GETTING ACROZZ

Language transfer in theatre productions

For the first time in festival history, PAZZ 2012 will be exploring a theme that will play an increasingly bigger role in the world of theatre in view of advancing globalisation: language transfer of foreign-language theatre productions for local audiences. The more theatre productions go on tour these days, the more international coproductions and performances are shown in various languages at international theatre festivals, the more important it is to transfer these productions ›on site‹. As theatre does not function solely through spoken text, however, all its participants – translators, authors, theatre groups and festival organisers – must face the challenging question: How can language transfer take place and do justice to individual artistic demands? PAZZ has posed this question in a project involving young translators that aims to make all its productions accessible for the Oldenburg audience as well as for international festival visitors. In cooperation with the artists, they have looked for the best possible means of transfer in each case. Amongst others, the options to assist the audience’s understanding are: surtitles, live interpretation or written aids. What began as a temporary measure, and used to be regarded as an unavoidable transmission of the text is becoming an art and profession in its own right for complex productions. Especially in the area of performance art, it is time to find and think through new methods of transfer:

In an international symposium of professionals form different areas, various means of transfer will be discussed and questions of translation will be talked about. A particular emphasis will be on the theme of ›accessibility‹, which refers to theatre for the deaf and blind.

We will offer a platform to theatre-makers from all over the world to come together and exchange ideas, discuss and forge international networks. In the exchange between artists, festival leaders, dramaturges, translators and the audience, we would like to sound out and develop the possibilities of transfer.

GETTING ACROZZ is a production of PAZZ and Oldenburgisches Staatstheater in cooperation with Internationales Theaterinstitut Zentrum Deutschland (ITI Deutschland). The Deutsche Übersetzerfonds (DÜF, German Translators Fund) will offer a seminar for literary translators at PAZZ 2012. (This is what I host.)