Playwright: Bernhard Studlar
Partner: Wiener Worstatten
Twinned playwright: Ingeborg von Zadow
Co-funded by the European Union
Duration: 11 months incl. final presentation (staged readings)
Participants: 8 emergent playwrights from 18 to 27 years old
Location: WIENER WORTSTAETTEN / Theatre Werk X
Time: January – November 2024
DRAMA LAB 2024 is a playwriting workshop for young authors organised by Wiener Wortstaetten and led by author and playwright Bernard Studlar.
The creation of new texts for the stage has been the focus of WIENER WORTSTAETTEN’s work since it was founded in 2005, as has the artistic examination of socially relevant topics and networking between authors.
From over 50 applications, after intensive discussion among the jury, we decided on five play drafts that were exciting in terms of style and content, which will be developed into finished plays by the authors next year. We look forward to working with Hannah K Bründl, Maurus Jacobs, Kaija Knauer, Lena Riemer and Charlotte Zorell.
In addition, the Theater am Werk will accompany the creation of the texts as a ” Patentheater” and premiere one play in the 2024/25 season.
All the texts created will be presented in staged readings in Vienna as part of the “Wortstattnächte” in autumn 2024.
Discover more on Wiener Wortstaetten website.
Hannah K Bründl , born in 1996, studied comparative literature, German and language arts in Vienna and is an author at the interface of poetry, drama and experimental forms.
In her work she deals with topics such as the body, male-semantized violence and how spaces are influenced by what is historically permeated and how it is told.
Hannah’s poetry has been published in magazines (manuscripts, kolik, Bella.triste, transistor) and in anthologies such as the Jahrbuch der Lyrik. Her plays have been invited to the Munich Prize for German-language drama, the Hans Gratzer Scholarship and the Retzhofer Drama Prize and have been awarded several scholarships.
Her poetry debut entitled “Mother_s” was published by roughbooks in autumn 2023. Hannah lives in Vienna.
Maurus Jacobs , born in 1997 in Albany, California. After graduating from high school, he worked as a reporter in Hamburg. He studied in Havana, Leipzig and Kyoto. In 2022 he received the “Spaltmaße” scholarship from the Jürgen Ponto Foundation in the field of literature. In spring 2023 he completed his studies in literary writing at the German Literature Institute in Leipzig. Since October 2023 he has been doing his doctorate at the Ludwig Maximilians University in Munich. Most recently he received the Caroline Schlegel Prize for Essay Writing and the Retzhof Prize for Young Literature.
Kaija Knauer , born in Basel in 1996, studied theater studies and writing at the University of Hildesheim with a guest semester at the Swiss Literature Institute in Biel after completing half of her medical studies in Basel. In addition to her studies, Kaija works on various freelance projects with a practical focus on dramaturgy and writing. Her texts have been presented in readings and published in literary magazines, including Bella.triste. Kaija was part of the dramaturgy network’s 22/23 mentoring program. She is currently studying for a master’s degree in transdisciplinarity at the Zurich University of the Arts. The search for artistic strategies to make the Anthropocene tangible drives her work.
Lena Riemer , born in Düsseldorf in 2002, is currently studying literary writing at the German Literature Institute in Leipzig. She primarily writes poetry and scenic works, but is particularly fascinated by texts that transcend genre boundaries. Lena is committed to the participation of children and young people in young theater, most recently as part of the Moment Mal! Festivals in Berlin. In 2024 she will be a jury member for the German Children’s and Youth Theater Prize. Her texts have been published in various magazines and anthologies.
Charlotte Zorell , born in Vienna in 1996 as the daughter of two clowns. (No joke, you can google it.) When she was a child she wanted to be a writer and whale researcher, but she hasn’t succeeded in either of those things (yet). Acting training at the diverCITYLAB in Vienna, completion of the joint stage maturity examination in 2022. Worked as an actor in, among others, Jungle Vienna, as part of the BurgtheaterStudio ensemble and in Werk X. The diverCITYLAB Academy’s final piece “LOVE ME TINDER”, which premiered at the Nestroyhof/Hamakom Theater in 2021, was co-authored with director Yosi Wanunu. Always writing, she has been a player in the free performance ensemble “ensemble ehrlos” in Vienna since 2022.
Charlotte is interested in almost everything, life and laughter in particular, music, dance, stage boards and literature.
The collaboration with the selected authors includes a work contract worth EUR 3,000.00 as well as dramaturgical support for a period of one year. Furthermore, regular working meetings of all selected authors as well as individual and group editing. As a “sponsor theater,” Theater am Werk will accompany the creation of the texts in 2024 and premiere a piece in the 2024/25 season. All of the resulting texts will be presented in staged readings as part of the “Wortstatt Nights” in autumn 2024. The Drama Lab 2024 takes place as part of Fabulamundi.Playwriting Europe. New Voices , a European cooperation project to promote young authors.
A cooperation between WIENER WORTSTAETTEN and Theater am Werk as part of Fabulamundi. Playwriting Europe. New Voices .
