Hotel Subbotnik. Academy for Applied Life

Although today's schools prepare us for life, they do not prepare us for all of life's pitfalls. For instance, what do we do with the sudden excess of free time when we lose our job, or how do we deal with too much work? The TheaterFABRIK Gera's ,Hotel Subbotnik - Academy for Applied Life' claims to have the answers. In October 2008, the project ,Hotel Subbotnik' hosted a two-week continuing education programme on alternative strategies for dealing with work and leisure at a vacated government building in Gera. In courses, seminars and open visiting hours, the public was able to experiment with unusual working and living concepts, providing them with a new view of their own working and recreational behaviour. For example, visitors of the ,Museum of Extinct Work' could learn more about services which existed in ancient times and theoretically could become significant again today. In a 1 1/2-year long preliminary phase, the curriculum for the training modules, workshops, performances, theatre productions and discussions was developed and designed by artists in cooperation with numerous organizations, associations, institutions and committed citizens of Gera. All course offerings and activities has been compiled into a ,Textbook for Applied Life'.

Artistic directors: Sinje Homann, Susanne Harkort

Participating artists: San Keller, John Martin, Ives Thuwis, Dieter Heilmeyer, Thomas Freyer, Mela Maierhaus, Aurel Ferrier & Elsbeth Wegmann, Michi Hollstein and others

Venues and schedule:
Gera: 27 Sep. - 12 Oct. 2008