Stage 80 was born on Friday evening, March 28, 1980, when Anne Hoven and Jürgen Sommer invited a group of 16- to 66-year-olds to a meeting at the Lindenhof in Kirchberg and immediately brought the ensemble to life.
They were pirates and lovers, murderesses and mistresses, naive and cunning, ridiculous and serious and always enthusiastic about one thing: acting. Every spring since 1981 – with only a few exceptions – Bühne ’80 has presented a new play. This requires commitment, which should not be underestimated and has led to the motto “Stage ’80 is a passion that creates suffering”. It is not the weekly rehearsals every Friday between October and February, the number of which doubles towards the premiere; it is not just learning the text, it is the realization, which represents a new challenge every time. Slipping into a role requires physical commitment so that the audience can follow the story not only through the spoken word, but also through body language into the emotional world of the play.
The active “core” consists of 23 theater enthusiasts, who also “play along” in the background as prop masters, prompters and set builders. The staffing is too thin for double casts, which is why newcomers with theater blood are always welcome.
Stage ’80 can now also look back on a considerable number of cooperation partners, such as the “Kulturstrolche”, youth orchestra and seniors’ advisory council, fencing group and the Zitadelle Museum… and of course the other local theater groups with whom a friendly relationship exists. They help each other out with actors and technical equipment.
