For the last couple of months, Verarius GmbH as an organization and I as a person had the privilege to support the production of “The Red Folder”. It is a theater play brought to the stage by The Urban Theater, a troupe compounded of artists who had to flee their countries since the war against Ukraine started in 2022. The play premiered in Berlin on May 16^th and 17^th. Both performances were sold out. If you have ever tried organizing any event in Berlin, you know how hard it is to get the location full (unless Lars Eidinger is your leading actor, then disregard the previous comment). Yet a totally unknown theater company with no budget, zero initial external financing and no command of German language made it happen within several weeks of preparation only. While theater critics and newspapers will do their due in bringing to the spotlight the artistic virtues of the play, I decided to present this case as an example of excellent project management and especially a study on dealing with change.

Without going too deep into the details and the background of the participants, I will only mention that the creators of the play are theater professionals with several decades of experience and a very strong network and reputation – in their hometown. After almost a yearlong and anything but straightforward relocation, the troupe realized that almost everyone had ended up in Berlin, and the decision was clear to make something beautiful out of this experience. The change that they had to go through during the last year is one of the most extreme ones you could face in your lifetime – the tissue of the everyday reality is relentlessly torn beyond repair by external events. And now you must build not just from what life throws at you, but from life’s shatters themselves. Observing the production from a very close distance, I found several behaviors and approaches striking and leaving a lasting impression.

First and foremost, it was the focus. The team was focused on what they still had at their disposal and dead set to work with what they still got, instead of trying to grasp in vain what was gone or comparing the current situation with how it used to be. This meant the ability to swiftly transfer the experience – keeping what works and quickly discarding what does not in the new environment. The director was able to communicate extremely clearly what the troupe needed, ask for help, and to work with external feedback. The troupe demonstrated the humble ability to take a step back in many respects and to become extremely resourceful and agile. Ideas and technical solutions were iterated with the speed of light and swiftly discarded with minimal material and emotional sunk cost. The variety of places (and times) where and when the troupe showed up for rehearsals was very colorful. In a nutshell, the director and the actors were ready to scale their expectations of others down, compromise on anything and minimize everything – but the quality of their work, dedication, and devotion. So, this project became a four-person play with a minimum of stage props and can be easily packed in two cars. This practical aspect brings us to the next point: building to last.

The project is planned to be taken on tours, festivals, etc., and to be shown again and again. Practically, this meant that having sold only five tickets a week before the grand premiere day, the team was rehearsing just as relentlessly as if they were preparing for the sold-out stage of Covent Garden or das Deutsche Theater. The director and the actors were mentally ready to deliver their best performance even to an almost empty audience (if need be) – and were pleasantly surprised that there was no room to swing a cat on both evenings. With that, the team demonstrated a “rehearsal attitude” to setbacks on the way: even if this particular performance does not result in a breakthrough, we keep working – until it ultimately does. Finally, this “rehearsal attitude” is the next of kin of the well-known theater mantra, “the show must go on”: you carry on and continue creating the reality, no matter what. And of course, this does not end on the edge of the stage only, and it is extremely inspiring and empowering to see this approach applied to “real-life situations”. Especially given how thin the threshold between theater and real life is.

Photographer: Nicolay Sirin