Introduction

One might think a factory functions like an orchestra: each operational step must be just in time, just in sequence, spot on. Just in Time, Just in Sequence – this is the formula in use at the Opel car plant in Bochum. A car is produced in a determined sequence of operations, the time needed for each step being precisely defined. The sequence of these steps creates a sort of meta-score, a chronology that is divided into individual beats and sequences, each with their own rhythm, their own duration and own speed, which merge to an almost “symphonic“ structure. Based on this timeline, composer and artist Ari Benjamin Meyers translates the structure and rhythm of car construction and the uniform motion sequences of the production process into a uniquely composed festival. It will last for eight hours, as long as a typical working day, divided into an early, late, and night shift. Over 400 participants include professional and amateur musicians and performers and the ensemble of Schauspielhaus Bochum, as well as Opel workers and numerous other local volunteers, choirs, and orchestras. Together we will orchestrate this new work and make it resound in the lobbies and corridors of the Schauspielhaus: The whole city is invited, when the theater is transformed into a factory and the factory into music.