Cuba Oranges
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8 EUR, reduced 4 EUR |
Please book your ticket in advance online or at the box office in the foyer. Admission from 20 minutes before the start of the performance |
On February 15 the performance will be followed by a discussion with the director Viviana Medina. |
German |
Ground Floor, Hall 2, Hall 1, Ground Floor |
Belongs to: Goodbye, Palace Of The Republic, Blown Away: The Palace of the Republic |
CUBA ORANGES by Viviana Medina sheds light on the lives of the more than 30,000 Cuban contract workers who came to the GDR from the early 1960s onwards – a largely unknown facet of German-Cuban history. The evening creates an immersive world in which numerous personal episodes of hope, homesickness, cultural clashes, rejection, friendship and everyday socialist life in a foreign and German country are brought to life in a variety of ways. Viewers are invited to engage with the intimate and private moments of diasporic life before and after the Peaceful Revolution of 1989. The performative installation allows visitors to take part in a Cuban birthday party that is permeated not only by the memories of former contract workers, but also by subsequent generations.
Participants
Viviana M. Medina studied directing at the Hochschule für Schauspielkunst “Ernst Busch” after completing her philology studies at the Freie Universität Berlin.
Born in Havana and raised in Thuringia, the director focuses her work on classism, the visibility of Black individuals, and East German perspectives. In 2022, she staged her diploma project Beloved as part of the 48h Neukölln arts festival. Medina reimagined the modern Medea story in a site-specific audio walk from a Black introspective lens, centering on the daughter born in freedom while exploring the question: “Why remember?”
During the filming of Sam – Ein Sachse, she worked as an assistant director and contributed to storytelling on a dramaturgical level. Since April 2023, the documentary about Samuel Meffire, the first Black police officer in the GDR, has been streaming on Disney+ and, since April 2024, on the ARD Mediathek.
In 2024, the director worked on a documentary film concept for Netflix. Since 2023, she has been serving as a dramaturge for Into the Wild Mentoring, advising FLINTA* filmmakers on their scripts for film and television. That same year, she presented her performance C.V. at the Berliner Festspiele, exploring moments that shape identity and self-perception—those of a father with war experiences and PTSD and those of his daughter.
In the fall of 2023, she directed Say hi to me! at the TD as part of the Monolog Festival. In this piece, the biblical story of Jonah morphed into a real-life migration narrative about the young Cuban Sandra de los Santos, who shipped herself via DHL in a wooden crate from Havana to Miami, disguised as a ship propeller. This work also examines the so-called German “welcome culture.”
Since 2024, she has been working as a freelance dramaturge at the Ballhaus Naunynstraße, contributing to various theater projects such as Orestie and Kraftwandler*innen.
Currently, she is serving as a jury member for the Heidelberg Stückemarkt at the Theater und Orchester Heidelberg and is writing the screenplay for her debut film.
Sarah Claire Wray is a writer and director. Initially studying architecture, she later transitioned to theater. As an assistant director, she worked at Schauspiel Frankfurt, Thalia Theater Hamburg, Altonaer Theater, and Oldenburgisches Staatstheater. After three years of assistant work, she applied to the Hochschule für Schauspielkunst Ernst Busch, where she completed her directing diploma in 2022.
During her studies, she developed a fascination for moving images, writing, producing, and directing her short film HDGDL, which premiered at the Black Reels Film Festival in 2021.
Further theater productions followed at the Volksbühne Berlin and the Nationaltheater Mannheim.
After graduating, she wrote screenplays for the series Schwarze Früchte, WIR, and Stationär and directed the radio play Doppeltreppe zum Wald produced for SWR.
Ida Kammerloch, * 1991 in Izhevsk/Russia, is a visual artist and filmmaker based in Vienna.
She completed her studies in TransArts at the University of Applied Arts Vienna in 2024, following previous studies at the Rodchenko Art School in Moscow (2018) and the University of Fine Arts Saarbrücken (2019).
Kammerloch’s work investigates the socio-political forces that drive cycles of production and circulation, with a particular focus on their impact on private and domestic spaces. Her practice frequently incorporates found footage and objects, which she primarily transforms into video installations and conceptual photography.
In 2024, she was awarded the Kunsthalle Wien Prize and took second place in the Ö1 Talent Scholarship. From 2020 to 2022, she was a receipient of the Karl Schmidt-Rottluff Fellowship. Since 2021 she teaches at the University of Fine Arts Saarbrücken.
www.idakammerloch.net
@idakammerloch
Performance
Sithembile Menck
Director
Viviana M. Medina
Stage
Luis Ernesto Rivas Peralta
Costume
Viviana M. Medina
Dramaturgy
Roman Schmitz & Sarah C. Wray
Photography
Ida Kammerloch
Assistant director
Sarah C. Wray
Partner
The project was developed in 2024 as part of the Festival OSTEN in Bitterfeld-Wolfen.
A production by Viviana Medina, in co-production with Festival OSTEN/Kulturpark e.V. and Stiftung Humboldt Forum im Berliner Schloss.
