Don’t drink and write. Otherwise, our virtual personality crumbles. The loss of control, when drunk for example, is poison for our self-marketing. The internet is a two-way street: we use it, and it uses us.
In the middle of hashtags, tweets and comments, the actors of the play “marketed” moved among the glass walls of Karlshochschule on the 22nd and 26th of May. At the heart of the play: the continuous perversion of the brand that is “I”. What is real? What is possible? How should one move between the dimensions, between the virtual and the real? And what is it that gives meaning to life?
Theater for example. “It’s like a vacation, stressful in a good way!” says actress Louisa Hügel. Together with Caroline-Sophie Pilling, Silvan Gottschall, Constantin Hornberger and Thomas Pfanner, she changed into a role to take a critical look on self-marketing on the internet. Should self-marketing really dictate our every action?
The dialogue on this topic was a wild mix of magazine articles, passages written by the stundents and excerpts of marketing literature, written by Hendrik Dörr, who also directed the play. The self-employed culture manager worked with Karlshochschule in 2013, and returned to once again bring a little bit of practical culture to Karlshochschule.
“Theater helps in personal development”, Mr. Dörr explains. The experience is a good basis for public appearances or presentations in front of larger crowds. “That will help later when looking for a job”. Martin Hornberger shares this hope. The second semester student studies arts and culture management, like all other actors. Only Caroline-Sophie Pilling is returning, having finished four semesters already. These performances are important to her, and take priority, even when there is much to do, she says.
It most certainly paid off: a delighted audience, pride and relief among the actors. And the realization: too much self-marketing and the mystery around an individual vanishes. And still, what harm could come from one last selfie?
