Martin Jörg Schäfer & Alexander Weinstock 
Theatre in Handwriting 
Hamburg Prompt Book Practices, 1770s-1820s

In German spoken theatre, prompt books used to be written by multiple participants engaging in diverse manuscript practices which continually revise the unfixed literary text within its theatrical context. Based on examples of the vast Hamburg »Theatre-Library« from the 1770s to 1820s, this study proposes a transdisciplinary approach towards handwritten artefacts in modern European theatre. Martin Jörg Schäfer and Alexander Weinstock examine the many-handed creation, handwritten transformation and often decades of use of prompt books in a time increasingly dominated by print. This perspective changes our notion of theatre history around 1800 as well as that of literature and authorship.

About the author

Martin Jörg Schäfer teaches modern German literature and theatre at Universität Hamburg. His research examines literature, theatre and theory from the 18th century to the present with a focus on the (historical, theoretical and praxeological) relationships between theatre and text.
Alexander Weinstock works as a dramaturg at Theater an der Ruhr in Mühlheim an der Ruhr. His research focusses on literature and culture of the 18th century, models of aesthetic education, and the history and theory of theatre.