BARBI MARKOVIC
Text, special contribution
Born in Belgrade in 1980, she studied German language and literature and has lived in Vienna since 2006. In 2009, Marković caused a sensation with her Thomas Bernhard-inspired novel *Ausgehen*. In 2016, her novel „Superheldinnen“ was published, for which she received the Alpha Literature Prize, the Adelbert von Chamisso Prize’s Young Writers„ Award, and, in 2019, the Priessnitz Prize. In 2017, Barbi Marković read at the Bachmann Prize. In 2023, Barbi Marković was awarded the Berlin Art Prize for Literature. In 2024, Barbi Marković received the Leipzig Book Fair Prize for “Minihorror„ and the Carl Amery Literature Prize for her literary work.

JOHANNES SCHRETTLE
Concept, idea, text
Born in Graz in 1980, he lives there as a freelance writer, translator and theatre maker. Founding member of the writers’ group eigenbau at Theater im Bahnhof (1997–2004) and of zweite liga für kunst und kultur (2007–present); deputy chair of Forum Stadtpark (2011–2017). Work outside of zweite liga für kunst und kultur includes projects at the Volkstheater Wien, Minoriten Graz, Forum Stadtpark and steirischer herbst, Theater an der Gumpendorfer Straße, Burgtheater Wien and Pathos transporttheater München, steirischer herbst and the Goethe-Institut Buenos Aires. Various prizes and awards, including the Retzhofer Drama Prize, the City of Graz Literature Promotion Prize, the Christian Dietrich Grabbe Prize from the City of Detmold, the Playwright’s Grant from the BMUKK, a working grant from Literar-Mechana, and an AiR residency from the Province of Styria in Bucharest.

IMRE LICHTENBERGER BOZOKI
Concept, idea, composition, direction
Born in 1979 in Novi Sad, Vojvodina (Serbia). Studied jazz trumpet at the University
for Music and Performing Arts in Graz. Trumpeter with, among others, the Sandy Lopicic Orkestar, The Base, Marina Zettl and Saedi. Following his studies, he worked as a stage musician at the Schauspielhaus Graz and the Vienna Volkstheater, and as a composer and musical director for uniT Container (Graz), the Forum Stadtpark Graz, the Vienna Volkstheater, Krétakör Színház (Budapest), Schauspielhaus Düsseldorf, Theater im Bahnhof (Graz), Kosmos Theater, Landestheater St. Pölten, Mozarteum Salzburg and Burgtheater Vienna. In doing so, he has already collaborated with numerous directors, including Niklaus Helbling, Arpad Schilling, Amélie Niermeyer, Stefan Bachmann, Sara Ostertag, Wojtek Klemm, Gil Mehmert, Christine Eder, Ed. Hauswirt, Helmut Köpping, Rupert Henning, Michael Schottenberg, Monika Klengel, Robert Gerloff, Sandy Lopičić and Sanja Frühwald. Together with Moritz Wallmüller and Tim Breyvogel, he forms the notwork artists’ collective (www.notwork.biz). As a director, he staged *Familie Tòt* (Istvan Örkeny) in 2015 and *Zucker Büstenhalter* (Zyta Rudzka) in 2017 at the
OFF Theatre, the musical *HORSES* at WERK X-Petersplatz in 2022, and Barbi Marković’s *Die verschissene Zeit* at the Kosmos Theatre in 2025.

MARTIN HEMMER
Composition, performance
Martin Hemmer was born in Feldkirch in 1985 and grew up on the shores of Lake Constance. Whilst training as an actor at the University of Music and Drama in Hanover, he gained his first stage experience at the Schauspielhaus Hannover and in independent theatre projects in Hildesheim and Hanover.  From 2009 to 2012, he was a permanent member of the ensemble at the Theater in der Josefstadt in Vienna. Since 2012, he has worked as a freelance actor and has appeared at venues including the Kosmos Theater Wien, Dschungel Wien, Odeon, Theater Nestroyhof/Hamakom, Theater Drachengasse, WERK X and Theater Am Werk. In addition, he has collaborated on several occasions with makemake produktionen, as well as with the aktionstheater ensemble. Alongside his acting, Hemmer is active as a composer and songwriter. He has contributed musically to theatre productions at Dschungel Wien, the Staatstheater Oldenburg and the Staatstheater Mainz, amongst others, and is a member of the bands Rambo Rambo Rambi, Milzen and Knoil.

ALEKSANDRA KICA
Costume
She is a Polish costume designer based in Vienna. She created her first costume designs whilst studying at the renowned Max Reinhardt Seminar, where she worked on productions as a costume designer for several years. At the same time, she worked as a costume assistant at venues including the Schauspielhaus Wien. In 2007, she designed the costumes for the production of Euripides’ The Trojan Women as part of the Vienna Festival. Since then, she has worked as a freelance costume designer and has already designed costumes for over 90 projects. Her artistic roots lie in theatre, but in recent years she has worked predominantly in the fields of opera, operetta, dance and musicals. She has collaborated extensively with directors such as Andreas Gergen, Joachim Schlömer, Nurkan Erpulat, Alexander Balga, Sandra Cervik, Cusch Jung, André Bücker, Gaines Hall, Stephanie Mohr, Steffen Jäger, Sebastian Sommer, Melissa King, Rudolf Frey, Günther Beelitz and Eva-Maria Melbye. She works at venues including the Volksoper Wien, Theater in der Josefstadt, Volkstheater, Staatstheater Augsburg, Linz09 European Capital of Culture, Vereinigte Bühnen Bozen, Staatstheater Wiesbaden, the Vienna Festival, the Salzburg State Theatre, the Leipzig Opera, the Burgtheater, the Schauspielhaus Düsseldorf, the Mörbisch Lake Festival and the Schauspielhaus Vienna.

MONIKA KOVACEVIC
Stage
Born in 1997 – currently living in Vienna. Since 2020, she has been studying at the University of Applied Arts in the Department of Stage and Film Design. Even before beginning her studies, she had already distinguished herself through work in various areas of theatre, particularly stage and costume design. These included, amongst others, the Theater an der Wien, the Volksoper and the Burgtheater, in collaboration with Lydia Steier, Momme Hinrichs, Prisca Baumann, Sebastian Nübling and others. She has also created her own costume and set designs for film productions at the Film Academy Vienna, as well as at the Rabenhof Theatre, WerkX, Theater am Werk and the independent theatre scene in Zurich.

VERONIKA MAURER
Dramaturgy
Veronika Maurer studied philosophy in Vienna and Paris and worked at the Burgtheater in Vienna as a dramaturgical assistant, collaborating with René Pollesch and Christoph Schlingensief, amongst others. From 2011 to 2014 she was employed at the Residenztheater in Munich, followed by a season at the Schauspielhaus Graz. As a dramaturg at the Volkstheater in Vienna from 2015 to 2020, she curated, among other things, the discussion series „Volkstheatergespräche“ and an annual festival featuring guest performances from Eastern Europe. Since 2020, she has been working as a freelance dramaturg, including at Werk X-Petersplatz and the Münchner Kammerspiele. Since 2022, she has also been a dramaturg at the Brecht Festival in Augsburg.

MICHAELA BILGERI
Actress and singer
She grew up in the Bregenzerwald and studied drama and German language and literature in Vienna. She has performed at venues including the Rabenhof Theatre, Werk X, Dschungel Wien, Phönix Linz, Societaetstheater Dresden, Theater Drachengasse, Kosmos Theatre Vienna and Bregenz. She has been a member of the aktionstheater ensemble since 2012. In 2012, she was awarded the Jungwild Prize for the youth theatre production *alles ganz anders*. Winner of the 2015 Culture Prize of the State of Vorarlberg; in 2015 and 2017, she appeared in the Nestroy-nominated plays *Pension Europa* and *Macht und Rebel*; in 2016, she won the Nestroy Prize for the off-theatre production *Kein Stück über Syrien* with the aktionstheater ensemble. She has staged a magic show (Ab in die Box, Kosmos Wien 2025) and in her spare time loves playing Tarock and spending time with her child. She has also worked as editor-in-chief at Landjäger Magazin and Best of Vienna (Falter), has been with Willkommen Österreich since 2020, and is the initiator and director of the Kürzestfilm Festival at the Gartenbaukino in Vienna.

SUSE LICHTENBERGER
Actress and singer
Born in 1975 in Nagold, Germany. She studied acting at the Zurich University of the Arts (ZHDK) and completed her training in 2000. She was a member of the ensemble at the Schauspielhaus Graz until 2003 and has been based in Vienna since 2003. Productions and guest performances at various theatres in Vienna and across Europe, including the Salzburg Festival, the Vienna Festival, steirischer herbst, Schauspielhaus Wien, Volkstheater Wien, Staatstheater Stuttgart, Deutsches Theater Göttingen, Krétakör, Budapest, Kosmos Theater, DSCHUNGEL WIEN, etc. She has worked with directors including N. Helbling, K. Palm, W. Klemm, G. Mehmert, A. Vitasek, Á. Schilling, M. Echerer, M. Sendlhofer and Imre Bozoki. She appeared in the 2018 NESTROY Award-winning best off-production „Muttersprache Mameloschn“ (makemake produktionen / Sara Ostertag). In addition to her theatre work, she has appeared in several film and television productions, including „Vorstadtweiber“ and „Steh auf Du Sau!“. She became known on social media for „Lockdown Linde“ (#LockdownLinde), which was created whilst working from home during the various lockdowns of the coronavirus pandemic and has also been performed live as a cabaret show since 2022. Suse Lichtenberger lives with her family in Vienna.

ALICE PETERHANS
Actress and singer
Alice Peterhans (born in 1988 in Fislisbach, Aargau, Switzerland) is an actress and musician and lives in Vienna. Following a three-year apprenticeship as an office assistant, she began her artistic career at the Burgtheater in Vienna in 2009. She then studied performing arts at the Music and Arts University of the City of Vienna. From 2014 to 2016, she was a member of the ensemble at the Next Liberty Children’s and Youth Theatre in Graz. Since 2018, she has worked as a theatre musician and actress at venues including the Kosmostheater in Vienna, Drachengasse in Vienna, Schauspielhaus Graz, Graz Opera, the Volkstheater in Munich, the Klagenfurt Ensemble and the Landestheater Niederösterreich.

SEBASTIAN „COSBO“ HITI
Actor-singer
Sebastian Hiti (born 1997) is a musician and performer. After graduating from the Dreihackengasse Music School in 2016, he has been the guitarist and singer of the band kobrakasino since 2017. He has appeared in productions including „Österreich wir müssen reden“ (Schauspielhaus Graz, 2018) and the opera performance „Conversations: I don’t know that word … yet“ (steirischer herbst, 2021), and has worked as a studio and live musician as well as a songwriter with Resi Reiner and Golfblitz.

N.N.
Actress and singer

VALERIA LANNER
musician
Valeria Lanner is an organist and pianist with Italian-Austrian roots. At home in a wide range of genres, the Salzburg-based musician performs across Europe as an organ soloist. She has a particular interest in new music, improvisation and innovative concert formats. Influences from minimal music, classical music and jazz shape her multifaceted artistic practice and flow into her repertoire, which ranges from early music and contemporary works to free improvisation. She brings this versatility to life in various projects and collaborations; she has performed at WIEN MODERN, the Sonic Territories Festival, the Brucknerfest, Jeunesse and the Radiokulturhaus Wien, amongst others, and has been a regular at the Ostheim Organ Festival since 2022. In 2024, she was awarded first prize at the 12th Joseph Gabler Organ Competition and was a finalist in the 8th International Daniel Herz Organ Competition. For her transdisciplinary project ECHOES OF SOFTNESS, which she developed together with Aaron Josi Sternbauer and in which organ, electronics and vocals merge, she received a project grant from the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna and the University of Applied Arts Vienna. In 2025, she was selected for the mdw Artist Portrait.
Her musical journey began at the age of four with the piano, followed by her first organ lessons at the age of eleven. From 2017 to 2020, she studied piano with Stan Ford and organ with Hannfried Lucke at the Pre-College Salzburg, as well as jazz piano at the Musikum Salzburg with Daniel Schröckenfuchs. In 2025, she completed her studies in church music at the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna (mdw) and, in 2026, her Bachelor’s degree in organ performance with Jeremy Joseph. She is currently studying piano pedagogy at the mdw with Elisabeth Aigner-Monarth, specialising in jazz piano under Philipp Nykrin. She has also received significant guidance from Franz Danksagmüller, Jürgen Essl, Elke Eckerstorfer and Vincent Dubois, amongst others.

BERNHARD HÖCHTEL
Musician
Bernhard Höchtel, born in Linz in 1985, works as a pianist, keyboardist, composer and choir director in the fields of free improvisation, contemporary music, new folk music and electronic music. Bernhard Höchtel is the founder, musical director and „resident composer“ of the a cappella group „Gesangskapelle Hermann“, which has already caused quite a stir with its three albums „Ohne Panier“,  „Mei Goaddnzweag & I“ and „Elegant“, has already caused quite a stir. As pianist for the group „Pneuma“, Bernhard Höchtel explores contemporary music at the intersection of electronic and acoustic music, and composition and improvisation. He is also a member of the electronic music collective „Motherdrum“ and leads the vocal ensemble „Soma“.
He has already toured many European countries, performing at renowned venues and festivals such as Wien Modern, the Vienna Festival, the Musikverein, the Vienna Konzerthaus, the Vienna Chamber Opera, Porgy & Bess, the Radiokulturhaus, the Brucknerhaus, the Musiktheater Linz and the Klagenfurt City Theatre.
Theatre and musical theatre feature prominently in his compositional output. In addition to five productions as part of the Rainbach Gospel Plays, he has worked at venues such as the Burgtheater in Vienna, the Landestheater St. Pölten, the Kosmostheater in Vienna, the Dschungel Wien, and the Hundsturm (a venue of the Volkstheater Wien). He wrote the music for two musical productions by the Penzing Children’s Choir: „Mario – The Musical“ (2016) and „Lukas and the Sparks of the Gods – A Beethovical“ (2020).