Determined – a participatory video performance for the classroom
from the Theater Kormoran
concept
Caroline Heinemann, Elisa Priest, Yves Regenass
performance
Elisa Priester, Yves Regenass
The tables are moved to the side, the students are sitting in a semicircle. Various props are ready on a table and colored areas are marked on the floor. The teacher is also there, the projector is running - so we can begin:
The video performance begins with the first clip and a welcome from two performers who, over the next hour and a half, accompany the class community through the decision-making course via recorded videos.
The production transforms the classroom into a playing field and the teacher into the game leader. A detailed, digital manual guides the students through the experimental setup, in which they experience the meanings and effects of decision-making processes first-hand: How does it feel to be allowed to make decisions? What responsibility does this entail? How exhausting is it when everyone has a say? How does satisfaction arise - or not?
The students' decisions, sometimes made by majority, sometimes alone or by chance, determine which video sequence is played next and thus have a very real influence on the course of the performance. Competitions alternate with election campaign speeches and initiated moments of reflection. Because with a view to decision-making, questions always arise about power (structures), hierarchies and how decisions are made.
