ABSTRACT
In this chapter, I analyze the casting of actors for the Passion play 2020, which took place in the summer of 2018. A neuralgic point in this process was undoubtedly the Oberammergau Wilhelm Tell production by Christian Stückl, who is also the first Passion play director. Based on observations from my ethnographic field research in Oberammergau and the media reception of the Tell, I describe the multi-layered production of space and meaning in the Passion play theatre in the run-up to the coming season and show how the preparation for an actor’s choice for Passion play took place as an interplay of onstage and offstage discourses. The tendencies that became clear during the Wilhelm Tell performances have been confirmed later, as the players cast for prominent roles would also occupy leading roles in the 2020/2022 Passion.
