Karl Welunschek

Karl Welunschek (* 26. May 1955 in Vienna ) is a theater director , stage designer , theater art director and curator . He lives in Graz , Vienna and Berlin .

Life

Welunschek grew up as a working-class child of Josefa (née Stelzl) and Karl Welunschek senior in the middle-class 8th district of Vienna, temporarily in church and state homes. Welunschek completed his apprenticeship as an art, book and music dealer with distinction. After an autodidactic examination of Samuel Beckett's "Murphy", he began training at the Krauss drama school at the age of seventeen .

In addition, Karl Welunschek pursued his cinematic and literary passion, studied early music and, after a long stay in the Middle East, concentrated on collecting impressions and staging as a theater photographer, set designer and director.

The discovery of the theatrical genius

His second production “Down through” by Heinz Rudolf Unger at the Schauspielhaus Wien was recorded for television, as were the next two productions. Welunschek received his first Kainz Medal for the fifth production "The Last Volume" by Samuel Beckett in the Museum of Modern Art with Robert Hunger-Bühler . As a “young theater genius”, the doors to the circle of Helmut Qualtinger , Oskar Werner , Joe Berger , Wolfgang Bauer , Oswald Wiener , HC Artmann , Bernt Burchhardt and Franz Ringel were open to him in the early 1980s .

The Vienna Ensemble

In 1987, Welunschek founded the Viennese ensemble without a permanent house together with Beatrice Frey , Andrea Braunsteiner and Michael Zerz based on Bertolt Brecht . The development and importance of the independent theater scene in Vienna in the 1980s and early 1990s relates to productive unrest that was to drive into the structures of the deadlocked, established and state or communally controlled theater companies, in order to bring modernity to the national level towards the end of the 20th century Bring theatrical landscape. The independent theater scene took the full risk vis-à-vis those responsible for cultural policy and had to guarantee professional theater evenings in order to subsequently gain the favor of funding.

Many international careers can now be found among the participants in the Vienna ensemble, including Robert Hunger-Bühler , Karl Markovics , Fritz Karl , Julia Stemberger , Toni Böhm and Wolf Bachofner. The cultural and political upheaval of the post-Kreisky era was accompanied by the loss of numerous independent theater ensembles. The Viennese ensemble ended its activity in 1993.

Austria dismisses its artists

Welunschek's legendary Nestroy productions such as “ Love Stories and Marriage Matters ” in the Theater Der Kreis 1992, “The Dyer and His Twin Brother” with the Viennese Ensemble in the Rabenhoftheater (Theater in der Josefstadt) or “The Talisman” in the Theater Der Kreis from receive particular attention 1988. Welunschek's main characteristics in the realization of Nestroy pieces is his commitment to the clear coarseness and bitterness of comedy.

But with the numerous successes, Welunschek's scandal also began in Austria as an enfant terrible and polluting the nest. The culture presenter Andrea Schurian once found the introductory words to his person: " He's the one who always walks through the city with dark sunglasses and makes great productions - wherever you let him ." In the 1990s, Karl Welunschek worked primarily as a freelancer Director abroad, where he staged at the Nationaltheater Mannheim , Schauspielhaus Frankfurt , in Hamburg and Düsseldorf, among others . His paths also led him to the Ankara State Opera or to Israel, where he worked as a curator for the Wiener Festwochen .

Welunschek only returned to Austria in 1999 on invitation for a staging of the Gottfried von Eine opera “Der Zerrissene” and at the beginning of 2000 he brought the proverbial “People's Destruction” (by Werner Schwab ) to the theater and the Viennese theater scene , which took six weeks on the periphery of Vienna sold out.

Rabenhof.THEATER - The Welunschek era

At the end of the 1990s, the state of theater conditions in Vienna experienced a number of setbacks; with Peymann's resignation , an important critical authority ceased to exist.

Under the motto "Vienna is unbelievably cool", Karl Welunschek opened the Rabenhof.THEATER in Vienna-Erdberg as artistic director on December 31, 2000, which previously received little attention as a branch of the civil theater in Josefstadt. The aim is not only to “demoralize the people” ( Der Standard of May 19, 2001), but to give the trash theater, which Welunschek shaped, cult status.

With "eruptive folk art" by Werner Schwab or Wolfgang Bauer , many discursive events with, for example, the scandal writers Catherine Millet and Michel Houellebecq , a flexible program was designed with a focus on topicality in the sense of the expanded concept of theater. But just as the motto of the 2nd season 2002 with “Nix to lose” suggested the entertaining nature of this theater rebellion, the third season of the Rabenhof.THEATER under the motto “Warning: risk of slipping!” Was nipped in the bud of financial and commercial deficiencies in the middle of 2003 and - without separating the responsibility of commercial and artistic directors - with her, the artistic line under Karl Welunschek also ended.

Living Museum

Since the whole world was staged anyway, Karl Welunschek actually shifted his focus from the conception and revitalization of museum operations to the museum system and worked as a curator at stadtmuseumgraz until July 2007 with the main responsibility for the Living Museum department . This is understood to mean the sensually perceivable and didactically conveying overall concept of a museum and its individual exhibitions. The exhibition "MEMORY XS - An exhibition installation about Wolfgang Bauer " was a great success .

Migrant Theater - Kolektif: The Negroes

In 2005 Karl Welunschek founded the first Austro-African drama ensemble Collective Les Nègres in Graz as artistic director. The pilot project " Les Nègres. Clownerie " by Jean Genet celebrated its premiere on March 23, 2006 as a trilingual production in the studio stage of the Graz Opera with resumption in the Schauspielhaus Wien.

Wolfgang Bauer Foundation

Karl Welunschek takes on the role of President of the Wolfgang Bauer Foundation . The association to promote the international dissemination of artistic work and the memory of Wolfgang Bauer was founded in 2007.

Greek Theater

Karl Welunschek is currently working on modern Greek theater.

Awards

• Nomination for the Nestroy Prize 2002 for the artistic concept of the Rabenhof Stadttheater as the current critical theater in German-speaking countries
• Promotion award for the Kainz Medal Equipment for “Mercedes” (Thomas Brasch) in the Schauspielhaus Vienna, 1984
• Sponsorship award for the Kainz Medal Director for “The Last Band” ( Samuel Beckett ) in the Museum of Modern Art Vienna, 1982

Important productions

1980	Down through	by Heinz Rudolf Unger	Schauspielhaus Wien, TV recording
1981	The greatest day	by Peter Turrini	Theater of Courage, TV recording
1982	Burned down	by Georges Courteline	Theater the backdrop, TV recording
1982	The last tape	by Samuel Beckett	Museum of Modern Art Vienna, award for the Kainz Medal (director)
1982	The suitors	of Loches by Georges Feydeau	National Theater Mannheim
1985	Jam	by Herbert Achternbusch , Heiner Müller and Ernst Jandl	Volkstheater Studio Vienna
1986	Weininger's night	by Joshua Sobol	Künstlerhaus ( Wiener Festwochen ), Austrian premiere
1987	You will still remember Vienna	by Helmut Qualtinger	Serapionstheater on Wallensteinplatz (Vienna Ensemble)
1988	The normal heart	by Larry Kramer	Technical Museum Vienna (Vienna Ensemble)
1988	The talisman	by Johann Nepomuk Nestroy	Theater Der Kreis (Vienna Ensemble)
1988	Porcile	by Pier Paolo Pasolini	Production by the Vienna Ensemble. Gasometer (Wiener Ensemble)
1989	Homeless	by Reinhard P. Gruber and Anton Prestele	Theater group 80, tent in front of the Votive Church (TV recording) (Wiener Ensemble)
1989	Love stories and marriage matters	by Johann Nepomuk Nestroy	Theater Der Kreis (Vienna Ensemble)
1990	Viennese dance of death	by Lotte Ingrisch	Rabenhoftheater (production by Theater in der Josefstadt)
1992	The dyer and his twin brother	by Johann Nepomuk Nestroy	abenhoftheater (Vienna Ensemble)
1992	Change	by Wolfgang Bauer	Rabenhoftheater (Vienna Ensemble)
1993	From the life of Hödelmoser	by Reinhard P. Gruber	Rabenhoftheater (Vienna Ensemble)
1993	Endgame	Samuel Beckett	Rabenhoftheater (Vienna Ensemble)
1993	The last tape	by Samuel Beckett	Theater an der Wien ( Wiener Festwochen ) (Wiener Ensemble)
1993	Happy Days	by Samuel Beckett	Rabenhoftheater (Vienna Ensemble)
1994	The evil spirit Lumpazivagabundu	by Johann Nepomuk Nestroy	City Theater Klagenfurt
1995	Pig fights	by Peter Turrini	Ensemble theater on St. Peter's Square
1995	Viennese songs	various authors	Backdrop ( Wiener Festwochen )
1997	The merry women of Windsor	by William Shakespeare	Schauspielhaus Frankfurt
1997	Death of a salesman	by Arthur Miller	Schauspielhaus Frankfurt
1997	Mizzis and Strizzis	based on Guys and Dolls by Bertolt Brecht and Kurt Weill	Metropol Vienna
1997	Mr. Karl	by Carl Merz and Helmut Qualtinger	Schauspielhaus Hamburg
1997-98	Effi Briest	by Theodor Fontane	Tour company Kuhnen
1998	The mouth hero	from Plautus	Trier Antiquities Festival , opening performance for the foundation of the Trier Antiquities Festival
1998	Old times	by Harold Pinter	Schauspielhaus Frankfurt
1998	The gypsy baron	by Johann Strauss	Ankara State Opera
1999	The torn one	by Gottfried von One	Art Nouveau theater (co-production of the Vienna State Opera and Vienna Volksoper), musical direction: Huw Rhys James
2000	Popular extermination	by Werner Schwab	Kabelwerk Wien / Theater mbH
2001	On the ground floor and on the first floor	by Johann Nepomuk Nestroy	Hall 1030 / Rabenhof.THEATER
2003	After the premiere	Commissioned by Gustav Ernst	Rabenhof Stadttheater, with Erich Joham and his friends, world premiere
2006	Les Nègres. Clowning	by Jean Genet	Studio stage of the Graz Opera

Filmography

• “… Those in the dark” Vienna's basement theater between gambling addiction, provocation and bankruptcy . Documentation. Directed by Christian Reichhold, Austria 2003.
• National annihilation or my liver is pointless. Spoken theater recording. Director: Karl Welunschek, Austria 2000.
• Austria's greatest entertainer . Spoken theater recording. Director: Helmut Schödel, Thomas Gratzer, Austria 2002.
• Homeless . Spoken theater recording. Director: Karl Welunschek, Austria 1989.
• Down through . Spoken theater recording. Director: Karl Welunschek, Austria 1980.
• The greatest day . Spoken theater recording. Director: Karl Welunschek, Austria 1981.
• Burned down . Spoken theater recording. Director: Karl Welunschek, Austria 1982.

Web links

• Website

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Welunschek: "Will always be a home child". Courier June 16, 2013