#73 | editorial

By Lydia Preusch, editor in chief

Dear reader, theatre lover, and friend,

With the new UP News, we offer a tour of the current UP universe and continue our magazine format, which, as the previous issue, „travels“ between German and English.

The domestic sphere is the centre stage of our lives. Susan Glaspell published Trifles in 1916, and yet, the theme of domestic abuse has not lost its contemporariness. This becomes even more evident when interviewing the Trifles Directors & Cast or reading about Susan Glaspell’s persona in Die Vergessene Literatin, whose work was long forgotten and then rediscovered. Our creative writing section, which includes the apt poem Giulietta and the short story Always Later, describes how stories of abuse differ but are somehow „just the same kind of a different thing“ (Glaspell Trifles).

Living in a society driven by capitalist ideals, The American Dream by Edward Albee, addresses the impossibility of ideals and flawed performances imitating „satisfaction“ and a „bumble of joy“ (Albee The American Dream). Directors & Cast explain in the interview the challenges Albee’s play presented to them, balancing absurdity and tragedy. In The Products of a Dream and Geplatzte Seifenblasen – Der „American Dream“, we have the opportunity to explore and understand the lurking darkness attached to capitalism, such as the US adoption market or the traps of glorifying past ideals and the very contemporary reality of the presidential election. In addition, in Specters No More, our producer rounds up the two plays, highlighting their significance and how social concepts of domesticity and
capitalism influence the individual.

„Encore une fois,“ Sarah Ruhl’s Eurydice returns to our magazine and the Sprechwerk Hamburg in April. Theater als Ort der Trauer explores Ruhl’s transformative adaptation of a Greek tragedy, using lightness to explore grief.

…and U can Play introduces our much-loved IMPROV branch, which continuously grows and shows that strength can be found in community.

As a side note, we’re busy planning a creative writing workshop for the upcoming summer semester. So watch out for news on the UP NEWS blog, the University Players web page, and UP Instagram.

Meanwhile, let us take you on a walk through the theatrical UP world, its glorious
people, and the socio-cultural topics that surround it.