The documenta X will present the heterogeneous and contradictory relationships of contemporary cultural practices and lead art out of the art world. We are going through a crisis of the museums, which is a reflection of the crisis of the white cube as an exhibition form since many art works can no longer be shown in this context. This dissolution of traditional exhibition forms made it seem all the more good sense to create many forums at the documenta X where one can inform oneself on what makes the culture of our time tick. One of these forums is the theatre outlines.

As I emphasized in February at the presentation of the dX film programme here in Berlin, our task cannot be to give a complete overview: the documenta X is no film or theatre festival. We wish to give an aperu and make short, but pithy statements. And that's exactly the point of the theatre outlines. Our intention is not to organise a theatre festival - although I am happy of course that we have the opportunity of presenting our project to the press within the framework of the Berlin "Theatertreffen".

In the theatre outlines, the emphasis is on the "outlines". Our goal is no more and no less than to describe the contemporary dramatic situation with comparatively minimal means i.e. with texts, music, choreography - that is: with theatre.

The theatre outlines create a space for the definition of where avantgarde theatre is at the turn of the millenium. Of course we cannot foretell what theatre will do in the coming millenium, but we are creating a new context of work which corresponds to the changes in artistic practices. Just as in the exhibition, we are not concerned with the question "What's new?" but with the question of how avantgarde theatre today can at all be described. What new forms is it moving into? What is the role of the director? What are the possibilities, conditions and the limits of the dramatic situation today?

The theatre marathon in Kassel intends to accept the challenge that the crisis of theatre faces us with, which is generally considered to be the consequence of the fast and volatile visual "culture" of the entertainment industry. In keeping with the "here and now" of the exhibition, the theatre outlines convey the direct experience of the theatre-goer with the stage before him.

Only the spoken word is valid.

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