WOLFGANG MENARDI

SDM: What do you think about technology in the theater?

WM: I like technology at the theatre, but it is important to use ist wisely. I would never use it just because its cool or because I can. Theatre has its own rules, its own fascination, that lives from the live experience. Technology has to be part of a dramaturgiclly thought through visual storytelling, technology should alway support or really influence people on stage, it should never be just an decorative effect

SDM: What is your suggestion for people who approach the scenography?

WM: Theatre and opera is a weird world, you have to have a great passion for it. It is stressful and you will build things that will never last forever, you have to think out of the box, create things that won’t be possible in real live, you have to be able to think in abstract terms and you have to have a strong artistic point of view, you have to make artistic decisions and suggestions for the director, you have to be a great team player, it not just aesthetics you have to think always about the people on stage, how our set design influences them, you have to create stories with your design!

SDM: What inspire you to desigine motion stage?

WM: It is alway based on the play, the project the story , or because I want to create obstacles and material that influences the body’s of the people on stage in a way, that it is possible to have a creative playground.. that sets some rules…

SDM: What do you like most about your job?

WM: Work with so many people together, a set design is something that can only glow when all the other ingredients glow, this can be alchemy in a beautiful way.

SDM: How did you get started breaking into the business?

WM: I was an actor for more than 9 years, but my approach to acting was always different, and I thought a lot about the space that was around me more than about psychology of the figures and I decided to try out whether creating worlds, so I startet on very small stages and I studied architecture, because after 10 years of professional acting I knew enough about theatre, my understanding of actors really helped to succeed in my profession.