Theater Festival Impulse in Bochum, Düsseldorf, Köln, Mülheim

Max-Philip Aschenbrenner

Read Media Studies, Process Design, and Dramaturgy in Potsdam, Basle, and Frankfurt/Main. After working on his own internet and TV projects, he joined the publicity department at the Opera Zurich and collaborated in the research project “Denken hilft” (Thinking helps) of the ZHdK. Then member of the artistic directors´ team at Theater Neumarkt. Currently works as freelance dramaturge and member of the programme team of Theater der Welt 2010.

Matthias von Hartz – Artistic Director


Born in Augsburg in 1970. Read Economy at the London School of Economics and studied theatre directing at Hamburg University. Projects at international co-production centres and festivals and several state theatres, most recently at the Deutsche Schauspielhaus in Hamburg and Sophiensaele in Berlin. The project ALLES MUSS MAN SELBER MACHEN (You have to do it all yourself) was invited to IMPULSE and other festivals. For the Deutsche Schauspielhaus in Hamburg he created the programme series GO CREATE™ RESISTANCE, looking at the consequences of neo-liberal globalisation with artists, activists, and scientists. In recent years, he has curated political-artistic topical evenings, amongst others at the museum kunstpalast Düsseldorf, the Schauspielhaus Zürich, the Ruhrtriennale, and the schauspielfrankfurt. He has been the artistic director of Theatre Festival IMPULSE together with Tom Stromberg since 2006, and artistic director of the International Summer Theatre Festival Hamburg at Kampnagel since 2007.

Tino Sehgal

Studied Dance and Political Economy. His performances can be seen in galleries and museums throughout opening hours. Sehgal´s constructed situations depend on the visitor´s behaviour and may develop in various ways; the participative moment is inherent in the work´s structure. In 2005, he designed the German Pavilion at the Venice Biennale, in 2010 the rotund of the Guggenheim Museum in New York; his works are presented in the collections of the Centre Pompidou, the Tate Gallery and the MoMa, amongst others.

Veit Sprenger

Born in 1967. Theatre practitioner, author, musician. Studied Music in Hannover, Medicine in Frankfurt/Main, and Applied Theatre Studies in Gießen. One of the founding members of Showcase Beat Le Mot, with whom he has created theatre projects, performances, arts actions, and music videos on an international level since 1998. He has co-initiated various arts, theatre, and music projects in Germany and Europe, was part of the directors´ team of the festival “artgenda 2002” for young art in the Baltic area, and gives lectures in Berlin, Hamurg, Gießen, and Oslo. In 2005 he published his book “Despoten auf der Bühne – Die Inszenierung von Macht und ihre Abstürze” (Stage despots – the presentation of power and its downfall). Since 2007, he has been working regularly on theatre projects for children with Showcase Beat Le Mot, amongst others on the award-winning production “Der Räuber Hotzenplotz” (The Robber Hotzenplotz) (IMPULSE 2007).

Tom Stromberg – Artistic Director 


Born in Wilhelmshaven in 1950. Worked as Director of the Theater am Turm (TAT) in Frankfurt/Main, artistic director of the cultural programme of EXPO 2000 in Hannover, and director of the Deutsche Schauspielhaus in Hamburg, which was nominated Theatre of the Year under his direction in the season 2004/05. In 2005, he became associate and chief executive of the theatre production company wasihrwollt PRODUCTIONS gGmbH, alongside Peter Zadek and Antje Landshoff-Ellermann. Together, they founded the w.i.w. Akademie Brandenburg, providing additional training for young theatre practitioners. He is currently working on theatre projects with Jan Bosse, Jérôme Bel, Laurent Chétouane, Stefan Pucher, and has been artistic director of the Theatre Festival IMPULSE alongside Matthias von Hartz since 2006.

(Kopie 1)

Dagmar Walser

Born in 1966. Studied German Literature, Art History, and Computer Sciences in Basle. Culture editor and theatre critic for the Swiss radio station drs2 since 1999. Member of the programme team of the Zürcher Theater Spektakel since 2008.

Esther Boldt, born in 1979, studied Applied Theatre Studies in Gießen, now lives and works as freelance theatre critic and journalist in Frankfurt/Main, working amongst others for nachtkritik.de, corpusweb, Journal Frankfurt, taz, tanz.

Jan Deck studied Politics, works as freelance dramaturge, director, and curator, and lives in Frankfurt/Main. He is managing director of the Landesverband Freies Theater Hessen (laPROF) and, with Natalie Driemeyer, heads the Forum Diskurs Dramaturgie.  He has been working as curator and dramaturge for the festival “Schwindelfrei” in Mannheim.

Gregor Runge studied Theatre Studies in Bochum and has worked for off limits, the RuhrTriennale, and IMPULSE 07 and 09. He also scouted for favoriten08 - Theaterzwang. Since 2009 he is assistant to the artistic director Aenne Quiñones for favoriten10.

Anna Teuwen, born in 1983, studied Applied Theatre Studies in Gießen and currently works as a dramaturgy assistant for Kampnagel in Hamburg.

Tamina Theiß studied Theatre Studies in Bochum. She was artistic director of the student theatre festival megaFON Bochum from 2004 to 2006 and Unithea FFO from 2007 to 2009. In 2007, she organised the 100grad Berlin Festival in Berlin. From 2007 to 2009 she worked as assistant to the artistic director at the Kleist Forum in Frankfurt (Oder). She has been assistant to the artistic directors of the Theatre Festival IMPULSE since 2009.

André Turnheim, born in Dresden, works as theatre and film director and studied acting at the Hochschule für Musik und darstellende Kunst in Stuttgart. From 1985 to 1987 he worked as an actor for Gardzienice, from 1996 to 2002 he managed the Trash Theater Köln, from 1999 to 2001 he directed at the Theater Freiburg, from 2007 to 2009 he worked as curator of the city of Vienna for OFF Theatre, Dance, and Performance, and has been working as a director for the Austrian TV station ORF since 2005.