1. The Beginnings of Modern Realism (Saxe-Meiningen: The Duke)
Georg II, Duke of Saxe-Meiningen, received extensive art training prior to ascending to the throne in 1866.
He immediately took a personal interest in the court theatre and began to change its repertory.
Ludwig Chronegk was appointed as the first “director” of the Meiningen Players.
He acted more like a modern-day producer, organizing tours and arranging performances.
Ellen Franz, who began an actress in the company but became the duke’s third wife, also influenced the Meiningen Players.
She proposed repertory, adapted texts, and supervised stage speech.
Despite multiple heavy influences, it is typical to assign the credit to the duke.
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2. The Beginnings of Modern Realism (Saxe-Meiningen: The Meiningen Players)
The Meiningen Players gained fame in the 1870s.
They played exclusively in Meiningen (Germany) from 1866 to 1874, but appeared in Berlin in 1874 and began touring immediately after.
They toured from 1874 to 1890 and played in 38 cities in 9 countries!
Repertory consisted primarily of works by Shakespeare, Schiller, Grillparzer, & 19th-century romantic playwrights.
The production of Julius Caesar in Berlin propelled the Meiningen Players into fame.
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3. The Beginnings of Modern Realism (Saxe-Meiningen: Becoming the First Director)
The duke’s primary goal was to do full justice to the scripts he chose.
As a result, his productions are often considered the most historically accurate of the 19th century.
He divided each century into thirds, and further distinguished among national differences within each time period.
He also refused to allow actors to tamper with their costumes (previous tradition was that stars either supplied their own costumes or would alter as they saw fit what the theatre provided).
He insisted upon authentic materials instead of cheap substitutes: heavy upholstery fabrics, genuine chainmail, swords and other weapons, authentic period furniture
The duke’s dedication to authenticity led to the creation of theatre production supply houses!
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4. The Beginnings of Modern Realism (Saxe-Meiningen: Becoming the First Director)
The duke designed all of the costumes, scenery, and properties used by the troupe.
Strong colors were used in scenery for the first time, instead of pastels.
This led to criticism at the time – productions were called “garish” by some critics.
He was opposed to sky borders, and instead used foliage, beams, banners, etc. for overhead spaces.
He avoided symmetry (he thought it was unnatural) and carefully blended 3D and painted elements convincingly.
He was also one of the first artists to treat the stage floor as part of the design.
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5. The Beginnings of Modern Realism (Saxe-Meiningen: The Meiningen Players )
The Meiningen Players were primarily composed of beginners or older actors who had not attained outstanding success.
He used all actors not cast in leading roles in an ensemble, and used them to create notable, effective crowd scenes (which came to be called revolutionary).
The theatre was only open twice/week for 6 months in the year, so they benefitted from long rehearsal periods.
Actors were required to “act” from the very first rehearsal, with full settings, furniture, & props (though not always costumes).
The company stands at the beginning of the new movement toward unified production, in which each element is carefully selected because of its contribution to the total effect.
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