Here in Salzburg the festival has started. To mark the occasion, numerous events took place on 18 July. Among other things, director Peter Konwitschny presented his production "The Conquest of Mexico" to the audience at the Felsenreitschule. This took place in the form of a double conference between Konwitschny and the stage designer Johannes Leiacker. I myself was already in the Amazon at the time, but my friend M. attended the event at the Felsenreitschule. She told me that she had to think about me all the time, and everything she knew about my performance, effect and voice. O-Ton von M.: "Everything you can do wrong regarding such a performance was offered here". Here is the live report from the Felsenreitschule, which I don't want to withhold from my valued blog readers.
Director and set designer appear and take a seat on the prepared chairs, between them a small table. Everyone has a microphone. So far so good. The director begins to speak and jumps straight into the topic, begins to talk about the play. Introducing themselves does not occur to either gentleman. Even if they assume that everyone knows them – which was certainly not the case – this is simply a basic act of politeness in such an appearance. The microphone also does not work correctly, only after "loud" shouts from the audience is it readjusted. The director then continues to whisper to himself about the play. His words seem to be totally taken out of context. If you don't already know exactly what it's all about, you're lost. Just as suddenly and incoherently, he then hands over the floor to the stage designer, who reports on the stage design in an equally confusing way. Both gentlemen offer a monotonous and emotionless vocal performance. Konwitschny says they would be so happy to be in Salzburg with the play. Well, this enthusiasm and joy can neither be seen nor heard. The entire appearance seems like "I want to, and I can't", or "well, then we just have to present this thing here". A certain expression of appreciation for the audience, for the interest, for coming on a scorching hot Saturday morning is completely missing. There is also a lack of appreciation for another reason: after three minutes it becomes clear that these two protagonists have not taken the time to prepare the performance dramaturgically. In advance – M. said that would have been totally evident – they did not design a red thread that they could then follow for at least an hour. This is of course fatal for live performances, especially in pairs. Performances in the form of a double conference in particular must be planned particularly carefully. On this Saturday morning, the two heroes did one thing above all: bored!! This is clearly evident from the fact that many of the listeners left the scene prematurely. M. tells me that only the fact that she was sitting in the middle and would have had to startle many people prevented her from leaving the Felsenreitschule prematurely. To bridge the boredom, she was already busy writing this report to me ....
I find that tragic for various reasons. The ultimate goal, to whet the appetite for the staging of the "Conquest of Mexico" and to win over new audiences, probably went completely wrong. This performance has certainly not won new ticket buyers as a result. And that a director!! can't stage his own appearance accordingly is completely incomprehensible to me anyway. Another reason to doubt the suitability of the staging of the play. I know that the importance of voice and dramaturgy in companies is sometimes not yet fully known. Changing that is also my mission. But the fact that there is also this shortcoming in acting circles is new to me. Well, there is a lot to do.
I'm sorry about that only M. Because she already has tickets for the play with acquaintances. Everyone is now skeptical about this evening. I would like to thank her for these valuable insights. They clearly show how conquering audiences – whether in the theatre or in the corporate environment – does not work. And that brings us one step further.
Never forget the power of the voice!
Yours, Arno Fischbacher
HORSEPOWER: M. has attended the performance of "The Conquest of Mexico" in the meantime. And is extremely impressed by the staging as well as the dramaturgy. So director Konwitschny knows how suspense works when he brings it to the stage. Next time, please do a little more of this in advance and on your own behalf!
The author:
Arno Fischbacher is a business voice coach and rhetoric expert, speaker and author. He prepares executives and employees of the top companies in Germany and Austria for negotiations, presentations and media appearances. Fischbacher is the author of several books, past president of the German Speakers Association (GSA) Austria, chairman of the European Network of Voice Experts, stimme.at.
If you would like to learn more about specific training opportunities with Arno Fischbacher, make an appointment here free information talk.
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