Seagulls. A portrait

Seagulls are birds of hope and terror. On the high seas, they herald both the saving harbor and the deadly storm. In the works of the Old Masters, they foreshadowed the end of the world, which is not only evident today in the alternation of droughts and cloudbursts, and the poet Christian Morgenstern dedicated the poem "The seagulls all look as if they were called Emma" to them with a twinkle in his eye. The author, dramaturge and director Holger Teschke follows the traits of this white and gray bird, of which there are 55 known species today, around the globe. Gulls have adapted to almost all habitats in the world, and today they are not only found in harbors and on coasts, but increasingly also inland, where they are displaced by the meager food of overfished seas. Even in Berlin, they are already breeding on the roofs above the city. And then there is the sailor's superstition that the souls of dead sailors find their second home in seagulls. So learning from seagulls means learning to remember. If you look carefully into the pupils of a seagull, you will realize that nothing and nobody will stop it. (Text: Matthes & Seitz Berlin)

Holger Teschke was born in Bergen on the island of Rügen in 1958. He went to sea as a machinist on fishing boats before studying drama directing in Berlin. He subsequently worked there as a dramaturge and author. From 2000 to 2010, he worked as a director and directing teacher in the USA, Australia and South East Asia. He has been a lecturer in theater history and dramaturgy since 2010. After "Gebrauchsanweisung für Rügen und Hiddensee", Holger Teschke's last book "Heringe" followed in 2014. He writes for mare, Theater der Zeit and Deutschland Radio Kultur. Holger Teschke lives in Berlin and South Hadley, Massachusetts.

Dr. Dorit Visbeck-Liebers has worked as an ornithologist and exhibition curator at the German Oceanographic Museum for 20 years. For her dissertation, she researched seagulls all over the world and is also familiar with the tactics of the "fish roll thieves". The scientist provided expert advice for Holger Teschke's book and will talk about her work on this evening.