Stage Adventures

Whether it’s Hercules, Frodo, Jimi Hendrix or your best friend who helps you with your term paper: We are quick to call them our “hero” or “heroine”. “Laut & Lyrik” (Loud & Lyrics), the talk theater group from the Department of German at the University of Freiburg, dedicates itself to heroes in its new play. For the upcoming premiere of the program “I dare you,” five actors explain to Pascal Lienhard what they think a hero is.

“Laut & Lyrik” is a talk theater group from the Department of German at the University of Freiburg.
Photo: Thomas Kunz

Jonathan Löffelbein

I don’t believe in heroes. Of course there are people who do good, or even something heroic, every day. But in general I view the term “hero” rather critically. The emergence of such a figure is always accompanied by an exaggeration of their person. The heroic part of the person is the focus and gets amplified. Other parts of the person’s personality, the somewhat less heroic bits, are completely ignored in order to maintain the desired image.”
Photo: Thomas Kunz

Charlotte Besch

“A hero is someone to whom I can look up. Such people exist in both positive and negative ways, however. For one, a hero can do good. That is what others want. On the other hand, such a person could also have done something terrible. People want to purposefully distance themselves from such heroes, or anti-heroes. Besides, there are heroes in various contexts, both large and small. Then, along with those who mean a lot to a lot of people, you have your every day hero.”
Photo: Thomas Kunz

Felix Lorenz

“A hero to me is someone who acts selflessly. He is someone who sacrifices himself in some way for other people. He is committed to things for which other people would not work. He says things others wouldn’t dare say to others. But it is also important for heroes to remain objective. He shouldn’t fight for just one thing or one side. If he did that and acted too subjectively, he would quickly become a blind hero. Instead, he always has to keep an eye on both sides in clashes between two groups. He has to weigh these and be there for both sides."
Photo: Thomas Kunz

Deborah Ewert

“A hero is someone who doesn’t just do things for himself. He acts according to the interests of others, a certain group or community. It is not about himself. But here’s the thing about heroes: I do not think much of automatically equating a hero with a role model. Especially the concept of the war hero is very problematic and negatively connoted. Generally speaking, a hero should be someone who has a positive attitude. He has to stand for something. He represents something bigger than himself."
Photo: Thomas Kunz

Achim Oestmann

“There are all kinds of heroes in my view. For one, it describes a person who is there for a lot of people and has meaning. But then there are the heroes who have a meaning for one person, the every day heroes. They could be fathers or mothers. But the police force and the fire department are also filled with heroes in my mind. War heroes are a dangerous category. Amongst writers there are differing views about them: Some glorify them while others find them quite problematic. In any case, it makes sense of recognize the various types of heroes that exist.”
Photo: Thomas Kunz

New program

The talk theater group “Laut & Lyrik” will present its latest program, “I dare you” on March 16, 17 and 18 at 8pm in the rectorate theater hall at the Fahnenbergplatz. Tickets are on sale at the bookstore Walthari and at www.pakt-ev.de. From March 27-31 the group will also be on stage at E-Werk. Tickets are on sale for that event at www.reservix.de.

Laut & Lyrik