The play “Arranged!” served up “discourse tidbits” on the future of nutrition for three days
#Osnabrück, November 14, 2024
The performances of the #discourse theater piece “Anrichten!” on November 9th, November 11th and November 12th, 2024 in the “#emma #theater” in Osnabrück offered more than “just” theater; They triggered an interactive exchange between #science, #society and #art, which actively involved viewers in the discussion about nutrition in the future. Developed as part of the “Growth” project at Osnabrück University of Applied Sciencesunder the direction of theater educators Prof. Dr. Bernd Ruping and Frederik Hochheimer as well as the nutritionist Prof. Dr. Dorothee Straka, based the piece on #dialogue and #participation.
The stage play presented scientifically based views in “discourse bites” that were grippingly staged and brought to life through audience participation. Prof. Dr. Ruping, scientific director of the Discourse Theater sub-project, is enthusiastic: “The aesthetic value of the performance – measured by the tension between what is happening on stage and the audience – was high: the audience “went along” and showed a great willingness to take up the impulses from the beginning, and The singing and dancing elements were met with applause and people also sang along.” This emotional opening of the audience conclusively prepared the decisive part of what was intended theater format: the discourse.
Interactive content about the nutritional transition
Right from the start, the audience was divided into small groups that functioned as “nutrition councils.” In three discussion phases, participants were able to exchange their perspectives on the future of nutrition, address topics such as climate change, animal welfare and scarcity of resources and contribute their ideas for a more sustainable diet. During the phases of the group discussions within the audience, there was an atmosphere of intense willingness to engage in dialogue across rows of seats that were partially separated. Prof. Dr. Ruping adds: »The discourses were intensive, positions were taken, opposing positions were argued, interim results and coherent sentences were recorded. In my group, the lack of time for the discussion was regretted and the new mix of spectators in the groups was generally welcomed.
The evening impressively demonstrated how important the topic of #nutrition is as a social question and how great the population’s interest is in having an influence on shaping their eating habits.
»Arranged!« was a lively exchange of thoughts and visions that eliminated the space between #stage and #audience. »The energy between the actors was high from the start; the complex text structures appeared “incorporated,” which influenced the presence in the interactions and the way the audience was addressed by the “4. “The wall was clearly compacted,” Ruping continued.
Frederik Hochheimer, director of the play, reports: “The highly motivated ensemble unfolded the sometimes contradictory viewpoints and complex arguments of a necessary nutritional change with its scientific background and social implications with ease, strong images and musical interjections.”
Impulses for #politics and #science
In the final round, suggestions for nutrition policy were collected. The ideas are intended to serve as an impetus for local politics and science, and the results will also be published on the project website. An interim conclusion is given by Prof. Dr. Ruping: “Individual morality and acceptance of responsibility stood alongside the conviction that without changing “the system,” the necessary change in thinking and acting will not take place to the necessary extent. The helplessness before the unleashed logic of capital was palpable, as was a frustration with the ineffectiveness of science, which has been providing the facts about the climate catastrophe and the need for a change in eating habits for decades.
The theater teacher goes on to add: “Equally, and with the same intensity, there was also a good feeling of self-understanding between people with the same interest: a “nevertheless” that could develop in the physical co-presence and the committed, attentive sociability on the basis of the theater impulses «.
With “Anrichten!”, Osnabrück University of Applied Sciences has created a new format that stimulates thought and action in a unique way. On three evenings in front of almost sold-out audiences, the enthusiastic ensemble showed how the transfer of knowledge, social participation and discourse can be entertaining. “With ease and without any moral pointing fingers, the views on a necessary change in nutrition became tangible and open to discussion,” concluded Hochheimer. An evening at the theater that will not only be remembered, but also opens up perspectives for the future.
In order to bring the discourse from the theater further into the center of society, it is planned to also perform the play in public spaces, for example in schools and market squares in the Osnabrück Lingen region.
About the “Growth” project
Together in the Osnabrück Lingen region: change through participation. Osnabrück University of Applied Sciences is taking the future issues of the region into account in the “Growth” project: We show what science can do and want to shape change together.
Bringing society together is the goal of the “Growth” project. The #Osnabrück University project impressed in the “Innovative University” funding initiative competition and will receive around 8.6 million euros in funding from the federal and state governments over the five-year project period. We want to promote the exchange of knowledge, stimulate new ideas and promote change together with the region. To do this, we bring together science and #business, #politics and #associations and address the issues in society. More
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