The Hausruck is a range of hills in the foothills of the Alps in Austria. With a length of around 30 km, the Hausruckwald is one of the largest contiguous forest areas in Europe. The climate is harsh and rainy. The average wind speed is relatively high at 2-3 m/sec, so windthrows occur regularly during spring and fall storms. The Hausruck is mainly composed of silt and gravel. There are deposits of brown coal, oil and natural gas.

Border, peasant, religious and world wars have shaped the region in the north of Austria just as much as the revolt of the miners and the uprising of an asylum seeker girl. The Hausruck region has always been a province of unrest. An ideal breeding ground for an eminently political artists’ collective called THEATER HAUSRUCK.

THEATER AS A DRILLING PROBE

Behind Theater Hausruck is an open circle of committed people who have dedicated themselves to political theater as an examination of central social issues and their regional manifestations. Following the conviction that theater must be up-to-date and flexible and must not allow itself to be tied down to predetermined themes, forms, venues or traditions.

Theater archaeology

Since its first production in 2005, Theater Hausruck has impressed with its detailed, almost archaeological approach to the material it tells. The preliminary research is always extensive and long-term, backgrounds are researched, connections are sought, local circumstances are considered against the background of historical events and global conditions. In this way, Theater Hausruck unearths stories that always tread the fine line between reality and fiction.

Theater as a multi- and interdisciplinary experimental set-up

Theater Hausruck’s projects transcend the boundaries of conventional theater. They incorporate art forms such as film, performance, literature as well as scientific and political discourse and use multimedia channels, in particular social media, to enable a reception that is not tied to an event.

Regional participation and detailed documentation

The foundation of Theater Hausruck has always been the cooperation of many people who are connected to the Hausruck in one way or another. The people of the region become part of the story as contemporary witnesses, are part of the large acting team of amateurs and theater professionals or support the theater productions with the numerous organizational tasks. The documentation of the projects also plays an important role. All productions and their preparatory work are extensively and professionally recorded in videos, images, sound and writing.

The principle.

THEATER HAUSRUCK is not only a polarizing, political initiative, it is also a multi-award-winning model project for social participation and audience involvement. From day one, the daughters and sons of Hausruck were called upon to get involved and participate. In order to prepare the actors for the projects, they often spend a whole year rehearsing texts in workshops, internalizing the historical events, the lifeworlds of the time and their characters. The success is based not least on the magnificent performances of the actors – both professionals and amateurs. The collaboration between well-known actors and playful people from the region not only impressed the audience, but also helped to qualify the amateur actors in this highly professional theater environment.

In other words: THEATER HAUSRUCK stands for applied art education that goes far beyond the level of typical summer theater entertainment. This also applies to the involvement of regional musicians (composition of the theater music by local musician Rupert Schusterbauer and live performances by regional ensembles) and theater enthusiasts (dramaturgy, collaboration on stage construction, set design, make-up and costumes).

THEATER HAUSRUCK’s approach to art education is deliberately inclusive:

Young people, adults, senior citizens and people with disabilities develop and contribute to the productions to a significant extent. Here, THEATER HAUSRUCK oscillates between reality and fiction, between present and past, memorial and folk play. In front of and behind the scenes, actors with a political consciousness fight against forgetting, act as sculptors and form a social sculpture that causes an international sensation despite or because of its deliberately regional roots. In 2005, they set a vibrating dynamo in motion that not only generated a stream of 36,000 visitors by 2010, but also provided important impetus for the regional economy.

The success of the theater productions is based on meticulous historical research and the preparation of the material for public discussion. A film documentary is produced for each production, in which the political and historical context of the respective play is rolled up, the adaptation by THEATER HAUSRUCK and the making-of of the theatrical realization are documented.

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