Freya Treutmann (Berlin, Germany): Butterflies


  • watch: 4th July 2019 at 2pm UTC
  • duration: 15min

Cruelty within the delicate. A story of a terrible secret of innocence. The little girl talks with her best friend – a dead, preserved butterfly – because she is in desperate need of sharing a secret. She knows something is not right, that she did something wrong. But she never meant to do anything bad. Her parents wouldn’t understand, for this she has to talk with the butterfly. She is destructive in a gentle way, she wanted to tease, but her intentions were good. Still she doesn’t feel well, is scared – is this what adults call “guilt”? This text in an exploration of creating meaning of subtext through codified objects, details and conflicting actions in relation to spoken word. What moves us as a spectator, what tells us the story. Is it the word, is it the actions or is it a combined system? Note: The “butterfly” is shown in a metaphorical way through object. No animals were or are planned to be used or harmed in any way in this performance. In the directing of the script for OPAF we will see in close-up the performer’s hands and some objects. The voice giving the monologue is coming from the off.

BIO: Freya Treutmann is an actress, performer and writer from Berlin, Germany. She graduated with Distinction from Institute of the Arts Barcelona with a Master Degree in Acting and Theatre, rewarded by Liverpool John Moores University. Having a background also in communication-, media- and language studies from Freie Universität Berlin and in dance and singing, Freya aims to experiment with forms and structures of writing and performing, challenging and breaking linear and one-dimensional ways of storytelling. Her performances aim to connect movement and text in a specific way, investigating the possibilities of creating meaning. She performed her own plays 5475 SCRATCHES (formerly under the title SCRATCH – A LIFETIME) and EVIDENCE OF CODES as an artist in residency at Charioteer Theatre Company in Edinburgh in August 2018 and for the 10th Online Performance Art Festival in December 2018. In 2019 she performed 5475 SCRATCHES at the International Theatre Festival OFF SYTUACJE in Poznán, Poland. She was a co-author of the publication of a theatre adaptation of Lev Tolstoy’s THE FORGED COUPON for the International Journal of Comparative Literature and Arts and a directing assistant for Compagnie StadTheater. Apart from writing, creating and performing her own projects, Freya works as an actress, dancer and singer for various productions for film, TV and on stage. She performed as a puppeteer in an adaptation on Sophocle’s AJAX in DAS RAUBKUNSTKABINETT in Ackerstadtpalast Berlin. Also she was an ensemble member at Galli Theater Berlin, where she performed as protagonist in various theatre productions directed by Sina Haarmann. Her international credits as a performer include: IDENTITY – A COLLABORATIVE PROJECT, directed by Laura Pasetti; FAR AWAY by Caryll Churchill, directed by Drew Mulligan; A FORGED COUPON adapted from Lev Tolstoy, directed by Andrew McKinnon; CLOUDS by Aristophanes, directed by Oscar Valsecchi; A CHILD IN TIME adapted from the novel by Ian McEwan, directed by Valentina Temussi; LOVE CAN BE CRUEL written and directed by Giovanni Meola; BENEATH THE GAZE by Joshua Sailo; FABELHAFTE WEIHNACHTEN, directed by Ludger Lemper; HERBSTZAUBER, directed by Jacqueline Schibor; ANNIE, directed by Vivian Lüdorf, Her film and TV credits include: SAND by Studio Nordlicht; VIRTUE SIGNAL by Saddiq Abubakar; ILLUSION by Alexander Garms; OREGON PINE by Nikolai Max Hahn; GUTE ZEITEN, SCHLECHTE ZEITEN by Herwig Fischer. Freya is interested in working in international contexts and therefore gained experience with different projects in Germany, UK, USA, Chile, Indonesia, Italy, Poland and Spain. She is represented by the agency “Bahl For Actors”: www.bahl-for-actors.com/freya-treutmann ARTIST’S WEBSITE