We want a good life! This means that we sometimes hold on to things that promise us such a life without actually delivering it. In that sense, they are a mirage – traces of the kind of happiness that immediately fizzles out.
»A relation of cruel optimism exists when something you desire is actually an obstacle to your flourishing«, explains cultural theorist Lauren Berlant. What do we use to plug up the gaps we have? Which treatments turn out to be poison? What items do we raise up even further on a pedestal just so we don’t have to admit that the very item is dragging us down?

The aim of this workshop is to share knowledge of the unreliable lifebelts, toxic promises and auto-destructive habits we hang on to that simultaneously both provide security yet unsettle us. In a gently curious manner, our goal is to discover what these strange mechanisms are. Settled in a cosy and relaxed atmosphere, we start off from the point of view of our own experiences and deepen them through short readings on theories, creative exercises and embodiment.
Please bring along objects that you associate with the topic – perhaps a lottery ticket, that expensive yet cheap-looking dress, the guitar that has never been strummed, love letters from your ex, or a comforting bottle of wine...

The workshop provides an introduction to the performance of »Romans«/ »Romance«, which will take place afterwards. No prior knowledge required.

Beate Absalon and Sebastian Köthe have been involved with Schaubude Berlin since their time as students of cultural studies, when they started to moderate conversations between artists and audiences, to look after the festival blog, and to run the “Theory Café” workshop series. The »Theory Café« creates a link between embodied everyday experiences, contemporary theatre discourses and philosophical thoughts. Beate is currently completing a PhD on practices of consent at the Gießen Graduate Center for the Study of Culture, while Sebastian is researching the aesthetics of comfort and consolation at the Zurich University of Arts – topics that are also reflected in the format and topics discussed at the Theory Cafés. The workshops encourage careful, confidential ways of dealing with matters, while encouraging probing questions to be asked and ambiguity to be tolerated.

Notes on accessibility: Information about the accessibility of the venue in structural terms can be found here.