On 15 November, Stawrula Panagiotaki will take over managing the ‘studiobühneköln’ from her predecessor Dietmar Kobboldt, who is retiring. The University of Cologne is lucky to have successfully acquired Stawrula Panagiotaki for the university theatre – an internationally experienced director who is well-connected in the independent theatre scene. A press conference is planned for 2024, during which she will explain her plans for the future of the ‘studiobühneköln’ in more detail.

Stawrula Panagiotaki: “I am very much looking forward to this exciting new task. I would like to further develop the ‘studiobühneköln’ as an interdisciplinary production house. It remains a platform for innovative forms of theatre in the independent scene. But I also see the ‘studiobühne’ as a place of experimentation where science and art debate current topics in a lively way. The ‘studiobühne’ offers a space in which people of different communities and backgrounds can meet.”

In the past, Ms Panagiotaki worked at the interface between the independent theatre scene and Cologne’s theatres and brought them together in different constellations. With her broad national and international network, she wants to open up many new artistic connections for the traditional university theatre.

Stawrula Panagiotaki studied Modern German Literature, Modern Greek Studies and German as a Foreign Language at Freie Universität Berlin. During her studies, she worked at the Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Sciences and Humanities. From 2009 to 2013 she worked as an assistant and dramaturge at ‘Schauspiel Köln’. She then went to ‘Theater und Orchester Heidelberg’ with the independent group COSTA COMPAGNIE for two years with the ‘Doppelpass’ funding from the German Federal Cultural Foundation. She also worked as a dramaturge at ‘Theater Bonn’, at ‘Staatstheater Darmstadt’, and as an editor and dramaturge for ‘Berliner Theatertreffen’. She independently produced with the feminist collective SWOOSH LIEU at ‘Künstlerhaus Mousonturm’ in Frankfurt and regularly works with MOUVOIR/Stephanie Thiersch (among others for the Ruhrtriennale 2020 production ‘Archipel’). Since the 2016/17 season, Stawrula Panagiotaki has been engaged as a dramaturge at ‘Schauspiel Köln’, where she also directed the outdoor theater ‘Britney’ at Offenbachplatz. She is a member of numerous juries and advisory boards such as ‘Kulturakademie Tarabya’ of the Goethe-Institut Istanbul, ‘Stiftung Künstlerdorf Schöppingen’, ‘NRW Landesbüro Tanz’ or ‘Stückemarkt’ of Berlin Theatertreffen.

The ‘studiobühneköln’ (founded in 1920) is the oldest existing German university theatre. Since the late 1960s, many students have been searching and researching the theoretical and practical possibilities of artistic work at the university. In 1974, the University of Cologne elevated the ‘Studiobühne und Filmwerkstatt’ (studio stage and film workshop) to a central institution, which it maintains and promotes as an independent open cultural centre of the university. In addition to the basic financial resources that the university provides to ‘studiobühneköln’, it is also financed by external funding. The city of Cologne is currently providing ‘studiobühne’ with temporary basic funding.

The programme of studiobühneköln includes in-house productions, co-productions with numerous Cologne-based independent groups, student productions under the ‘UniBühne’ label, national and international guest performances, the annual ‘Theaterszene Europa’ festival and the ‘fünzehnminuten’ young talent festival in NRW. In addition, the ‘studiobühneköln’ is a partner of renowned festivals such as ‘IMPULSE THEATER FESTIVAL’ or ‘west off’.

A comprehensive and free course programme in the fields of theatre, film and photography is open to all students every semester and adds some creativity to everyday university life. Currently, the ‘studiobühneköln’ is without a permanent interim venue. It is already the second season in which the programme of the ‘studiobühneköln’ is planned from a villa in Marienburg and is a guest at numerous theatres in Cologne with own productions, co-productions, guest performances and festivals.

Stawrula Panagiotaki: “A theatre without a permanent venue requires a high degree of flexibility and organizational creativity. Through our reliable partners in numerous theatres in Cologne, the artistic programme of the ‘studiobühne’ continues to gain visibility in the city. We are currently looking for a suitable interim venue for the ‘studiobühne’ until the renovation is completed.”


Media Contact:
Stawrula Panagiotaki.
+49 0 177 9722379
s_panagiotakiyahoo.de

Press and Communications Team:
Eva Schissler
+49 221 470 4030
e.schisslerverw.uni-koeln.de