	radio tesla in september: radio theater: artaud
hörspiel, feature, radiokunst aus vergangenheit, gegenwart und zukunft des mediums
	the culture, intention, and form of theater, joined with the discovery and popularization of radio in germany since 1923, are responsible for the birth of the radio play. it is said that the first radio play came about when a power failure extinguished the lights of a theater during a play. the actors simply continued the performance in the dark. the name given to such presentations in the early phases of radio was 'sendespiel'. its form was based on the ideal of 'theater for the blind' and appeared, briefly put, as a 'continuation of theater using other means'. before recording techniques were adequately developed for broadcast use, radio plays were performed live at the stations, initially with the actors in full costume. the radio play was thus originally based on the concept of theatrical drama: purely visual qualities such as light, color, and costume were replaced by additional acoustic signals: sounds, background music, fades, and electronically produced sound. the decisive development which distinguished the radio play as a genre beyond pure literary adaptation was the employment of sound and noise, tools previously used only as accompaniment or illustration in the theater. the confidence in the expressive power of these non-verbal elements helped the medium to arrive at its own artistic expression and new aesthetic forms. this reflection indicates a parallel to the history of theater, whose means of expression, form and claim to realism such apologists as antonin artaud sought to revolutionize in the 1930's. artaud demanded, roughly put, a leap from representational to symbolic theater, through the consideration of all, even non-verbal and spontaneous articulation. artaud's plan for a so-called 'theater of cruelty' met the fate of many visionary concepts at the beginning of the 20th century: it took the whole century for dramatists, actors and directors, as well as musicians and visual artists, to recognize the idea's possibilities and to adopt them, forging new paths for theater on stage and on the air. on the occasion of antonin artaud's 110th birthday on september 4th, 2006, radiotesla looks at the relationship between the two genres, dedicating two listening evenings (20. and 27.9.) and one salon (26.9.) to the phenomena of radio and theater.
	wed. 20. sept. 2006 \| 8:30 pm radiokunst kai-uwe kohlschmidt, kai grehn: akte artaud [radio fleur du mal 2001] kohlschmidt, sandow, grehn: schluss mit dem gottesgericht [sfb, fluxus platten 1993] 'existential fear, consciousness, the word in the attempt to face up to life, the true expression, god.'
	tues. 26. sept. 2006 \| 8:30 pm radio tesla special: antonin artaud paul pörtner: es gibt kein firmament mehr [wdr 1972] antonin artaud: pour enfinir avec le jugement de dieu -- schluss mit dem gottesgericht [deutschlandfunk 1997] discussion with götz naleppa and peter berz on november 28th, 1947, artaud declared war on the organs. a biological and political experiment, which brings censure and prohibition into the arena.
	wed. 27. sept. 2006 \| 8:30 pm grenzen büro artaud / paul m. waschkau: die frage stellt sich [pathos transport berlin & substanz press & autorenproduktion 2002/2005] 'to expand the body of my inner night...'
	radio tesla presents programs, fragments and impressions from the past, present and future of radio. as an integral part of the schedule at tesla im podewils'schen palais, the series explores the artistic and historical dimensions of the medium of radio, which was, after all, invented by nikola tesla himself. radio tesla is presented every wednesday evening at eight-thirty, admission is free. each month is dedicated to a specific theme, and each evening concentrates on one genre: on the first wednesday of the month, a radio play or other fictional work is offered. the following week, the focus is on features and other non-fiction. the third wednesday is reserved for ars acustica and radio art, and on the fourth wednesday of the month, labeled "grenzen" ("borders"), unconventional, uncensored independent forms will be offered. In months which have a fifth wednesday, a "bonus track" will take the month's theme one step further.
		Deutsches Rundfunkarchiv www.dra.de
		Deutschlandfunk/Deutschlandradio Kultur www.dradio.de

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radio tesla special: antonin artaud

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