Max Reinhardt’s promptbook to Arthur Schnitzler's ›Reigen‹. Digital presentation with transcription, translation, comments and contexts

• Applicant: Professor Dr. Dieter Martin
• Subject Area: German Literary and Cultural Studies (Modern German Literature) ; Theatre and Media Studies
• Term: since 2023
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 522135955

The project aims to publish Max Reinhardt’s prompt book for the world premiere of Arthur Schnitzler’s "Reigen" as a full digital copy with a bilingual transcription (German-English), to annotate and to examine its content from a literary- and theatre-aesthetic point of view. By doing so, the applicants of this motion intend to support an international and context-supported legibility of Reinhardt’s prompt book as a document that is highly informative in terms of both the aesthetics of reception and production. In the prompt book, which is held within the Max Reinhardt Collection at Binghamton University (New York State), Reinhardt handwrote his ideas for the production in form of sketches for the stage design, intensive notes on gestures and modes of speech as well as instructions for the use of light and music. It has been agreed to cooperate with the institution owning the archival records of interest (The Max Reinhardt Archive and Libraries at Binghamton University): They will provide the entire prompt book in form of high-resolution digital copies of all individual pages and will also set up an open-access project-website in order to present all of the final work results. The contribution of the Freiburg working group - for which this application for a research and material grant is being submitted - lies mainly in the digital transcription of the printed text and of all Reinhardts’ handwritten annotations, in the analysis of the prompt book from a literary and theatre studies perspective (which shall be discussed at a joint workshop in Binghamton), and, moreover, in the documentation of contemporary materials on Max Reinhardt’s directorial concept, while special attention will be paid to the court cases concerning the premiere of Schnitzler’s "Skandalstück" (scandalous play) in Berlin in 1921.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants
• International Connection: USA
• Cooperation Partners: Professor Dr. Carl Gelderloos; Professor Dr. Neil Christian Pages