A ballet for three mothers
in excavators on an empty lot
A ballet for three mothers in excavators on an empty lot – in this rough setting with huge machines, Studio Urbanistan raises questions as to the place of parents in the (working) world. They clear away, dig deep, shovel away, and pile up again. But who is actually plowing whom or what? Constructs of motherhood, moments of excessive demand, invisible care work, and fights for compatibility of family and work and gender justice whoosh over the wasteland in sound bites. Unheard voices can be heard: female shift workers, self-employed women and full-time mothers from East and West Germany, from the city and the countryside, young and old, single mothers and mothers in patchwork families. What actually changes when you have children? The excavators stoically do their work, the »mothers« in them get a chance to scream their hearts out, to powerfully vent their anger, but also to fall silent or sing. Meanwhile, the audience with headphones roams around the barriers.
Artistic direction: Clara Minckwitz & Julia Lehmann
Performance: Katharina Bill, Clara Minckwitz, Clarissa Schneider & Mathilde Lehmann
Sound: Nicolas Schneider
Stage equipment: Lea Stöcker
Production: Lena Mallmann
The original sounds of the project were taken from voice messages as well as in-depth interviews by and with various mothers, parents and guardians. Thank you for the open conversations and moving thoughts.
A production of Studio Urbanistan, KATAPULT - Performance Plattform Leipzig and FREISCHWIMMEN. FREISCHWIMMEN is a production platform for performance and theater, supported by brut Wien, FFT Düsseldorf, Gessnerallee Zürich, HochX Theater and Live Art München, LOFFT - DAS THEATER, Schwankhalle Bremen, SOPHIENSÆLE Berlin and Theater Rampe Stuttgart, under the management of SOPHIENSÆLE GmbH, made possible within the framework of the program »Verbindungen fördern« of the Bundesverband Freie Darstellende Künste, funded by the Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media.
The rehearsal process is supported by the Fonds Darstellende Künste with funds from the Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media as part of NEUSTART KULTUR. The project is further supported by the City of Leipzig, Cultural Office and the Cultural Foundation of the Free State of Saxony. This measure is co-financed by tax funds on the basis of the budget passed by the Saxon state parliament.
The residency as part of KATAPULT is funded by the Cultural Foundation of the Free State of Saxony as part of the special program »Kulturland 2022. Saxony as a Stage«. The sub-project »Care Machine« is funded by the City of Leipzig as part of the theme year 2023 »Leipzig - The Whole City as Stage«.