Der Palast (Season 1)
Berlin, capital of the GDR, 1988/89. A German-German Friedrichstadt-Palast. The solo dancer Chris suddenly family story is told against the glamorous backdrop of the faces her hitherto unknown twin sister Marlene from West to their separation shortly before the Wall was built in Germany. Both try to get behind the family secret that led 1961.
Creation and stage-producing of lavish revue dance scenes and production numbers in a stage-to-tv drama production for German television.
Task
Creating and stage producing the on-stage content of the TV series with support of the Friedrichstadt-Palast's in-house teams.
Between 2020 and 2021, I had the immense honour to work alongside director Uli Edel and the Friedrichstadt-Palast to concept and stage direct the show scenes of this landmark TV production. The series, produced by Constantin Television, tells the story of divided Germany, and how, only month before German reunification, a new society dreamed up a new form of show seemingly unprecedented at this theatre.
While all the scenes were built on the theatre’s existing terpsichorean repertoire and a very distinct revue revue performance vocabulary, the series’ author, Rodica Döhnert, and director Uli Edel required the scenes to express a historical and dramatic development in theatrical terms, which had to fit into the current stage setup (a show called VIVID at the time). Together with the two choreographers of this season (Tini Bach & Liam Scullion), we sculpted the revue moments so as to help to series‘ plot advance through dance and spectacle.
- Creative consulting on the interface between the Friedrichstadt-Palast and Constantin Television on all of the 5 on-stage show scenes of the series.
- Creative Direction and Show Direction for the on-stage scenes and show moments, in cooperation with both the Friedrichstadt-Palast’s and Constantin Television’s Creative Departments, series director Uli Edel and cinematographer Hannes Hubach.
- Consulting on historical revue practice, and implications of staging this in a contemporary context.
- Advising on cultural references, aesthetics, and helping source costumes and props.
- Supporting the team on show directing (storyboarding, show flows, special effects, aerials, choreographic blockings, scenographic approaches) as well as show producing (production plans, rehearsal plans, stage practice, liaising between the various departments)
- PSM/DSM duties during the shooting.
Core Team
Oliver Berben
Executive Producer
Constantin Television GmbH, gefördert von Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg (MBB), FilmFernsehFonds Bayern (FFF), German Motion Picture Fund (GMPF) und Polnisches Filminstitut
Production
Rüdiger Böss, Kathrin Bullemer, Fritz Wildfeuer
Producers
Konstantin von Carlowitz, Daniel Rillmann
Production Lead
Matthias Pfeifer, Ronja Reitzig, Günther van Endert, Frank Zervos
Editors
Creative & Show Team
Rodica Doehnert
Script
Uli Edel
Director
Hannes Hubach
DOP
Andy Machals
Show Producer / Show Director
Tini Bach & Liam Scullion
Choreographers
Marcus Bosdorf
Lighting Designer
Monika Jakobs, Anke Baier, Stephan Bolz (Tableau “Traumvisionen”)
Costumes
Jerome Latour
Set
Jeanette Latzelsberger, Gregor Eckstein
Hair & Make-Up
Friedrichstadt-Palast
Dr. Berndt Schmidt
General Director
Guido Herrmann
Administrative Director
Oliver Hoppmann and Team
Creative Director
Alexandra Georgieva, Maik Damboldt, and Team
Ballet Director
Andy Stübler, and Team
Lighting Director
Peter Müller, Josef Jung, and Crew
Technical Stage Crew
Honca Rosenbaum, Martin Zernickow, and Team
Hydraulics & Automation
Steffen Liebsch, and Team
Stage Management
Constantin Lülsdorf, Inken Lummer, Nora Botzenhardt, and Team
Events
Elisabetta Pian, and Team
Costume Direction
Antje Potthast, and Team
Hair & Makeup Direction
Tinka Tarelkin, Sophie Relitz, and Team
Young Show
Photos by ZDF/Constantin Television/Julia Terjung.