a walk-in, immersive theatrical
social media series
by Tomas Schweigen, Bernhard Studlar & Lorenz Langenegger
WORLD PREMIERE Directed by Tomas Schweigen & guests
Starts October 19, 2017 1. season: October 19 – November 12, 2017
2. season: March 1 - 8, 2018
A production of Schauspielhaus
Vienna sponsored by
Pioneers of the periphery. Plunge into the life of
the characters of this first walk-in, immersive theatrical social media series. Enter the story line. Become part of „Seestadt-Saga“!
In real-time.
Architecture is always a promise, too. Each new draft is the chance for a better life. A utopia
made from stone. With Seestadt at the gates of Vienna one of the biggest city planning projects of Europe is being developed
since 2006. Designed on the drawing board around an artificial lake, this new commune is supposed to offer living space for
up to 20.000 people. In 2017 the first outlines of the project have become visible. Thousand people have moved into the architecturally
diverse new buildings and are beginning to fill the streets and alleys with live. A sometimes bizarre spirit of start is currently
surrounding this still very sterile model town. Schauspielhaus dedicates ist SEESTADT-SAGA to this gigantic residential experiment.
A young documentary film maker, student at the film academy, gets on the U2 every morning in order to examine
this new satellite town carefully for her final project. Soon she makes irritating observations. A young man intends to make
use of the unique chance to design a whole community and to be part of creating your own living area. Out of disappointment
of the political camps in Austria, he founds his own movement, „Liste Seestadt“. Because: Where people live, engagement for
the community is needed!
A married couple, both ensemble members at a big theatre in Vienna, is on the move
and looking for a bigger apartment in Seestadt. The married life of the two is facing changes, because the daughter from a
previous relationship of the husband will move in. How will the new joint family grow together? The three meet their new neighbour,
who have moved to the periphery out of pragmatic reasons. The area is quiet, there is little traffic, a lot of nature instead.
An ideal surrounding for children.
An efficient real estate agent is taking care of the annoying paper work
for the new inhabitants.
A jogger observes the scene. Day after day he is circling around the lake in the
dawn. He enjoys the view of the growing city: „Beautiful new world“. Meeting with the documentary film maker rouses him from
his daily grind and changes everything. The image of the perfect city is changing not just for the jogger.
Over two seasons SEESTADT-SAGA will become a life chronicle of the protagonists and observes how their paths cross. It is
facing what is happening behind the smooth fronts of the elegant new buildings. The series will be narrated via diverse media:
facebook posts and tweets as well as live-videos and films.
At Schauspielhaus a Writers Room with several
authors under the aegis of Bernhard Studlar and Lorenz Langenegger will develop the general outlines of the saga. The audience
will follow the series in an interactive way via social media profiles of the protagonists whilst the homepage of the series
www.seestadt-saga.at will summarize all existing informations. The characters can be met in person at real events on
location, at parties or meetings and the audience can become part of the story line: The characters can be met and accompanied
on their way to work, visited at home or be called on the phone. Place and time will be announced via facebook invitations
and posts. The series will become a new kind of web of fiction and reality, film and theatre, between online and offline.
The performances will take place where the plot is located – in the neighbourhood…
Bernhard Studlar, born
in Vienna in 1972, studied writing for theatre at UdK Berlin. His plays were staged at Burgtheater Vienna, Schauspielhaus
Graz as well as recently Schauspiel Leipzig and Slovakian National Theatre Bratislava. At Schauspielhaus Vienna he contributed
texts for „Der grüne Kakadu“ (directed by Lucia Bihler) in the season 2015/16. As artistic co-director of WIENER WORTSTAETTEN
he initiated together with Hans Escher a big scale experiment with a Writers Room; he is also a profiled expert regarding
collective authorship.
The playwright Lorenz Langenegger, born in Zurich in1980, is one of the rare crossover
artists who regularly writes for theatre as well as film and television. He won the playwriting contest of Schaubühne Berlin
and was nominated for Ingeborg-Bachmann-Preis. Bernhard Studlar, Lorenz Langenegger and Tomas Schweigen will enter a completely
new terrain of theatrical narration with SEESTADT-SAGA. In order to become part of the saga, you don’t need a ticket – just
internet access.
