Interview: Andreas Gergen of FROM ACTOR TO DIRECTOR at Bühne Baden

Andreas Gergen: It didn't start with a big revelation. It started quietly — at the Saarländisches Staatstheater in Saarbrücken. I was very young and curious. I danced in the ballet. I sang in the chorus. I played small roles. I absorbed everything. I was fascinated by the machinery of theatre, not just what happened under the spotlight, but what happened in the shadows. I remember standing in the wings, watching a scene unfold, sensing how light, music, and movement created something almost magical. That feeling never left me. Those early years shaped me profoundly. Moving between disciplines — dance, singing, acting — made me understand that storytelling is physical, musical, and psychological at the same time. Eventually, that curiosity became a decision: I wanted to master all three disciplines. In 1995, I began formal training in musical theatre — dance, voice, acting — because I felt that this art form demanded total commitment. In 1999, I received my first major engagement in Der Glöckner von Notre Dame at Theater am Potsdamer Platz in Berlin. It was an extraordinary experience — being part of a large-scale production, feeling the energy of a new musical finding its audience. But something else happened there. I found myself increasingly drawn to the overall picture. I was not only thinking about my own role — I was thinking about structure, about rhythm, about how scenes could shift emotionally. I was observing the director as closely as I was performing. For several years, I lived in both worlds. I stood on stage and began directing in parallel. It was an intense and formative time. Eventually, I had to make a choice. And I realized that my true passion was shaping the whole narrative — creating the world in which others could shine. So I stepped fully into directing. It wasn't a departure from the stage. It was an expansion of it.

Andreas Gergen: Absolutely. For me, the separation is artificial. Both opera and musical theatre are forms of heightened storytelling. In both, music carries emotion beyond language. Because I began as a performer, I deeply respect vocal and musical craft. Opera taught me structural thinking — the architecture of an evening. Musical theatre taught me immediacy and contemporary rhythm. I never saw them as opposing worlds, but as different dialects of the same language.

 

Andreas Gergen: Preparation is a long process of asking questions. Why this piece? Why now? What does it say about the society we live in? I research extensively — historically and politically. I speak with designers early. I build visual and dramaturgical frameworks. But I also try to leave space for surprise. The rehearsal room must be alive. If everything is predetermined, theatre loses its pulse.

Andreas Gergen: There are certainly pieces that have accompanied me for years. But programming a season is not about personal ambition — it's about dialogue. I see a season as a composition. It needs contrast. It needs tension. It needs emotional range. I want audiences to experience lightness and depth, intimacy and spectacle — and to leave the theatre with something to think about.

Andreas Gergen: What interests me most about Wicked is its political core. It's about how societies construct enemies about power, propaganda, and the rewriting of truth. That makes it incredibly relevant. Choosing a non-replica approach was essential. I am not interested in reproducing something frame by frame. I am interested in reinterpretation. In dialogue. In asking what this story means here and now. For Baden, it was important to make a statement: we can honor Broadway while creating our own artistic language.

 

Andreas Gergen: Both require courage. A new show is vulnerable. There are no references, no comparisons. You build something from the ground up. A familiar show comes with expectations. You must respect its legacy while daring to question it. For me, the most important thing is always honesty — whether the piece feels necessary.

Andreas Gergen: I am deeply interested in immersive formats — theatre that physically shifts perspective. Audiences today crave experiences that cannot be streamed or replicated. I'm currently exploring projects that challenge spatial conventions and invite the audience to become part of the narrative world. That excites me enormously.

Andreas Gergen: I'm drawn to epic narratives with mythic and political layers. Stories about power, responsibility, and moral ambiguity. But theatre must add something essential — presence, risk, collective breath. Without that, adaptation has no purpose.

 

Andreas Gergen: Audiences have become more visually sophisticated and faster in their perception. They consume enormous amounts of content daily. That means theatre must be precise — but it must not become superficial. What hasn't changed is the human need for collective experience. When hundreds of people breathe together in a dark auditorium, something almost ritualistic happens. That cannot be replaced by streaming.

Andreas Gergen: I don't see theatre as moral instruction — but I do see it as a space for reflection. Art has the responsibility to ask questions, not to provide easy answers. When planning a season, it truly is a tightrope walk. You want to entertain, move, challenge, and inspire — and ideally all at once. I believe audiences are intelligent and curious. We should trust them with complexity.

Andreas Gergen: In the auditorium. Listening. Feeling. The premiere no longer belongs to me. It belongs to the cast and the audience.

Andreas Gergen: My phonebook reflects years in this industry — extraordinary artists, inspiring collaborators. But what matters to me is not how famous someone is, but how curious they are. As for my playlist — it's eclectic. Symphonic music, film scores, and contemporary composers. And perhaps one or two tracks that could be interpreted as a discreet hint toward something that might be coming next.

Andreas Gergen: The performer in me might be tempted. But my job is to build structures that don't depend on me stepping in. Still, once you've stood on stage, that feeling never completely leaves you. It remains part of your artistic DNA.

To learn more about Andreas Gergen, visit: https://www.andreasgergen.com/

For further information about the Bühne Baden, visit: https://www.buehnebaden.at/en

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