Ernst Busch Academy of Dramatic Arts
Encyclopedia
The Ernst Busch Academy of Dramatic Arts (Hochschule für Schauspielkunst „Ernst Busch“, HFS), based in the Niederschöneweide
district of Berlin
, Germany
, was founded in 1951 as the National Theatre School in Berlin with the status of college. In 1981 it was granted university status, and a year later was renamed after the singer and actor Ernst Busch
.
drama school established in 1905 at the Deutsches Theater in Berlin. As was usual at that time, it was a private institution. The first training facility was the ground floor of the Palais Wesendonkschen, In den Zelten 21, where Reinhardt lived, near the Reichstag
.
Reinhardt emigrated in 1933 and the Nazis usurped the theatre along with the acting school. The director of the Deutsches Theater
, Heinz Hilpert, secured subsidies for the first time in the school's history, but struggled to keep the school open. His work has been considered comparable to that of Gustaf Gründgens
. After 1945, Boleslaw Barlog was rebuilding the theater world in West Berlin; Gustav von Wangenheim
, returned from exile in Russia, became director of the Deutsches Theater, shortly followed by Wolfgang Langhoff who held the position for many years. Teaching was resumed from July 1946, subsidized by the city of Berlin. After the currency reform of 1948, the school used rooms of the destroyed Schiller Theater
in the west of the city.
. Major teachers were Rudolf Penka and Kurt Veth (both directors of the school), Wolfgang Engel, Thomas Langhoff, Ursula Karusseit, Hans-Georg Simmgen, Jutta Hoffmann; others included dance teacher Hilde Buchenwald and, as a speech trainer, the professional poet Karl Mickel. In the GDR, the school was considered a hotbed of talent.
In 2004 the university won the Berlin Art Prize and became widely known due to the long-term documentary Addicted to Acting by Andres Veiel
(1997–2004). A political storm arose in June 2005 over the appointment of sociologist Wolfgang Engler as Rector
of the university. He succeeded Klaus Völker, who had led the school since 1993. The school was awarded the 2010 "Film Culture Award in Mannheim-Heidelberg", which the International Filmfestival Mannheim-Heidelberg
awards to companies, institutions and individuals who have rendered outstanding service continuously over many years to film culture in Germany.
the Academy is relocating to the former theatre workshops of Berlin, with purpose-built conversions and extensions of the building.
Graduates from 1933–50 included:
Notable alumni since 1951 include:
Manfred Krug
enrolled but did not complete his training.
Niederschöneweide
Niederschöneweide is a German locality within the Berlin borough of Treptow-Köpenick. It is, with Oberschöneweide , part of the geographic quarter of Schöneweide...
district of Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, was founded in 1951 as the National Theatre School in Berlin with the status of college. In 1981 it was granted university status, and a year later was renamed after the singer and actor Ernst Busch
Ernst Busch
Ernst Bernhard Wilhelm Busch was a German field marshal during World War II. He was also a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves...
.
History
The roots of the university go back to the Max ReinhardtMax Reinhardt
----Max Reinhardt was an Austrian theater and film director and actor.-Biography:...
drama school established in 1905 at the Deutsches Theater in Berlin. As was usual at that time, it was a private institution. The first training facility was the ground floor of the Palais Wesendonkschen, In den Zelten 21, where Reinhardt lived, near the Reichstag
Reichstag
Reichstag may refer to:*Reichstag – the diets or parliaments of the Holy Roman Empire, of the Austrian-Hungarian monarchy, and of Germany from 1871 to 1945** Reichstag ** Reichstag...
.
Reinhardt emigrated in 1933 and the Nazis usurped the theatre along with the acting school. The director of the Deutsches Theater
Deutsches Theater
The Deutsches Theater in Berlin is a well-known German theatre. It was built in 1850 as Friedrich-Wilhelm-Städtisches Theater, after Frederick William IV of Prussia. Located on Schumann Street , the Deutsches Theater consists of two adjoining stages that share a common, classical facade...
, Heinz Hilpert, secured subsidies for the first time in the school's history, but struggled to keep the school open. His work has been considered comparable to that of Gustaf Gründgens
Gustaf Gründgens
Gustaf Gründgens , born Gustav Heinrich Arnold Gründgens, was one of Germany's most famous and influential actors of the 20th century, intendant and artistic director of theatres in Berlin, Düsseldorf, and Hamburg...
. After 1945, Boleslaw Barlog was rebuilding the theater world in West Berlin; Gustav von Wangenheim
Gustav von Wangenheim
Gustav von Wangenheim was a German actor, screenwriter and director.- Life :Wangenheim was born Ingo Clemens Gustav Adolf Freiherr von Wangenheim in Wiesbaden, Hesse, to parents Eduard Clemens Freiherr von Wangenheim and Minna Mengers...
, returned from exile in Russia, became director of the Deutsches Theater, shortly followed by Wolfgang Langhoff who held the position for many years. Teaching was resumed from July 1946, subsidized by the city of Berlin. After the currency reform of 1948, the school used rooms of the destroyed Schiller Theater
Schiller Theater
The Schiller Theater is a theatre in Berlin.During the 1920s and 1930s, it was used by the Preußisches Staatstheater Berlin, and from 1951 to 1993 the Staatliche Schauspielbühnen Berlin. In 1993, the Berlin Senate decided to close it for financial reasons...
in the west of the city.
State Drama School
Berlin's State Drama School was legally and conceptually founded in September 1951 as a public sector body. In a conscious departure from previous practice the somewhat remote training center known as the Old Boat House in Niederschöneweide was chosen. The new building was started in 1979 and completed in 1981. During this time the school was in a school building in MarzahnMarzahn
Marzahn is a locality within the borough of Marzahn-Hellersdorf in Berlin. Berlin's 2001 administrative reform led to the former boroughs of Marzahn and Hellersdorf fusing into a single new borough...
. Major teachers were Rudolf Penka and Kurt Veth (both directors of the school), Wolfgang Engel, Thomas Langhoff, Ursula Karusseit, Hans-Georg Simmgen, Jutta Hoffmann; others included dance teacher Hilde Buchenwald and, as a speech trainer, the professional poet Karl Mickel. In the GDR, the school was considered a hotbed of talent.
The Academy today
About 90 students are enrolled at the Drama School in drama, puppetry, directing and dance. The university uses the Berlin Workers' Theatre as a venue. Every year about 15 productions are staged. The Ernst Busch Academy of Dramatic Arts Berlin is a member institution of the Permanent Conference of acting training (SKS).In 2004 the university won the Berlin Art Prize and became widely known due to the long-term documentary Addicted to Acting by Andres Veiel
Andres Veiel
Andres Veiel is a German film director and screenwriter. His 2011 film If Not Us, Who? was nominated for the Golden Bear at the 61st Berlin International Film Festival. Veiel won the Alfred Bauer Prize at the Berlinale....
(1997–2004). A political storm arose in June 2005 over the appointment of sociologist Wolfgang Engler as Rector
Rector
The word rector has a number of different meanings; it is widely used to refer to an academic, religious or political administrator...
of the university. He succeeded Klaus Völker, who had led the school since 1993. The school was awarded the 2010 "Film Culture Award in Mannheim-Heidelberg", which the International Filmfestival Mannheim-Heidelberg
International Filmfestival Mannheim-Heidelberg
Mannheim-Heidelberg International Filmfestival is an annual film festival held jointly by the cities of Mannheim and Heidelberg in Baden-Württemberg. The festival was established in 1952. In Mannheim there are six cinema centres and 19 single cinemas.The festival presents arthouse films of...
awards to companies, institutions and individuals who have rendered outstanding service continuously over many years to film culture in Germany.
the Academy is relocating to the former theatre workshops of Berlin, with purpose-built conversions and extensions of the building.
Notable alumni
Reinhardt's students from 1905–33 included:
|
Carl Ebert Carl Ebert was a German theatre and opera producer and administrator.-Biography:He worked as an actor and theatre director in Germany from 1915 to 1927, directing Brecht's In The Jungle of Cities in Darmstadt in 1927... Alexander Granach Alexander Granach was a popular German actor in the 1920s and 1930s.- Biography :Granach was born Jessaja Granach in Werbowitz to Jewish parents and rose to theatrical prominence at the Volksbühne in Berlin... Werner Hinz Werner Hinz was a German film actor. He appeared in 70 films between 1935 and 1984.-Selected filmography:* Die Buntkarierten * No Greater Love * The Last Witness... Marianne Hoppe Marianne Hoppe was a most distinguished German theatre and film actress.-Life and work:Born in Rostock, Marianne Hoppe became a leading lady of stage and films in Germany. She was born into a wealthy land owning family and was initially privately educated on her father's private estate... |
Renate Müller Renate Müller was a German singer and actress in both silent films and sound films, as well as on stage.One of the most successful actresses in German films from the early 1930s, she was courted by the Nazi Party to appear in films that promoted their ideals, but refused... Lothar Müthel Lothar Max Müthel was a German stage and film actor and director.Müthel was born in Berlin, Germany where he attended the acting school of Max Reinhardt, Schauspielschule, Berlin.... Friedrich Wilhelm Murnau Friedrich Wilhelm "F. W." Murnau was one of the most influential German film directors of the silent era, and a prominent figure in the expressionist movement in German cinema during the 1920s... Alice Treff Alice Treff was a German film actress.She appeared in over 120 films between 1932 and 2001.She was born and died in Berlin, Germany.-Selected filmography:* Der Auftrag Höglers... Otto Wallburg Otto Wallburg was a German actor.-Selected filmography:* Der rote Kreis * Der Hampelmann * Hocuspocus * Yorck * Ihre Majestät die Liebe * Queen of the Night... |
Graduates from 1933–50 included:
- Gerhard Meyer
- Irma Münch
- Wilhelm Koch-Hooge
- Herbert Köfer
- Hans-Joachim KulenkampffHans-Joachim KulenkampffHans-Joachim Kulenkampff, nickname Kuli was a German actor and TV host, remembered mainly as host of Einer wird gewinnen, a quiz show that ran from 1964 to 1987.- External links :* *...
Notable alumni since 1951 include:
|
Karoline Herfurth -Life and career:She is probably most well known to English-speaking audiences for her appearances in the Academy Award Best Picture-nominee The Reader and in Perfume: The Story of a Murderer, the 2006 film adaptation of Patrick Suskind's best-selling novel Das Parfum. The feature was directed by... Nina Hoss -Early life:Nina's father, Willi Hoss, was a German trade unionist and politician . Her mother, Heidemarie Rohweder, was an actress at Stuttgart National Theatre and later director of the Esslingen-based Württemberg State Playhouse .-Career:In 1997 Hoss graduated from the Drama School "Ernst Busch"... Henry Hübchen Henry Hübchen is a German actor who played the title character in the award-winning 2004 film Go for Zucker. That performance earned him a Lola, Germany's equivalent of an Oscar and critical praise at home and abroad... Sandra Hüller Sandra Hüller is a German actress. She studied theater from 1996-2000 at the Hochschule Für Schauspielkunst "Ernst Busch", Berlin. She appeared from 1999-2001 at the Jena Theater, Thuringia and then for one year at the Schauspielhaus Leipzig... Julia Jentsch Julia Jentsch is a Silver Bear, two-time European Film Award, and Lola winning German actress. She is best known as the title character in Sophie Scholl – The Final Days, Jule in The Edukators and, Liza in I Served the King of England.-Career:Jentsch was born to a family of lawyers in Berlin and... Ursula Karusseit Ursula Karusseit is a German actress.-Selected filmography:-External links:... Niklas Kohrt Niklas Kohrt is a German actor.-Leben:Niklas Kohrt spent his childhood and youth in Berlin. In 1999 he got his "Abitur" at the Karl-Schiller-Oberschule and began his one year civil service in a hospital.In October 2000 he started studying culture-, politics- and theater science at the ... Bernd Michael Lade Bernd Michael Lade is a German actor and director. A native of Berlin, he is perhaps best known to audiences outside Germany for his role opposite Peter Sodann in several series of the crime drama Tatort. Lade's domestic partner is the actress Maria Simon, with whom he has two... Jan Josef Liefers Jan Josef Liefers, is a German actor and musician. He was born on August 8, 1964 in Dresden.-Life:Liefers is the son of director Karlheinz Liefers and actress Brigitte Liefers-Wähner. After his apprenticeship he studied at the Hochschule für Schauspielkunst Ernst Busch in Berlin... Dieter Mann Dieter Mann is a German actor.Mann was born in Berlin. Since 1984 he has belonged to the famous Deutsches Theater Berlin. He portrayed Wilhelm Keitel in Downfall.-References:... Dagmar Manzel Dagmar Manzel is a German actress. She has appeared in over 50 films and television shows since 1983. She starred in the 1986 film So Many Dreams, which was entered into the 37th Berlin International Film Festival.... Sven Martinek Sven Martinek is a German actor, best known for portraying main character Max Zander on the German TV series Der Clown.He is married to German actress Xenia Seeberg. They have one son, Philip-Elias, who was born in 2005.-Film:... |
Maria Simon Maria Simon is a German actress.- Family and background :Simon is the sister of the actress Susanna Simon. She was born and brought up in the former East Germany but moved to New York in 1990 to live with her father, a computer expert with the UN, and sister Dalena Simon... René Steinke René Steinke in Berlin, is a German actor, who was an ambulance driver before he pursued his acting dreams... Devid Striesow Devid Striesow is a German actor. He starred as "Sturmbannführer Herzog" in Stefan Ruzowitzky's 2007 film The Counterfeiters, which was awarded the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film for that year.-External links:... Simone Thomalla - Life :Thomalla is the daughter of the architect Alfred Thomalla. She grew up in Potsdam in East Germany. As a child she wanted to be a musician, but instead she attended the Hochschule für Schauspielkunst "Ernst Busch" acting school in Berlin. She gave her debut in the movie "Abgefunden". In 1989... Maria Wagner Maria Wagner is an American television soap opera director and writer.-Directing credits:As the World Turns* Director *Breakdown Writer -Awards and nominations:Daytime Emmy Award... Ursula Werner Ursula Werner is a German actress born September 28, 1943 in Eberswalde, Germany. Her film credits include Wolke Neun At the Other End , Willenbrock, Die Polizistin and Insel der Schwäne . Her television credits include Schloss Einstein and Einzug ins Paradies... |
Manfred Krug
Manfred Krug
Manfred Krug is a German actor and singer.-Life and work:After moving to East Germany at the age of 13, Manfred Krug worked at a steel plant before beginning his acting career on the stage and, ultimately, in film...
enrolled but did not complete his training.
Further reading
- Steve Earnest, The state acting academy of East Berlin: a history of actor training from Max Reinhart's [sic] Schauspielschule to the Hochschule für Schauspielkunst "Ernst Busch", Edwin Mellen Press, 1999. ISBN 0773479163