Berlin Stories

Berlin Stories

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Berlin Stories
13. New Dramaturgical Tool: Dialectical Scene Montage

13. New Dramaturgical Tool: Dialectical Scene Montage

Lessons of the 'Troupe 1931' Theater Ensemble

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Topper Sherwood
Sep 11, 2023
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Berlin Stories
Berlin Stories
13. New Dramaturgical Tool: Dialectical Scene Montage
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The original author of these essays was Ingeborg Franke von Wangenheim.

Still from ‘Man with a Movie Camera’ (kinoklassikafoundation.org)

At this point, Wangenheim talked to us about a subtle editing structure that he’d used to turn our nonfiction material into a dramatic story. He described for us a piece of literary/theatrical architecture he called “dialectical scene montage.”1 In retrospect, I don’t believe that this device has ever found such a skillfully conscious and consistent expression, as it did in our production of “The Mousetrap.”

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