Proximity and distance action day
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Program Overview
We look forward to receiving your registration for the workshops at paul.marwitz-2@hfmt-hamburg.de. However, walk-ins are also welcome.
10:00a.m. OpeningRemarks
10:15 a.m. Presentation “The Bond of Communication” / Prof. Stefanie Köhler
11:00 a.m. Workshop “On Appropriate Closeness and Distance in Individual and Group Instruction” (for faculty only) / Prof. Eva Bleckwedel & Magdalena Appelhans
11:00 a.m. Student Workshop “The Problem of Power” / Awareness Team
1:00 p.m. Workshop “Affect and Bourgeoisie” / Laura Jakschas & Dr. Benjamin Sprick
2:00 p.m. Interactive performance “The Space of Aggression” / Amelie Werner & Viola Bierich
3:00 PM Workshop “On Appropriate Closeness and Distance in Individual and Group Instruction” (for students only) / Prof. Eva Bleckwedel & Magdalena Appelhans
3:00 PM Workshop “Closeness and Distance” from an Ethical Perspective / Prof. Dr. Eckhard Weymann & Lovis Determann
4:30 PM Musical Interventions / Vlatko Kucan and the spiic+Ensemble
5:00 PM Lecture performance on the music theater piece “Nicht zu nah” / Michelle Affolter & Mara Nitz
6:00 p.m. Workshop presentation “Close to You” / Rama Nicholas & acting students
8:00 p.m. Closing panel discussion using the fishbowl method / Moderators: Viola Bierich and Paula Oscar Rüdiger
(detailed program below)
Artists invest a great deal of emotional and physical energy in developing their artistic expression. In the process, relationships inevitably emerge that are strongly shaped by the personalities of those involved. It is the responsibility of teachers, mentors, or supervisors to shape these relationships in a reflective manner. This includes being able to appropriately regulate the balance between closeness and distance in these relationships—physically and spatially, emotionally, and mentally.
The dependencies on teachers and supervisors that artists experience during their studies and in their professional lives must be viewed with the same sensitivity as the role model function that, for example, a teacher fulfills. At the same time, it is important that artists—with an eye toward their future professional lives—learn already during their studies to recognize and articulate their own boundaries and to demand respectful interaction.
The “Closeness & Distance” Action Day is taking place for the third time, following a digital edition in 2021 and a “Day of Encounter” in May 2022. Performances, workshops, lectures, and discussion forums are intended to further the exploration of this topic at our institution during the “Closeness & Distance” Action Day on November 22, 2023, and to contribute to a vibrant and respectful culture of coexistence. Students are expressly encouraged to share their personal perspectives.
We cordially invite all students, faculty, and staff to participate in the “Closeness & Distance” Action Day—either individually or as a group—by submitting contributions. We will open the stages—the physical ones at the Theaterakademie am Wiesendamm and the conceptual stages within us—to jointly explore, critically examine, and discuss our diverse experiences and aspirations regarding the theme of “Closeness and Distance.” Interested guests are welcome!
The “Closeness & Distance” Action Day on November 22, 2023, is designated as a joint “academic day” on this topic, supported and organized by the entire university—including all its departments, institutes, and deans’ offices, as well as technical and administrative staff and the university presidency. Artistic explorations of this tension are particularly relevant in this context.
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Program: “
” Interested guests are warmly welcome to all events on the Small Stage!
Subject to change
10:00 a.m. Small Stage
Opening ceremony
by Prof. Karin Holzwarth (Equality), Jonas Dietrich (Vice President for Teaching), and the Awareness Team. Moderator: Elli Neubert
10:15 Small Stage
Presentation “The Bond of Communication”
How we structure shared space and establish clear teaching relationships through professional interaction.
(Stefanie Köhler, Professor at the Frankfurt University of Music)
In my presentation on the topics of closeness and distance, role behavior, and the creation of a positive teaching relationship, I focus on the teacher’s body as an active instrument of communication. I demonstrate how, through our physicality, we can professionally establish a space for connection in which both teachers and students find their clear place. Within this space for interaction, teachers are able to fulfill their role as educators within clearly defined boundaries. Students find sufficient space to develop freely. In addition, I will identify several tools that help us promote a clear understanding of roles and foster positive teacher-student relationships.
11:00–12:30 Seminar Room 6
On Appropriate Proximity and Distance in Individual and Group Instruction (for teachers only)
(Prof. Eva Bleckwedel & Magdalena Appelhans)
During the workshops, participants will learn about three different levels of closeness and distance and their respective functions. Using real-life teaching situations as examples, we will collectively examine to what extent these appear appropriate. Is there a universally accepted consensus, or are situations perceived differently by individuals (or both?) What factors influence these perceptions? The perception of signals used to establish and mark boundaries will also play a role. Through input, discussions, and practical exercises, participants will gain an experiential understanding of the topic. The focus of the workshop will be shaped in part by the participants’ needs, wishes, experiences, and so on.
This workshop is specifically aimed at all faculty members at the HfMT Hamburg.
11:00 a.m.–2:00 p.m., Seminar Room 3
Student workshop “The Problem of Power”
(Awareness Team)
Do you have to put up with derogatory comments about your instrumental playing and/or yourself? Do you sometimes cry after your major lessons? Do you feel treated unfairly or humiliated by your teachers? Are you stressed because you can’t express yourself musically or artistically the way you’d like to, or because your teacher won’t tolerate any opinion other than their own? Do you feel pressured in certain situations to participate in optional events or to absolutely have to perform at a certain level?
We students really shouldn’t have to put up with this and other inappropriate behavior, but the power structures at conservatories are very entrenched and place us in unequal relationships of dependency. Often, you may not even realize how inappropriate and problematic a situation is or was. On top of that, the options for doing something about this kind of abuse of power and/or getting real help are sometimes very limited or unknown.
This is the focus of the workshop “The Power Problem” at this year’s action day on “Closeness and Distance” on November 22 at Wiesendamm at 11 a.m. In a future workshop, we’ll discuss what’s going well or poorly at our university in this regard, what we’re missing, and what we demand must change.
Attendance at morning classes is optional, so you’re excused from your seminars and lectures if you come to the action day. If your instructors complain about this or pressure you to attend their classes, we’d have a perfect example for the workshop right there.
We warmly invite you to our event and to all the other activities taking place on the day of action. Starting at 3:00 p.m., there will be no more classes that day, so everyone will have time to come to the Theater Academy and take part in the afternoon program.
We look forward to seeing you!
Your AStA and Awareness Team
1:00–2:30 p.m., Seminar Room 3
Workshop “Affect and Bourgeois Lightness”
(Laura Jakschas & Dr. Benjamin Sprick)
The bourgeoisie has a ambivalent relationship with affect. On the one hand, affects are meant to be made productive and incorporated into the framework of a successful life. On the other hand, affects threaten the orderly flow of “stimulus” and “response”: They can only be reined in and coordinated through calculated rigor. The workshop explores the relationship between affect and bourgeoisie both practically and theoretically. The focus is on a relationship of closeness and distance that is nearly impossible to control, which increasingly finds its counterpart in “bourgeois coldness” (Kohpeiß 2023).
Literature: Henrike Kohpeiß, *Bourgeois Coldness: Affect and Colonial Subjectivity*, Frankfurt am Main: Campus 2023.
2:00–4:00 p.m. Acting Studio 2
Interactive performance “Der Aggressionsraum”
(Amelie Werner & Viola Bierich)
In our everyday university life, we live and work closely together. When, in addition to our daily workload, we’re confronted with social tensions, abuse of power, or intrusive behavior, we often don’t know what to do with our feelings of being overwhelmed, annoyed, angry, and exhausted. This is where the temporary “Aggression Room” comes in: Book your 10-minute slot and let off steam at various stations set to the angry soundtrack of your choice. Experience the cathartic effect of your anger now—#onlyforashorttime
Afterward (starting at 4:00 p.m.), we invite you to a relaxed discussion where we’ll explore questions about the benefits, necessity, and risks of “anger rooms” and safer spaces.
Time slots from 2:00–4:00 p.m., no registration required
3:00–4:30 p.m., Seminar Room 6
On Appropriate Proximity and Distance in Individual and Group Instruction (for students only)
(Prof. Eva Bleckwedel & Magdalena Appelhans)
During the workshops, participants will learn about three different levels of closeness and distance and their respective functions. Using real-life teaching situations as examples, we will collectively examine to what extent these appear appropriate. Is there a universally accepted consensus, or are situations perceived differently by individuals (or both?) What factors influence these perceptions? The perception of signals used to establish and mark boundaries will also play a role. Through input, discussions, and practical exercises, participants will gain an experiential approach to the topic. The focus of the workshop will be shaped in part by the participants’ needs, wishes, experiences, and so on.
This workshop is specifically aimed at all students at the HfMT Hamburg.
3:00–4:30 p.m., Seminar Room 3
Workshop “Closeness and Distance” from an Ethical Perspective
(Prof. Dr. Eckhard Weymann & Lovis Determann)
Regulating closeness and distance in professional relationships requires “nuanced professional judgment as well as ethical guidelines” (Volmer, 2019). What ethical considerations are helpful here? Aspects of regulating closeness and distance will be discussed in relation to ethical principles during a brief introduction. By discussing concrete examples—including those drawn from the participants’ own experiences—these considerations will be put into practice.
4:30 p.m. Everywhere & Nowhere
Musical Interventions
(Vlatko Kucan and Ensemble)
The SPIIC+ Ensemble presents musical improvisations that kick off the evening program on the Small Stage. SPIIC+ stands for Social Performance, Interdisciplinary Improvisation & Creativity and is a subproject of the ligeti zentrum/ creative research lab., which, under the direction of Vlatko Kučan, understands and explores improvisation as a distinct practice in the sense of a fundamental ethical stance, as a form of social interaction, and as a universal creative method not limited to artistic production—where, of course, aspects of proximity and distance are also highly relevant.
5:00 p.m. Kleine Bühne
Lecture performance on the music theater piece “Nicht zu nah”
(Michelle Stoop, Mara Nitz, Dulguun Chinchuluun & Ben Boresch)
Siblings can be the world to one another. But when the closeness of the other becomes unbearable, when touch hurts more than it heals, the family transforms from a place of safety into a place of fear. The music theater performance *Nicht Zu Nah* (2019), featuring new music for countertenor, piano, and electronics, explores the complex issue of sexualized violence among siblings, deconstructs the family system, and challenges its status as a sacred and intact construct.
Aware that they were exploring a social taboo—sexualized violence among siblings—which requires great artistic sensitivity, the development of *Nicht Zu Nah* was a challenge for the entire team. Director Michelle Stoop and dramaturg Mara Nitz, together with pianist Dulguun Chinchuluun and countertenor Ben Boresch, reflect on their play development process through a joint discussion, video clips from the performance, and live music (composition: Carlos Andrés Rico).
6:00–7:30 p.m. Small Stage
Workshop Presentation & Lecture “Close to You—The Intimacy of Improvisation”
(Rama Nicholas & acting students)
Love stories are everywhere, and whether we want to admit it or not, these stories fascinate us and draw us in with the thrill of emotions and pain just as much as the characters themselves. And yet, romantic love is a territory that improvisers rarely dare to explore. This intimate show, however, boldly lifts the veil on our secret lives and our love. It gives the audience the chance to see love in its rawest form, improvised on stage.
For two days, acting students from the Hamburg Theater Academy worked with Australian actress, author, and director Rama Nicholas on ways to portray love and romance on stage. They present the results of the workshop in this performance. A lecture by Rama Nicholas will provide context for the presentation and introduce the methodologies of intimacy coordination.
8:00 PM Small Stage
Closing panel discussion using the fishbowl format
(Moderators: Viola Bierich and Paula Oscar Rüdiger)
The diverse topics of the action day will be discussed together in this closing panel. In addition to the organizers of this action day, we invite you all to participate in the joint discussion and share your thoughts.
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Planning Group:
Awareness Team and AStA (Contact Persons: Viola Bierich, Eileen von Hoyningen Huene, Sarah Jablonski); Stage Manager Birgit Stoehr; HfMT Equality Officers Karin Holzwarth and Silke Wenzel; Christel Jurkeit for social media; Dr. Philipp Dorestal, Advisor for Equality and Diversity Management; Bilinc Ercan-Catanzaro, Vice President for Diversity, Social Responsibility, and Legal Affairs; and Jonas Dietrich, Vice President for Academic Affairs and Teaching.
Project Coordinator: Paul Marwitz, Cell: 0152-51693508.
Eintritt frei