I-Fest 2006:
Christian Dolezal, Austria

Chopin Productions

I-Fest 2006 is the second annual festival of international solo performances celebrating individuality.

Spiel im Morgengrauen (Night Games by Arthur Schnitzler. A story taking place over 36 hours.


11/2/06 - 11/12/06

Various


Spiel im Morgengrauen (Night Games) by Arthur Schnitzler. A story taking place over 36 hours. The main character, the young Lieutenant Kasda, agrees to gamble his last 120 gulden to try to win 1,000 gulden for the sake of a former fellow officer, von Bognor, who has been stealing from the bank that employs him.

Christian Dolezal, Actor - Christian was born in Vienna in 1971. He trained to be an actor in Vienna, where he was offered his first engagements at Viennas Folkopera and the Viennese Festwochen, an acting festival, just after his studies ended. For his performance as Thomas, in Lars Norens ,Bobby Fischer wohnt in Passadena' the story of an autistic boy, he was awarded with the Tiroler Nachwuchsförderpreis, this being an Austrian (Tirolean) Award benefiting and promoting new recruits and young actors.

Arthur Schnitzler, Author - Mr. Schnitzler was born on 15 May 1862 in Vienna, as the oldest son of Dr. Johann Schnitzler, an eminent laryngologist who helped to found the Vienna Policlinic. Arthur, his eldest son, was expected to follow in his footsteps, and he did so albeit reluctantly. He studied medicine at the University of Vienna and spent 1882-83 as a volunteer at the military hospital. (He was later demoted from reservist officer to reservist private after the scandal of Leutnant Gustl ,when he was accused of bringing shame to the Hapsburg army by ridiculing ritual duelling.) Schnitzler`s literary aspirations always competed with his medical studies. His earliest published work consisted of two short prose pieces," Liebeslied der Ballerine" (The Dancer`s Lovesong) and an essay , "Über den Patriotismus" (On Patriotism). In response to an interviewer who asked Schnitzler what he thought about the critical view that his works all seemed to treat the same subjects, he replied, "I write of love and death", What other subjects are there?"

Hermann Beil, Director - Mr. Beil was born in Vienna in 1941. Since 1965, dramaturg at theaters in Frankfurt, Basel, Stuttgart, Bochum and Vienna. He has been a dramatic adviser at the Salzburg Festival, artistic adviser at the Berliner Ensemble and a director of plays most recently Thomas Bernhard's "Old Masters" and has given many spoken word performances. Mr. Beil has received the Theaterpreis Berlin' and the Critics Award from the German Critics Association.

"Schnitzler's original play is so complex one could doubt that a solo performer could do it justice. But Dolezal succeeds in convincing the audience, portraying the various aspects of Lieutenant Kasda's personality as he moves from making false steps to exulting; giving him his voice, his facial expressions and his scarce gestures" - Tiroler Tageszeitung, 2005

Author
Arthur Schnitzier

Director
Hermann Beil

Performers
Christian Dolezal

Production
Chopin Productions

Tags: Festival, Old Europe, 2006