How can one represent great historical moments: the rebellion of the people, the collapse of a regime, the breaking down of the borders? What stays in the memory years later: a photo, a gesture, a slogan? If you could go back in time , which role would you like to play: someone in the crowd, a speaker, a policeman?

The project starts with an Add on the newspaper and other media with an open call to participate in a re-enactment of a demonstration that happened in the past. Using a mixed format that includes both Americal idol and political recruitment, a jury of artists interviews the masses and make them perform in private. Every one of the participants is confronted with his ideas, memories and imagination of the events: Where was I when it happened? Did I participate, did I see it on TV, did I hear from it? Which images stayed in my mind? How could I reconstruct them? How far am I willing to go?

A durational performance with an audition format: spontaneous performers are acting in front of a camera without rehearsals; the text is written as the performers speak, the audience is protagonist and spectator at the same time. Audition for a demonstration deals with the collective memory, the mediatisation of politics, the relationship between fiction and History. The play is a portable concept: in each city, there is a re-enactment of a local demonstration.

PRESS

Credits

2019 BERLIN (MAXIM-GORKI THEATER - HAUS DER STATISTIK)
On Alexanderplatz, directly in front of the House of Statistics occurred one of the most important demonstration in the history of Germany on the 4th November 1989, iniciated by actors and artists. 30 years after the fall of the GDR, we invited people to remember their personal history and re-enact collective moments. 
Concept Lola Arias & Aljoscha Begrich
DIRECTION Lola Arias 
VIDEO Mikko Gaestel, Stefan Korsinsky, Lilli Kuschel, Julian Brinkmann
VIDEO RESEARCH Borjana Gaković
CASTING Hendrik Kraft
COSTUMES Lenna Stamm
MAKE-UP Olga Weber
SET Shahrzad Rahmani
PRODUCTION Dag Lohde
TECHNICAL DIRECTOR Joachim Hering
ASSISTANT DIRECTOR Laura Cecilia Nicolás, Branko Janack
DRAMATURGY ASSISTANT Clara Probst
SET ASSISTANT Inga Aleknaviciute, Pia Grüter
PROPS INTERNSHIP Alice Faucher

2017 BUENOS AIRES (Centro Cultural General San Martín)
15 years after the crisis of the 19. and 20. December 2001, Audition for a demonstration is presented at the second Performance Bienale to reconstruct the events of two of the most significant days in the last decades in Argentina.
Concept Lola Arias
Production and research Lucila Piffer
Dramaturgie and artistic collaboration Julián D´Angiolillo
Research Lucía Ulanovsky
Technical direction David Seldes
Video Marcos Medici
Costume Candela Rosito
Research consultant María Moreno
Production assistant Silvina Bernabé Flores
Technical assistant Facundo David
Costume assistant Laura García Bustos
Sound Francisco Pérez, Guido Compagno
Video assistants Nicolás Tordó, Marco Barbieri, Daniela Pessi, Martín Halliburton
Photography Gonzalo Martínez

2015 PRAGUE (Archa Theater)
On Novembre 21st, 1989, the demonstration at Wenceslas Square took place. It is not just a symbolic date, but the day on which the revolutionary events moved a significant step forward. Václav Havel made his first public speech from the Melantrich balcony. 26 years later, visitors to the Archa Theatre were able to decide whether to become direct actors in the reconstruction of this historic moment or remain mere spectators.
Concept Lola Arias
Video Mikko Gaestel
Dramaturgy Ondřej Hrab and Ondřej Cihlář.

2015 ATHENS (Onassis Cultural Centre)
On 17th november, 1973, demonstrations against the greek military junta escalated quickly after the first barricades of students early on that month. 43 years later, the audience in Centro Cultural Onassis was invited to answer the question: if you could travel back in time, which role would you like to play?
Concept and Dramaturgy Lola Arias
Artistic collaboration Aljoscha Bregrich
Research and Dramaturgie for the Greek version Prodromos Tsinikoris
Research Assistant Ioanna Valsamidou
Video Mikko Gaestel
Video Assistant Oliwia Twardowska
Director’s Assistant Liana Taousiani
Assistants to the costume designer Alexandra Delitheou, Vassiliki Sourri
Historical consultant Dr Leonidas Kallivretakis (National Hellenic Research Foundation)
Volunteers Dimitra Dermitzaki, Eleni Euthymiou, Vicky Nikolaidou, Vassilis Skarmoutsos, Elena Stauropoulou
Simultaneous translation Nikos Pratsinis

2014 BERLIN (MAXIM-Gorki Theater)
On November 9th, 2014, there was a re-enactment of the Alexander Platz demonstration that took place on November 4th 1989 where thousands of people asked for deep changes in the Regime of RDA. In the 2014 version participated about 500 people from 7 to 75 years old from many different nationalities, including Singaporeans, Egyptians, Argentineans, English, Greeks and Germans.
Concept Lola Arias
Dramaturgy Aljoscha Begrich
Video Mikko Gaestel