Worksop and two panel discussions
21st + 22nd June 2021
Theater der Welt Festival Düsseldorf
Theater der Welt Festival Düsseldorf
Link to press release on “Literary Translation vs. Surtitles” (German)
“To be or not to be” belongs equally to our cultural memory as Goethe’s “And here! poor fool…”. Drama translations are such an everyday normality on our stages that sometimes we’re not even aware that we’re dealing with a translation. The painful maxim therefore applies to the literary translation of drama for the stage: the better the translation, the clearer the author’s voice, the more invisible the translator.
Drama translation is intended to be spoken, theatre surtitles have to be quickly legible. Is the latter literature too? What does that mean for the style, rhythm and quality of the text? Are theatre surtitles and drama translations two sides of the same coin, or two entirely different fields that are loosely related? Do they interfere with or benefit each other? We wish to pursue these questions practically in a workshop and on a theoretical level in two panel discussions.
| 21.06.2021 12:00 – 16:00 | DRAGÓN – THE THREE-HEADED DRAGON Translating drama and theatre surtitling in practice Translation workshop |
| 21.06.2021 21:00 | Between politics and theatre – Guillermo Calderón’s work translated for the German stage Panel discussion |
| 22.06.2021 18:00 | Drama translation versus surtitles Panel discussion |
DRAGÓN – THE THREE-HEADED DRAGON
Translating drama and theatre surtitling in practice
Translation workshop
Translating drama presents very different challenges depending on the play and context: how do you translate differently if you’re translating for a German production or surtitling a touring production? What does the limited space of the surtitle and the need for legibility/rhythm do to the text? How do you deal with wordplay and local references? How can the subtleties of language be compensated for despite the shortening, which aspects are highlighted as a result of this brevity? What different challenges do we face when translating and surtitling in digital and analogue formats?
We will work on the example of the Chilean play Dragón by Guillermo Calderón, which has been translated by translator Franziska Muche both as a “literary translation” and will be surtitled during the Theater der Welt festival, along with selected excerpts chosen by the participants. The workshop will take place digitally as an online seminar, participation is free. We will provide more information should you be accepted to participate. We will work across languages; knowledge of Spanish is not a requirement.
REQUIREMENTS
The workshop is aimed at translators, students and theatre-makers.
Please send your application by email with a CV and a brief introduction letter to: Drama Panorama e. V., Dorothea Lautenschläger dorothea.lautenschlaeger@drama-panorama.com.
Applicants have the option to send in a short text excerpt in original and translation/surtitles (max. 1500 characters), which provide an example of specific problems/questions.
Application deadline extended to 10th June!
The binding invitation to the workshop will be sent on 14th June 2021.
Facilitated by: Franziska Muche // Lecture: Dr Yvonne Griesel // Opening remarks: PD Dr. Vera Elisabeth Gerling
Drama translation versus surtitles
Panel discussion
More and more frequently surtitles are used to communicate the language spoken on the stage. Usually a new translation is produced for each specific production – according to the practical aspects in terms of timing and space determined by the production. Or the surtitles are based on existing versions, and translations of drama are adapted for the surtitles – this requires a very different focus and provides opportunities, but also contains some traps, because in this case the surtitler shortens a text that has been carefully composed by the dramaturgy department. Different worlds collide. What conflicts can arise, what are the specifics, where are the opportunities in cooperations like these?
Discussion with: Christopher-Fares Köhler (Dortmund), Karen Witthuhn (Hamburg), Uli Menke (Brest), Franziska Muche (Berlin) // Chaired by: Dr. Yvonne Griesel (Sprachspiel) // Introduction: PD Dr. Vera Elisabeth Gerling, Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf
Between politics and theatre –
Guillermo Calderón and his translations
Podium
Guillermo Calderón (Santiago de Chile), writer and director of the guest production “Dragón” in discussion with Almut Wagner, head dramaturge of the Residenztheater München, on social reception and language transfer using the example of his plays. Chaired by Hedda Kage, who will draw attention to problems of translating local and political references to the German-speaking context based on the themes in his work.
Welcome and chairing of the panel discussion afterwards: PD Dr. Vera Elisabeth Gerling, Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf.
