32. Wanted: New Material
Lessons of the 'Troupe 1931' Theater Ensemble
The original author of these essays was Ingeborg Franke von Wangenheim.
At the start of 1933, the members of Troupe31 celebrated the two-year anniversary of our now-successful organization. At the time, however, the worsening political and social environment caused us to suffer a program shortage. We desperately needed more writers who were willing and able to produce original and suitably courageous material for us. Their numbers fell, understandably, with the sudden rise of the Nazis in the government.
Our problem was compounded by the fact that Wangenheim had been able to win a commission for a new Troupe31 play, to be presented at the Little Theater on Schiffbauerdamm. We were supposed to have the play ready to stage in three months, but we didn’t even have anything started.
