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Max Reinhardt
(1873-1943)
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Max
Ehrlich about Max Reinhardt and his School
[...] Then (I went to)
acting school. Naturally Max Reinhardt's. (Max Reinhardt the man who
earlier went into business in Schumann's Berlin Circus. -- but every
person must figure out for them self where they belong.) I auditioned
high tragedy for him : Fiesco, Karl Moor and the like. At the time I
weighed 98 kilos in my stocking feet. Then, after I'd also interpreted
Romeo to the helpless man, he enquired in a nasal tone: "Do you
have any more comedy material to show me?" But
despite this he accepted me into his school. And to this day I am
grateful to him for it.
It was 1911. That was
the year that yielded good wine and good actors. All my schoolmates
ultimately became famous: Else Eckersberg, Conrad Veidt,
Ernst Lubitsch, only innate modesty prevents me from citing my own
name as well. At the time I was allowed to play important parts in the
Deutsche Theater (German Theater): "Monsieur the Count, the
tea is saddled!" or "Madame the Baroness, the the horses are
served!" As the famous officer from the Personal Guard in
"Don Carlos," I once so badly mutilated my role that, at a
point never foreseen by Schiller, the curtain fell in shame.
One terribly hot
Sunday afternoon in July, we played Strucken's
"Lancelot." The worthy role of Pater was thrust upon me and
I felt that, in this play, the character just pranced around without
rhyme or reason. So on this day, out of Dramaturgical zeal, I played
each act as a different well known actor. But, nonetheless this does
not
appear
to have been in keeping with the long established traditions of the
Deutsche Theater (German Theater); because, on the next day, I
received the following letter:"It is reported that, during the
performance yesterday, your on stage antics were such that a general
atmosphere of mirth prevailed both amongst the other actors and in the
audience. You apparently thoughtit tasteful to do an imitation
of Mr. Moissi during the first act, of Mr. Bassermann during the
second act and of Mr. Pallenberg during the third act. Following this
inexcusable behavior, we inform you that we are fining you 15 marks and
will definitely refrain from hiring you as a cast member next season.
The
Direction
Max Reinhardt"
Still on the same day,
I sold the letter for 20 Marks as a rare Reinhardt autograph. I used
15 Marks thereof to pay the fine. I managed to keep the remaining 5
Marks throughout the inflation years: Recently, I used them to
purchase the controlling interest in a heartburn clinique.
Excerpt
from "Sermon über mich"
Max Ehrlich (1924)
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Max
Goldmann, the son of a Jewish merchant, is born in Baden, lower Austria
on September 9th 1873 .
As
a young man, he follows an appreniceship in banking; but from age 17 to
19 also takes private acting lessons during his free time.
Thereafter, he plays small
roles in Vienna and throughout Austria, using the stage name Max
Reinhardt.
Later,
in 1894, he joins the German Theater (Deutsche
Theater)
in Berlin where he primarily is cast as an old man.
He
remains there until 1892; but in 1891, together with several colleagues,
also founds the Noise and Smoke (Schall
und Rauch) cabaret.
Ever
successful, in 1903 Max Reinhardt officially assumes direction of both
the Small
Theater (Kleines Theater ) and
the New Theater (Neues Theater),
presently called the Berlin Ensemble (Berliner
Ensemble).
After
1904, his whole family goes by the name Reinhardt.
By now a major personality on
the German theater scene, in 1905 Max Reinhardt is named director of the German Theater
(Deutsche Theater) and, within this
context also founds a school of acting, many of whose students --
including Max Ehrlich, and Ernst Lubitsch --
go on to become international names in theater and film.
His directing style sets a new standard in opera staging, treating the
singers as actors and achieving major breakthroughs in dramatization.
After 1912, his particular style of theater,
which has come to be called Show Theater (Schautheater), also quickly
sets a new standard for the art,
characterized in particular by large scale scenes and enormous stage
sets. His influence by now has
reached worldwide proportions! |
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