Laut den österreichischen Förderrichtlinien engagiert sich der Bund im Wege der privatwirtschaftlichen Verwaltung im Bereich der Kunstförderung subsidiär zur Zuständigkeit der Länder.

Somit ist eine Förderung der (Land) Stadt Wien notwendig um auch für eine Bundesförderung ansuchen zu können.

Mit der Kulturabteilung der Stadt Wien sind wir im Gespräch. Jedoch gestaltet sich die Situation noch sehr schwierig, da im Moment viele Theater Hilfe benötigen.

Diese Petition soll helfen unser Theater zu retten, sowie die besondere Kunstform des Marionettenspiels in Wien. Weltweit wird diese Spielform nur noch von wenigen Künstlern beherrscht.

Bitte unterstützen Sie uns mit Ihrer Unterschrift.

Vielen Dank! Christine Hierzer-Riedler

MARIONETTENTHEATER SCHLOSS SCHÖNBRUNN 1130 Wien | Schloss Schönbrunn – Hofratstrakt Tel.: +43 1 817 32 47 office@marionettentheater.at | https://www.marionettentheater.at

[ENGLISH VERSION]

Petition for the preservation of the art of theatrical performing with Marionettes at Schönbrunn Palace.

Our theatre was able to operate without being subsidised due to careful planning and the support from international tours and business management until the Covid 19 crisis. However, an end of the Covid 19 crisis is not in sight and our seating capacity is now very limited due to the social-distancing rules, which has led to a major loss of revenue, and covering the operational costs of the theatre will no longer be possible.

If this situation continues it is doubtful that the theatre will survive and we will all have lost a part of our cultural heritage.

Puppetry is both a special and unique form of art which still exists in Austria and is registered in the list of Intangible UNESCO Cultural Heritage. The depiction of a miniature world on stage is what makes this art form so special, and it was the art of puppet theatre and the creation of marionettes and costumes that was the decisive criteria for inclusion on the Cultural Heritage List.

The Schönbrunn Palace Marionettes Theatre has been performing in the Hofratstrakt of Schönbrunn Palace for more than 25 years. It a privately run theatre company and the two founders and artistic directors, Christine Hierzer-Riedler and Werner Hierzer, have more than 40 years of international experience in the art of puppetry. Yearly, the fifteen members of our experienced team have given some 400 performances for approximately 22,000 visitors, 60 percent of whom came from abroad.

We have also given additional performances on worldwide tours in cities such as Athens, Amman, Dubai, Darmstadt, Gdansk, Dhahran, Daegu, Graz, Innsbruck, Hong Kong, Klagenfurt, Naples, Nicosia, Beijing, Rome, Seoul, Shanghai, Stratford (Canada), Tehran, Tenerife, etc.

The productions of the Marionette Theatre in Schönbrunn Palace are created in collaboration with stage and costume designers, sculptors, authors, composers and directors, and only differ from normal (human) theatrical performances in the smaller size and scale of the stage and puppets.

UNESCO

In September 2016, UNESCO included the Salzburg Marionette Theatre in its list of Intangible World Cultural Heritage sites as “the most highly developed form of puppetry and figure theatre". This traditional playing technique was established 25 years ago in Salzburg and Vienna and is constantly being developed and refined and has since been adopted by the The Schönbrunn Palace Marionettes Theatre.

Our theatre was able to operate without being subsidised due to careful planning and the support from international tours and business management until the Covid 19 crisis. However, an end of the Covid 19 crisis is not in sight and our seating capacity is now very limited due to the social-distancing rules, which has led to a major loss of revenue, and covering the operational costs of the theatre will no longer be possible. If this situation continues it is doubtful that the theatre will survive and we will all have lost a part of our cultural heritage.

According to the Austrian funding guidelines, support from the municipality of Vienna is necessary in order to apply for Federal State funding.

The Schönbrunn Palace Marionettes Theatre is not only a theatre but also an international training centre for puppetry and at present we are discussing the possibility of obtaining support from the Cultural Department of the municipality of Vienna, but the situation is very difficult, because many theatres need financial support in this difficult time.

This petition is intended to help preserve this form of puppet theatre, which is recognised as part of the world’s cultural heritage programme, and the performance techniques which are only mastered by a few puppeteers of whom many were trained and still perform at Schönbrunn.

Thank you very much for your support!

Christine Hierzer-Riedler MARIONETTENTHEATER SCHLOSS SCHÖNBRUNN 1130 Wien Schloss Schönbrunn – Hofratstrakt Tel.: +43 1 817 32 47