A masked spectacle

Mica Kempe

The travels of the Venetian merchant Marco Polo are legendary. His voyages of discovery across Asia not only taught him cross-cultural friendships and adventure stories, but also tolerance and cosmopolitanism. To mark the 765th anniversary of his birth, various organisations from the region have therefore joined forces to tell the story of Marco Polo at Chemnitz Opera House. People from the Arbeiter-Samariter-Bund residential centre are also taking part. Mica Kempe has been the artistic director of the residential centre for ten years and is a freelance artist. In cooperation with the Centro Arte Monte Onore e. V., she created choreographies, rehearsed scenes and designed imaginative masks. In this interview, she explains how a theatre play brings people with and without disabilities together.

The play Marco Polo will be performed at the opera on 23 and 24 February. How did the idea for the inclusive theatre play come about?
Mica Kempe: In recent years, the residents and I have created our own calendars, which we were allowed to offer in the foyer of the theatre. This is how Pier Giorgio Furlan, the director of the cultural centre Centro Arte Monte Onore e. V., became aware of us. After a visit to his cultural centre in Kriebstein, our residents were fascinated by masks and costumes. So we decided to put something together on stage. The first independent rollimask theatre then took place on the stage of the Schauspielhaus in 2013. Inspired by the concept of the dream concerts, the idea for a theatre play was born. (Editor's note: Traumkonzert is an event in which musicians with and without disabilities perform a concert together with the Robert Schumann Philharmonic Orchestra).

What can visitors expect from the theatre play?
The performance is based on the Venetian model. So it's classic masked theatre. The main character is, of course, Marco Polo. We have followed historical aspects, but also created many things freely. The protagonists in the play all designed and made their masks themselves. The residents had a say in the colours and shapes. They all received support from the Centro Arte Monte Onore e. V., volunteers, my colleagues and myself. It is important that the performers can identify with their masks and therefore their role, so they should also be the designers of their costumes. It will definitely be a great mask and costume spectacle.

Over 120 participants from various institutions, such as the Fichte Schule Mittweida, the Kirchfeld residential home, the city association for the deaf, the Hort am Stadtpark and the ASB residential centre for severely physically disabled people, will act out the life of Marco Polo in the two-hour performance. Cultural affiliation, social status or handicap play no role. The large number of participants with different needs is not only very varied, but also presents challenges.

To what extent was rehearsing at the opera a logistical feat?
It was a completely new situation for us. In previous productions, we were always in the theatre. These are our direct neighbours, so no transport phases were required. Over the course of time, they had adjusted well to us both in front of and behind the stage and created conditions accordingly.
In the opera house, we had to start from scratch in terms of logistics, starting with the width of the doors, moving on to the toilet situation and finally the seating capacity for wheelchair users as audience members. We were faced with many challenges, but we always tried to find creative solutions.

Why did you help initiate the project in the residential group?
We wanted to get out there. To become visible. Not hide behind the walls of the residential centre. It's always a mutual experience for the employees of the theatre or opera house, among others. Before 2013, there had never been a group consisting solely of wheelchair users. That gave the whole production a good dose of seriousness. It's much easier to understand and engage with each other when you're working on something together.

The theatre play is a highlight in the lives of the residents, but also in your day-to-day work. What else does your day-to-day work as artistic director of the theatre look like?
I create projects, together with my dear colleagues of course, for the residents that are outside the daily routine, such as the theatre play. I feel responsible for socio-cultural projects. As a trained sociologist, I didn't come to the residential centre with a traditional education. But I also deal with funding and sponsorship, so I'm also partly a woman in the office. Whether it's art, theatre, care or nursing, it's very important to me that the residents feel valued.

Mica Kempe first came to the Arbeiter-Samariter-Bund residential centre almost 20 years ago. Her first good deed was to set up her own gallery for the residents. This was followed by various socio-cultural projects, which Mica Kempe managed independently. Together with interested residents, for example, she set up the Rembrandt artists' group, an art workshop. Many of the former residents have passed away, but the project lives on. "Projects like the theatre play or the art workshop are something special, have a long-lasting effect and are very memorable for the residents. These highlights away from everyday life are wonderful. For everyone."

Why does a theatre play lend itself to inclusion? What can theatre do that school or home can't?
Theatre creates an incredible amount of motivation. The willingness to show yourself on stage and be the centre of attention is a great challenge. When you have finally made it, the pride in yourself is all the greater. The masks also play an important role. Although you show yourself on stage, you can still hide behind it. The mask is a wonderful medium that you create yourself in order to identify with your role.
This motivation is more than you can achieve in a therapy situation. For example, if you have to make a sweeping arm movement in therapy, then you just do it. But if you have to do it on a stage and are watched by over 100 pairs of eyes at the same time, it gives people an incredible incentive to try an even better, bigger, more sweeping arm movement. The disabled people also want to perform and are prepared to go beyond their own limits. That's very, very nice. Performing on a stage makes the whole thing much more valuable.
The residents need a lot of time to cope with everyday life. The free time slots are sometimes very tight, so a theatre rehearsal like this is an exciting moment in the weekly rhythm.

The residential centre is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year. A big party will be held on 10 May. The residents and those involved in the residential centre want to use the day not only as an opportunity to draw attention to the centre's past highlights and achievements, but also to address the changes and bottlenecks in care that are currently omnipresent.

Chemnitz is applying to be European Capital of Culture 2025. What would you like to see for the city by then?
Chemnitz can become even more colourful, cheerful, lively and diverse in many places. I often cycle through the city, and when I look into the faces of the people of Chemnitz, I realise that there is still a portion of life satisfaction and charisma missing. This is transferred to the city and vice versa. The Capital of Culture is a very big concept that has a very powerful effect. The Capital of Culture can create a moment to give the city a lot of attention on a one-off basis. However, it is more important that everyone makes a small contribution to making the city a better place to live and that the activities have a long-lasting effect.