Wasgau-Theater
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| Founded | 1978 |
|---|---|
| Legal form | Registered association (eingetragener Verein) |
| Member of |
Landesverband Amateurtheater Rheinland-Pfalz Association of German Amateur Theater |
| Location | |
| Headquarters | Petersbächel |
| Country | Germany |
|
| |
| Links | |
| Website | wasgau-theater.com |
The Wasgau-Theater e. V. is an amateur theatre group in Petersbächel, part of Fischbach bei Dahn in the Südwestpfalz district, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany.[1] Founded in 1978, it plays in its own theatre, a former American cinema, and stages comedies, plays in Palatine dialect and children's fairy-tale plays and musicals.[2][3]
History
The group grew out of a youth group in Petersbächel that took up theatre in the 1970s. Its production of Theodor Storm's Die Regentrude on 30 September 1978 is regarded as the founding of the Wasgau-Theater. In its early years the group toured the surrounding villages and districts, playing among other places in the school hall in Dahn, the Hohenstaufensaal in Annweiler and the parish house in Vinningen. In the early 1990s, when its props, costumes and equipment had outgrown the rented storage space, the group acquired the former American cinema of the Fischbach depot, which was then being converted into a business park, and made it its storage and performance space. By its own count it has staged about 65 productions with more than 500 performances.[2]
In 2007 an evening of one-act plays brought almost 20 performers on stage, nearly the whole active ensemble at the time.[4] All performances of the crime comedy Erben ist nicht leicht by Walter G. Pfaus, planned for March to May 2020, were cancelled because of the COVID-19 pandemic.[5] After a four-year break the group returned to the stage in autumn 2023. In 2024 it reported a lack of active members, especially younger ones, and was looking for children and young people for its Christmas fairy-tale play.[4][6] A production of Schneider Nörig for adults, planned for the 2025/26 season, was postponed for personnel reasons.[7]
Repertoire
Since its first seasons the group has usually staged two productions a year: a fairy-tale or children's play, in recent years a family musical, for the Christmas season, and a comedy or Palatine dialect play (Volksstück) in spring. Several productions have been revived after some years.[3][7] Its dialect productions include two plays by the Kaiserslautern author Eugen Damm: Die Wunnerquell and Die do unn de Hochzeitsdaa, the group's adaptation of Damm's Ääs, retitled because the dialect differs from village to village.[8]
| Season | Title | Author | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1978/79 | Zwerg Nase | ||
| 1978/79 | Die Regentrude | after Theodor Storm | First production, 30 September 1978[2] |
| 1979/80 | Der Schweinehirt | ||
| 1979/80 | Vergib uns unsere Schuld | ||
| 1980/81 | Pünktchen & Anton | ||
| 1980/81 | Bahnwärter Engelmaier | ||
| 1981/82 | Flitterwochen | ||
| 1982/83 | Wie in einem Spinnennetz | ||
| 1982/83 | Hänsel & Gretel | ||
| 1983/84 | Piet und die geheimnisvolle Giraffe | ||
| 1984/85 | Das tapfere Schneiderlein | ||
| 1984/85 | Die Kinnderschees | ||
| 1984/85 | Die sind nicht mehr zu retten | ||
| 1984/85 | Fünf Frauen um Adrian | ||
| 1985/86 | Der gestiefelte Kater | ||
| 1985/86 | Der Pfarrer von Kirchfeld | ||
| 1986/87 | Der Räuber Hotzenplotz | ||
| 1986/87 | Hier sind sie richtig | ||
| 1986/87 | Das Gemälde | ||
| 1987/88 | Neues vom Räuber Hotzenplotz | ||
| 1987/88 | Gaslicht | ||
| 1988/89 | Der Mann, der sich nicht traut | ||
| 1989/90 | Schneeweißchen und Rosenrot | ||
| 1989/90 | Theatercocktail | ||
| 1989/90 | Zauber der Musik | ||
| 1990/91 | Die Wunnerquell | ||
| 1990/91 | Die Meineidbauer | ||
| 1991/92 | Das Haus in Montevideo | ||
| 1991/92 | Minna Magdalena | ||
| 1992/93 | Die Perle Anna | ||
| 1992/93 | Theater-Bonbons | ||
| 1993/94 | Amaretto | ||
| 1994/95 | Höhrrohr | ||
| 1995/96 | Kalif Storch | ||
| 1995/96 | Der 75. Geburtstag | ||
| 1996/97 | Tratsch im Treppenhaus | ||
| 1997/98 | Boeing - Boeing | ||
| 1998/99 | Die kluge Königin | ||
| 1999/2000 | Tischlein deck dich | ||
| 1999/2000 | Halt'd Gosch Bu | ||
| 2000/01 | Sextett | ||
| 2001/02 | Hänsel & Gretel | Revival of 1982/83 production | |
| 2001/02 | Un owwe wohne Engel | ||
| 2002/03 | Der Weihnachtsengel | ||
| 2002/03 | Doppelt leben hält besser | ||
| 2003/04 | Fröhliche Weihnachten, Mister Scrooge | ||
| 2003/04 | Der Mustergatte | ||
| 2004/05 | Heidi | ||
| 2004/05 | Blaues Blut unn Erbsesupp | ||
| 2005/06 | Der kleine Glöckner von Notre Dame | ||
| 2005/06 | Raub der Sabinerinnen | ||
| 2005/06 | Dinner for one | ||
| 2006/07 | Dornröschen | ||
| 2006/07 | Akt mit Blumen | ||
| 2007/08 | Meischder Anecker | ||
| 2007/08 | Theatercocktail | Revival of 1989/90 production | |
| 2008/09 | Gaslicht | Revival of 1987/88 production | |
| 2008/09 | Die Schneekönigin | ||
| 2008/09 | Der keusche Lebemann | ||
| 2009/10 | Jim Knopf und Lukas, der Lokomotivführer | ||
| 2009/10 | Vater einer Tochter | ||
| 2010/11 | Rumpelstilzchen | ||
| 2010/11 | Tratsch im Treppenhaus | Revival of 1996/97 production | |
| 2011/12 | Do sin se richdich | ||
| 2011/12 | Pinocchio | ||
| 2012/13 | Aladin | ||
| 2012/13 | Das Haus in Montevideo | Revival of 1991/92 production | |
| 2013/14 | Anna im Labyrinth | ||
| 2013/14 | Die wilde Hilde | ||
| 2014/15 | Dschungelbuch | ||
| 2014/15 | Der verkaufte Großvater | ||
| 2015/16 | Flitterwochen | Revival of 1981/82 production | |
| 2016/17 | Der gestiefelte Kater | Revival of 1985/86 production | |
| 2016/17 | Der Meisterboxer | ||
| 2017/18 | Ox & Esel | ||
| 2017/18 | Halt'd Gosch Bu | Revival of 1999/2000 production | |
| 2018/19 | Des Kaisers neue Kleider | ||
| 2018/19 | Kein Auskommen mit dem Einkommen | ||
| 2019/20 | Rapunzel | ||
| 2023/24 | Die Wunnerquell | Eugen Damm | Revival of 1990/91 production; additional benefit performance on 11 November 2023[9][8] |
| 2023/24 | Theaterjuwelen | Curt Goetz, Karl Bunje | Three one-act plays: Hund im Hirn, Minna Magdalena (both Goetz) and Das Hörrohr (Bunje); premiere 6 April 2024[4] |
| 2024/25 | Alice im Wunderland | Children's musical[7] | |
| 2024/25 | Die do unn de Hochzeitsdaa | after Eugen Damm | Palatine adaptation of Damm's Ääs; premiere 12 April 2025[8] |
| 2025/26 | Der Zauberer von Oz | Family musical[7] |
Venue
The Wasgau-Theater plays in its own building, the former American cinema in the business park (Gewerbepark) of Petersbächel, on the site of the former Fischbach depot of the US forces.[2][4] The stage measures about 44 m² (7.9 m wide, 5.5 m deep, 3.5 m high) and has no fly tower; the auditorium has 127 seats, which can be extended to 143, and is wheelchair accessible.[1] The theatre is also used for guest performances by outside artists.[2]
Organisation
Besides its own productions the group has organised open-stage evenings with music, dance and readings by professional and amateur performers, held in 2010, 2011 and 2017.[10] In November 2023 it gave an additional performance of Die Wunnerquell as a benefit for a charity campaign of the Fastnacht-Club Felsenland.[9]
After the newspaper Die Rheinpfalz declined to review a premiere of the group because its culture section no longer covered dialect theatre, the Landesverband Amateurtheater Rheinland-Pfalz e. V. wrote an open letter to its culture desk under the title Mundart ist Kultur ("Dialect is culture"), arguing that dialect is part of the intangible cultural heritage.[11]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Über uns, Wasgau-Theater e. V., retrieved 26 October 2026. Archived on 13 July 2026.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 Wie alles begann, Wasgau-Theater e. V., retrieved 26 October 2026. Archived on 13 July 2026.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Archiv, Wasgau-Theater e. V., retrieved 26 October 2026. Archived on 13 July 2026.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 Ein Abend mit drei Einaktern: Beim Wasgau-Theater geht’s ab Samstag weiter, Die Rheinpfalz, 4 April 2024, retrieved 26 October 2026. Archived on 2 August 2026.
- ↑ Wasgau-Theater in Fischbach bei Dahn wegen Coronavirus abgesagt, Wochenblatt Reporter, 28 February 2020, retrieved 26 October 2026. Archived on 27 October 2026.
- ↑ Wasgau-Theater präsentiert „Theaterjuwelen“, Wochenblatt Reporter, 25 March 2024, retrieved 26 October 2026. Archived on 27 October 2026.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 Startseite, Wasgau-Theater e. V., retrieved 26 October 2026. Archived on 13 July 2026.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 „Die do unn de Hochzeitsdaa“: Wasgau-Theater zeigt Stück von Eugen Damm, Wochenblatt Reporter, 22 March 2025, retrieved 26 October 2026. Archived on 27 October 2026.
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 Benefizveranstaltung des Wasgau-Theaters, Wochenblatt Reporter, 6 November 2023, retrieved 26 October 2026. Archived on 27 October 2026.
- ↑ Glamour-Schau im Wasgauland, Die Rheinpfalz, 15 August 2017, retrieved 26 October 2026. Archived on 1 August 2026.
- ↑ Offener Brief Mundart, Wasgau-Theater e. V., retrieved 26 October 2026. Archived on 13 July 2026.