Black And German? 'Schwarz Gemacht' Examines Afro-German Identities.
The English Theatre Berlin is in the final preparations for their world premiere of the play Schwarz gemacht, translated as Made Black in English.
The Artistic Director of the English Theatre Berlin, Daniel Brunet, is directingSchwarz gemacht. He says the play explores the theme of finding one's identity from the point of view of the main protagonist, Claus.
"I think it's that universal question that transcends everything else, and I think every person on the planet, if they sat down and paid attention, I hope could respond to Claus' struggle and observe it."
The struggle Brunet refers to is Claus' quest to find personal, cultural, and racial identity as an Afro-German living in Berlin during the Nazi regime.
This quest is contrasted by his interaction in two worlds, Brunet says. One world is that of a German actor in a boarding house and the other an African-American musician, Maurice, in an underground jazz scene.
The play was written by American actor and writer Alexander Thomas and originated as a 12-minute monologue in Los Angeles in 2005.
Thomas has been researching the Afro-German experience ever since.
"That’s when I realized I wanted to talk about the cultural identity differences between these two men- a black American and a black European," Thomas says.
Daniel Brunet believes these themes of personal, cultural, and racial identity tie in with a series he had been working on.
"A series examining racial identity on stage and in dramatic literature. It was a response to two different productions at Schloss park Theatre and the Deutsches Theatre in 2012, which involved the portrayal of black characters by white actors wearing makeup."
Alexander Thomas says he believes people suffer from a "white protagonist syndrome."
"This idea that when you watch a play with quote black characters, that you are somehow stepping out of…that’s not universal. That’s about black people."
Ernest Allan Hausmann is playing the protagonist Claus. Hausmann, an Afro-German actor, says the ensembles he's seen in German state theaters don't represent the public.
"If you go to Berlin, Wedding, Kreuzberg, look what you see on the street."
He says personally, he feels German, and yet like an outsider sometimes, just like Claus in the play.
Is identity based on heritage, culture, or homeland? What is the Afro-German experience? These are some of the questions Brunet, Thomas, and Hausmann and the cast hope audiences will examine.
"It’s important to me here at this institution that we tell stories that are made in Berlin, that take its past, present and future into account," Brunet says.
Schwarz Gemacht premieres Wednesday, February 26th. It includes an exhibition examining the treatment of people of color in Germany and the U.S. in the 1930's, and an exhibition on the Afro-German actor Louis Brody.
Writer Alexander Thomas says he hopes the play will allow people "to sit, of all colors, and identify purely with the humanity of this character."
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