Maren Schäfer

Biography

Maren Schäfer studied opera singing in Darmstadt, Berlin and Düsseldorf. After successfully completing her master's degree, she worked both as a singer (including Komische Oper Berlin, Deutsche Oper am Rhein Düsseldorf, Theatre Krefeld and Mönchengladbach, State Theatre Meiningen) and as a freelance assistant director before being hired as a permanent assistant director at the National Theatre Mannheim in the 2018/19 season. Here she was responsible for numerous revivals and new productions (collaborations with Calixto Bieito and Anna Viebrock, as well as with directors such as Roger Vontobel, Jan Dvořák, Philipp Stölzl, Markus Bothe and Luise Kautz, among others). Her artistic focus is on interdisciplinary projects, piece development and music theater beyond the grand opera, as well as feminist perspectives on the classical operatic repertoire. With the White Wall Opera production of Rossini’s Il barbiere di Siviglia she presented her first own directorial work in November 2020 with great success, which has since taken a permanent place in the repertoire of the National Theatre Mannheim. This was followed in 2022 by the scenic realization of the family concert Max und Moritz in collaboration with the illustrator Ernesto Lucas, the co-direction of the production Der fliegende Holländer (directed by Roger Vontobel) and the development of Don Quijote and Sancho Panza, a music production for families. In 2023, her collaboration with director Barbora Horáková also took her to the National Theater in Prague for the first time for a revival of Le nozze di Figaro. In addition to her own artistic work, Maren Schäfer is also committed to improving conditions and artistic networks in theatre. She has been a member of the administrative team of the assistants' network since 2021, and is co-organizer and part of the artistic management team of the SUMMER UP FESTIVAL for theatre assistants and young artists.