de.
