Deutschsprachige Theater-Journale / German-Language Theater Journals (1772-1918). Herausgeberinnen und Herausgeber / Editors
von Paul S. UlrichEine der wichtigsten Quellen für die Forschung zur Geschichte des (Musik-)Theaters sind Thea-ter-Journale und -Almanache.
Lokale Theater-Journale geben eine Rückschau auf die vergangene Saison einer Spielstätte und sind häufig die einzige Quelle zum künstlerischen wie technischen Personal eines Theaters. In der Regel von Souffleuren und Souffleusen einer Bühne auf eigene Kosten hergestellt und als Zu-satzverdienst verkauft, waren sie für das lokale Publikum gedacht und enthalten oft auch Gedich-te, Anekdoten oder Couplets.
Universale Theater-Almanache verzeichnen hingegen internationale deutschsprachige Thea-tergesellschaften samt Personal in über 3.600 Orten. Die Angaben wurden im Herbst von der jeweiligen Direktion an eine Redaktion berichtet, die Almanache und Jahrbücher wurden überregi-onal vertrieben und meist über einen längeren Zeitraum herausgegeben.
Die erste Lieferung der Reihe Topographie und Repertoire des Theaters umfasst die Bibliographie der lokalen Theater-Journale (Band I), das Ver-zeichnis der zugehörigen Herausgeberinnen und Herausgeber samt Auszügen aus Theater-Gesetzen für Souffleure und Souffleusen sowie Gedichte und Prosatexte derselben (Band II) und Verzeichnisse der in Theater-Journalen und -Almanachen abgedruckten Spielplanverzeichnis-se, geordnet nach Chronologie, Topographie und Direktionen (Band III).
Die zweite Lieferung (Winter 2022/2023) prä-sentiert die Bibliographie der universalen Thea-ter-Almanache samt Inhaltsverzeichnissen (Band IV) und ein Register, das Personen, Werke, Orte und Schlagworte enthält (Band V).
Die dritte Lieferung (Frühling 2023) dokumen-tiert in zwei Bänden die Abbildungen in Theater-Journalen und -Almanachen, wobei Personen, Stücke, Theater (Außen- und Innenansichten, Sitzpläne) Berücksichtigung finden (Band VI, 1-2).
One of the most important sources for writing the history of (musical) theater are theater jour-nals and almanacs. Local theater journals review a single venue’s past season and are often the only source on a theater’s artistic as well as technical personnel. Usually produced by the prompter at his or her own expense and peddled as a source for sup-plemental income, they were intended for local audiences and often included poems, anecdotes, or couplets. Universal theater almanacs, on the other hand, list international German-speaking theater companies and their personnel in over 3,600 locations. The information was reported in the fall by the respective management to an editorial office; the almanacs and yearbooks were distrib-uted nationwide and usually published over a longer period of time. The first shipment of three publications within the Topography and Repertoire of Theater series encompasses the bibliography of the local thea-ter journals (Volume I), the directory of the edi-tors including excerpts from theater laws for prompters as well as poems and prose texts in-cluded in the journals by the prompters (Vol-ume II) and a directory of the repertoires printed in theater journals and almanacs, arranged chronologically, topographically and by director (Volume III). The second shipment (winter 2022/2023) will encompass the bibliography of the universal theater almanacs including tables of contents (Volume IV) and an index containing persons, works, places and keywords (Volume V). The third shipment (spring 2023) will encom-pass a two-volume directory of the illustrations in theater journals and almanacs, taking into account persons, plays, theaters (exterior and interior views, seating plans) (Volume VI, 1-2).
One of the most important sources for writing the history of (musical) theater are theater jour-nals and almanacs. Local theater journals review a single venue’s past season and are often the only source on a theater’s artistic as well as technical personnel. Usually produced by the prompter at his or her own expense and peddled as a source for sup-plemental income, they were intended for local audiences and often included poems, anecdotes, or couplets. Universal theater almanacs, on the other hand, list international German-speaking theater companies and their personnel in over 3,600 locations. The information was reported in the fall by the respective management to an editorial office; the almanacs and yearbooks were distrib-uted nationwide and usually published over a longer period of time. The first shipment of three publications within the Topography and Repertoire of Theater series encompasses the bibliography of the local thea-ter journals (Volume I), the directory of the edi-tors including excerpts from theater laws for prompters as well as poems and prose texts in-cluded in the journals by the prompters (Vol-ume II) and a directory of the repertoires printed in theater journals and almanacs, arranged chronologically, topographically and by director (Volume III). The second shipment (winter 2022/2023) will encompass the bibliography of the universal theater almanacs including tables of contents (Volume IV) and an index containing persons, works, places and keywords (Volume V). The third shipment (spring 2023) will encom-pass a two-volume directory of the illustrations in theater journals and almanacs, taking into account persons, plays, theaters (exterior and interior views, seating plans) (Volume VI, 1-2).
