fachbetrieb rita grechen

fachbetrieb rita grechen is an interdisciplinary artistic collective with a changing cast. We develop music theater pieces, exhibitions, installations, durational performances, texts, films and process-oriented projects.

Many of our projects deal with the audience and the venues themselves. Usually we avoid statical seating and instead design situations in which the audience is invited to move freely. The architecture of the performance spaces is significantly included. Often we also try to achieve deviations from the regular audience of contemporary theater stages and exhibition spaces by choosing unusual locations. We are constantly researching to develop forms of expression that are accessible to everybody without reducing complexity or ironing out inconsistencies.

In the past we have worked together with HELLERAU - European Center for the Arts (Dresden), Schaubühne Lindenfels (Leipzig), Spielart Festival (Munich), Pathos Theater (Munich), D21-Galerie (Leipzig), Frankfurt LAB (Frankfurt am Main), Lofft Theater (Leipzig), ARGEkultur (Salzburg), Tafelhalle (Nuremberg) and BRUX (Innsbruck).

Team members (alphabetical):

Miguel Ángel García Martín, born in Zamora (Spain), is a percussionist, performer and improviser active in a variety of contexts such as contemporary classical music, multidisciplinary performances and experimental music. Fleeing from habituation and boredom, García keeps his curiosity active as member of ensemble this | ensemble that, KvG Bottom Orchestra, fachbetrieb rita grechen, Tribal and ensemble lemniscate. He also performs regularly with Collegium Novum Zürich, Nouvel Ensemble Contemporaine and Basel Sinfonietta. In the contemporary classical music field, he has worked together with composers such as Simon Steen-Andersen, Kathy van Eck, Ondrej Adamek, Michael Maierhof, Erin Gee, Alberto Bernal, Jürg Frey, Pierluigi Billone, Oscar Bianchi, Rebecca Saunders, Eno Poppe, Andreas E. Frank, Vinko Globokar, Phillipe Manoury and Stefan Prins among others. In the experimental field, he has worked in the realization of multidisciplinary projects alongside with Lê Quan Ninh, Julian Sartorius, Strotter Inst., Zimoun or Myriam Bleau.

Urs Cornelius Humpenöder studied culture, literature, art and media studies as well as journalism in Dortmund, Hildesheim, Konstanz and Leipzig. After internships in the feuilletons of the Basler Zeitung and the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, he wrote for the Südwest Presse and the Deutsche Presse-Agentur. He writes for various projects, often in collaboration with Hannes Köpke. Previous projects: Symposium Raststätte (Kunsthalle Baden-Baden); Perception of an assembly (Hellerau Dresden); Play about the seaside resort of Prora (in progress) and Un Amor oder: Die Erfindung meiner Mutter (Tafelhalle Nürnberg). Publications to date: Post-mass-media: The dilemma between emancipatory re-appropriation and the new technological condition; Stilreinheit, Dogmatismus und Regulationswahn: Vom Ausschluss des Zufalls im langen 19. Jahrhundert; MORGEN IST HEUTE AUCH SCHON GESTERN. Mütter und Söhne über Früher und Heute. and Standpunkt. Zum Verhältnis von Architektur und Kritik beim Centre Pompidou und dem Kunsthaus Bregenz. 

Laura Immler lives in Leipzig and works as a stage, costume and sound designer for projects at the threshold of theatre and visual arts. She studied stage and costume design in Dresden (2012 – 2013) and environmental engineering in Konstanz (B.Eng.: 2017). At Schauspiel Frankfurt and Schauspielhaus Bochum she joined several productions as an assistant. In various collaborations, she contributed her designs to projects such as Nipple Jesus, Äther, Die Paul Voëll Show, Il Farnace and Our Everlatest Bodies. Since 2018 she creates works collective with fachbetrieb rita grechen, i.a. piece of silence, ARBEITENDE and Was ist mehr zu viel als alles. Moreover she wrote the piece Hält uns wach, which deals with the cum-ex tax fraud, together with Hannes Köpke. Her artistic work is currently driven by an interest in posthumanism, similitude theory, resource flows and economic systems. She is eager to find new methods for creating music/sound and 3-D-modellation/animation.

Hannes Köpke, born in Hanover, studied drama and opera directing at the August Everding Theater Academy (Master of Arts: 2018). Among other things, he staged Der Eindringling in the Marstall at the Residenztheater in Munich and, in co-direction with Franziska Angerer, the opera seria Il Farnace at the Stadttheater in Aschaffenburg. Since 2018 he has been working mainly with the collective fachbetrieb rita grechen and has worked in this context i.a. at the Schaubühne Lindenfels, at the Festspielhaus Hellerau, at Pathos Munich or at Spielart Munich. Since 2020, Hannes Köpke has also been involved in theatre mediation projects, such as Rita represents (2020), the film Schlittski 13 (in cooperation with the Berlin collective FEELINGS) created by children from Elsterwerda and Dresden (2021) and currently the film Salon with participants from the nursing home Agaplesion. In addition to his theater work, Hannes Köpke is also an author. With Laura Immler he wrote the play hält uns wach, which won a studio naxos prize in 2019. With Urs Humpenöder he wrote the love story Esra und Heit for the Kunsthalle Baden-Baden and, with a scholarship from VG Wort, the play self care about the seaside resort of Prora.

Sinaida Michalskaja, born in Moscow (Russia) in 1985, is an artist who lives and works in Berlin. In her transmedial practice, she deals with opposites as possible misconstructions of cultural conventions. Her recent exhibitions include: Tagesschau (duo with Andrey Bogush) at Mountains, Berlin (2022); Von der schenkenden Tugend at Zarinbal Khoshbakht, Cologne (2021); Tell me I belong at Misc, Athens (2021), Zwei Schwestern (duo with Andrey Bogush) at Zarinbal Khoshbakht, Cologne (2020), Ici et là-bas at the Goethe-Institut, Paris (2019), and Soft Hits at Kunstraum Ortloff, Leipzig (2019). She was a master student of Peter Piller and Heidi Specker at the Academy of Visual Arts in Leipzig and studied at the Central Saint Martins School of Art and Design, London (MA) and at the University of Applied Sciences, Düsseldorf (BA).

Ferdinand Nowitzky was born in Dresden. In the season 2013/2014 he was part of the Junge Burg Theaterjahr at the Burgtheater in Vienna. There he played i.a. in Michael Kohlhaas, Don Quixote and Mendy – das Wusical. 2015 he started his acting studies at the Musik und Kunst Privatuniversität der Stadt Wien. Meanwhile he was involved in the projects Ein Porträt des Künstlers als junger Mann at the Theaterakademie August Everding München, in Radetzkymarsch by Joseph Roth (director: Johan Simons) and Zelt by Herbert Fritsch at the Burgtheater in Vienna. In the last years he was part of many projects of fachbetrieb rita grechen, i.a.: piece of silence at the HfBK Dresden, Vertigo Years at Spielart Festival in Munich and Was ist mehr zu viel als alles at HELLERAU – European Centre for the Arts in Dresden.

Jasmina Rezig is working as a freelance theater maker, performer and in the field of sound/composition since 2016. Zhe is artistically interested in interdisciplinary and cross-disciplinary experimental arrangements to artistically express queer and diverse perspectives. Also zhe is constantly looking for new work constellations and positions: in addition to projects that were created in groups such as fachbetrieb rita grechen, Hauptaktion or Das Schaubüro, zhe also initiated participatory formats such as anti.go.ne.volk or the performance Jugend ohne Gott by Horváth, which zhe developed together with pupils from the Rupprecht-Gymnasium in Munich. zhe also participated in various productions in an institutional setting, i.a. at the Staatstheater Nürnberg, Marstall/Residenztheater in Munich and the Münchner Kammerspiele. Zhe is also enthusiastic about 3D audio and realizes concerts/installations for multi-channel systems.

Laura Pföhler studied sociology at the Universität Mannheim and culture and arts mediation with a focus on theater at the Universität Hildesheim. Her area of research is (participatory) contemporary theater as well as political theory and philosophy. Apart from her work in the field of cultural mediation she interned and assisted at the Kinder- und Jugendtheater Mannheim (Schnawwl), Deutsche Oper Berlin, Sasha Waltz&Guests, Goethe-Institut Paris and Festival Theaterformen. With her Bochum based performance collective STERNA | PAU produktionen she created the performance a porn a day in 2018, the performance Körperschaften der Vernetzung in 2019 and a web-app for writing alternative stories collectively in the research project call me by any name in 2020. With fachbetrieb rita grechen she worked together on the public research project Rita represents and Hält uns wach. 

Olivia Rosendorfer studied stage and costume design at the Academy of Fine Arts in Dresden and at the international Norwegian Theater Academy in Fredrikstad (Norway). She* graduated with the project piece of silence at the HfBK Dresden and afterwards founded the interdisciplinary music theater collective fachbetrieb rita grechen with the same team. With fachbetrieb rita grechen she* created i.a. the pieces Vertigo Years (Spielart Festival), Was ist mehr zu viel als alles (Hellerau), Viecher (Schaubühne Lindenfels) and Hält uns wach (Pathos Theater). Since 2020, she* also develops narrative-pedagogical projects in collaboration with the collective FEELINGS, such as the films Schlittski 13 and Salon. Additionally she* works regularly with the directors Julia Prechsl and Franziska Angerer. For the intertextual art and design label NO SPEED NO LIMIT she* creates fashion illustrations and lifestyle products.

Konstantin Sieghart works as a jazz guitarist, singer, performer and show host. In the season 2013/2014 he participated the Junge Burg theatre year at the Burgtheater in Vienna. In 2016 he began studying jazz guitar in Vienna (Class Miroslav Mirosavljev) and moved in 2017 to the Anton Bruckner University in Linz (class Peter O'Mara). In 2018 he additionally started studying jazz vocals at his university (class Agnes Heginger). Between 2013 and 2019 he hosted the VorstellBar, which is an open stage event initiated by the Burgtheater Wien. Since 2018 he has been a member of fachbetrieb rita grechen and was part of the productions piece of silence, ARBEITENDE, Wo die schönen Trompeten Blasen, ZAPFEN FLECHTEN HOLZ - Ein Volkslied, Vertigo Years, Was ist mehr zu viel als alles and Rita represents. In 2019 he made his debut as a cabaret artist with the musical cabaret show Heute:Leopold III. with Sebastian Radon. He is also currently the host of the radio morning show at Welle 1 Vienna and appears regularly as a jazz guitarist and singer in the concert series by Ernst & Schmäh.

Yannik Stöbener was born in Hanover and began studying acting at the Theaterakademie August Everding in Munich in 2015. During his studies he played a.o. in Zement (director: Dimiter Gotscheff) at the Residenztheater in Munich, in Würgen des Fasans (director: Blanka Rádóczy), as well as in Die unvorstellbaren Folgen einer eingebildeten Revolution (director: Dimitrij Schaad) at the Theaterakademie August Everding. Since 2016 he has been regularly involved in Ulrich Rasche's productions. So he was i.a. to be seen in Die Räuber and Elektra at the Residenztheater Munich, Das große Heft at the Staatsschauspiel Dresden, Die Perser at the Schauspiel Frankfurt, Die Bakchen at the Burgtheater in Vienna and 4.48 Psychose at the Deutsches Theater. He is also playing the role of Leone in Volpone at the Munich Volkstheater (director: Abdullah Kenan Karaca). In spring 2020 he produced the short film abschlafen with fachbetrieb rita grechen.

Paul Voell, born in Mönchengladbach in 1996, gained his first theater experiences as an actor in student productions and as an intern at the Deutsches Schauspielhaus Hamburg and the Salzburger Festspielen. After completing his bachelor's degree in literature in Konstanz and Warwick, he worked for two seasons in press and public relations at the Theater Erlangen. He also represented the organizational management of the Rossini Opera Festival in Wildbad in 2019 and worked as a set runner on television productions. He has been working with the fachbetrieb rita grechen since 2018 on concept development, video and lighting design and as a performer. In the summer of 2023 he will complete his M.A. in staging of the arts and media at the University of Hildesheim. As part of his studies, he devoted himself more to the medium of film, which has fascinated him since childhood.

Veronika Wagner studied theater studies and Iranian studies at the Ludwig-Maximilians-University in Munich. In addition to her studies, she was involved in various publications and exhibitions at the Deutsches Theatermuseum in Munich and curated the philosophical-film studies series of talks cinephil & philosoph. She writes for the Neue Deutsche Biografie and gives seminars on cultural mediation and dance and theater historiography at the Institute for Theatre and Performance Studies at the Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität. She also works as a dramaturge in the independent scene. She is working as a dramaturge for the fachbetrieb rita grechen, the SPIELART Theater Festival in Munich, the choreographers Anna Konjetzky, Gabriele Reuter and Sandra Chatterjee and the directors Caitlin van der Maas (music theater) and Verena Regensburger. In 2020 she was dramaturge of Tanzwerkstatt Europa by Joint Adventures – Walter Heun. Together with the visual artist Toshio Kusaba, she hosts the series of events called Amanations.

Maria Wang Kvalheim works within the field of acoustic scenography. She holds a BA from the Norwegian theater academy. Her work seeks to draw out the sound/acoustic potential of architectural space. She is interested in the relationship between movement and space, and how sensorial work can affect the movement of an audience. She regularly develops projects with the music theater collective fachbetrieb rita grechen; most recently, the durational performance Hält uns wach at the Pathos Theater in Munich (2021). In 2020 she was also part of the residency Climata by PRAKSIS Oslo and the Goethe-Institut with a focus on sound art. In 2021 she was invited to participate in the SCI-FLY residency at Øy Theater, making the video works NOK 11 284 729 702 690 as part of the Mattering: Oil exhibition at the Teknisk Museum in Oslo.

Nicole Marianna Wytyczak born in Katowice (Poland), Libra with ascendant Libra, moon in Scorpio. In 2011 she graduated from T. Kantor Art High School with a diploma in design and fine art (focus on graphics), then she studied stage and costume design at HfBK Dresden (diploma: 2017). Afterwards she was hired at the Münchner Kammerspiele from 2017 to 2020 as best girl, where she worked with artists like Philippe Quesne, Trajal Harrell, Florentina Holzinger, Susanne Kennedy, Marta Górnicka, Alexander Giesche and Henrike Iglesias. Since 2020 she works freelance as visual designer at the theater and in film, i.a. at theaters like Münchner Kammerspiele, Schauspiel Dortmund, Staatsschauspiel Dresden, Theater Braunschweig, Theater Augsburg, TJG Dresden and Festspielhaus Hellerau. She feels most confident at the interface between fine art and technical implementation.

Julius Zimmermann was born in Dresden and studied, after finishing his apprenticeship as a chef, stage- and costume design at the Hochschule für Bildende Künste Dresden (Diploma: 2017). Key interests in his work are the inclusion of a given architecture as an active input to the concept of pieces and influencing atmospheres of given spaces with videoprojections. Since summer 2019 he is focusing on creating 3D based content. He tested this working methods in different projects, i.a. Der Eindringling at the Marstall (Residenztheater Munich) and Ein Porträt des Künstlers als junger Mann at the Theaterakademie August Everding in Munich. Since 2019 he also deepened his effort in theatre and dance photography and documented i.a. the dancefestival Tanzwoche Dresden. He participated in several projects of fachbetrieb rita grechen, such as Wo die schönen Trompeten blasen, ZAPFEN FLECHTEN HOLZ - Ein Volkslied, Vertigo Years and Was ist mehr zu viel als alles. Recent Projects with fachbetrieb rita grechen were the research performance Rita Represents and the short film THE BEACH WILL BE CLEAN. For the projects Schlittski 13 and Salon in collaboration with the collective FEELINGS he was responsible for the camera and editing