The creation of new texts for the stage has been the focus of the WIENER WORTSTAETTEN’s work since the beginning, as well as the artistic exploration of socially relevant themes and networking between playwrights.
Once again this year, we had a long and intensive discussion in a jury meeting in order to make a selection from the more than 50 applications for our Drama Lab. In the end, we decided on five drafts that will be developed into finished plays by the authors in the coming year. We are looking forward to working with Hannah K Bründl, Maurus Jacobs, Kaija Knauer, Lena Riemer and Charlotte Zorell.
Hannah K Bründl, born 1996, is an author at the intersection of poetry, drama, and experimental forms. Her works often engage with themes such as the body, male violence, mental health, and how spaces are influenced by historically permeated experiences and how those are narrated. She studied Comparative Literature, German Studies, and Art in Vienna. Her texts have been published in literary journals (including kolik, BELLA triste, Transistor, manuskripte) and anthologies (such as the Yearbook of Poetry 2022). She has been invited to the Open Mike literary prize at the Haus für Poesie Berlin and the price of the Literary March Darmstadt.
Her plays have been nominated for the Munich Advancement Award of the Munich Kammerspiele and have received various scholarships such as the Hans Gratzer Scholarship, the Retzhofer Drama Prize 2023 and other literary scholarships. Her debut collection of poetry Mother_s was published by roughbooks in 2023.
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 and has been a scholarship holder of the Studienstiftung des Deutschen Volkes since 2019.
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 and also published his first novel, “Schlimm wird es nicht”. Most recently, he was awarded the Caroline Schlegel Prize for Essay Writing and the Retzhof Prize for Young Literature. He is currently working on his PhD at the Ludwig Maximilian University in Munich.
Kaija Knauer, born 1996 in Basel. After completing half a degree in medicine in Basel, Kaija began her theatre and writing studies at the University of Hildesheim with a semester at the Swiss Literature Institute in Biel. Alongside 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 journals such as Bella Triste. Kaija was part of the dramaturgie-netzwerk’s mentoring program 22/23. She is currently doing her Master’s degree in Transdisciplinarity at the Zurich University of the Arts. Her work is driven by the search for artistic strategies to make the anthropocene tangible.
Lena Riemer, born 2002 in Düsseldorf, is currently studying Literary Writing at the German Literature Institute in Leipzig. She writes mainly poetry and drama, but is primarily fascinated by texts that transcend genre boundaries. She is working committedly for the participation of children and young people in theatre, especially as part of the Augenblick Mal!Festival.2024 jury member for the German Children’s and Youth Theatre Prize. She has also published her own texts in various magazines and anthologies.
Charlotte Zorell, born in Vienna in 1996, as daughter of two clowns (no joke, google it). In childhood days she wanted to be a writer and a whale researcher, both of which she has not (yet) succeeded in doing. Since then she has been letting life continue and surprise her. Acting and performance training in the diverCITYLAB in Vienna, graduating with a diploma in 2022. She worked as an actresss in Dschungel Wien, as part of the Burgtheater studio ensemble, in the WerkX, Theater Arche and some more.
Additional dance, piano and Ukulele skills. And always writing. Her final play “LOVE ME TINDER” of the diverCITYLAB Academy in cooperation with director Yosi Wanunu, premiered at the Nestroyhof/Hamakom in 2021 and subsequently performed at Werk X. She is part of the fixed ensemble in the independent performance ensemble “ensemble ehrlos” since 2022 in Vienna. Charlotte remains interested in almost everything, especially life and laughter, music, dance, the arts and the stage.
This model of cooperation with authors includes a contract for work amounting to € 3,000 as well as dramaturgical support for the period of one year. Furthermore, regular working meetings of all selected authors as well as individual and group readings. Any travel expenses will be covered by the WIENER WORTSTAETTEN or its cooperation partners.
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.
Dramal Lab 2024 is taking place within the program of Fabulamundi. Playwriting Europe. New Voices, an european collaborative project for the support of young authors.
Photo credit: Anna Zehetgruber
Co-operation by WIENER WORTSTAETTEN, Theater am Werk and Fabulamundi. Playwriting Europe. New Voices.
