Natascha Kalmbach

Natascha Kalmbach was born in Esslingen am Neckar in 1964. She studied Theatre Studies, Nordic Philology and New German Literary History at LMU in Munich. She realised her first own productions during her time as assistant director at the Badische Landesbühne Bruchsal and the Städtische Bühnen Münster. She won the Regiepreis des Landes Nordrhein-Westfalen with her production of »Rose and Rain, Sword and Wound« in 1994. From 1995, she worked as a freelance director with a focus on young theatre at the Württembergische Landesbühne Esslingen, Wuppertaler Bühnen, Landestheater Salzburg, Theater Kiel and Schauspiel Essen, among others. From 2009–2012, she was artistic director of the Young Theatre at the Landesbühne Niedersachsen-Nord in Wilhelmshaven. As part of this role, she directed and organised vis-à-vis, the german-dutch children and youth theatre festival in 2011. In addition to her work as a director, she also writes plays and adaptations. Her plays »Psst! Frau Prof. Dr D. Zibel hat einen Ohrwurm« and »(K)eine Ahnung vom Leben« were premiered in Wilhelmshaven and Münster respectively. Her version of the »Bremen Town Musicians« was included in the Drei Masken Verlag programme. Natascha Kalmbach has been the director of the Young Theatre Heidelberg since the season 2016/17. She has now created over 80 productions, including »Wunschpunsch« (2015), »Blutrote Schuhe« (2016), »Verschwommen« (2018), »Orpheus ohne Angst« (2020) and »Rodrigo Raubein« (2021) here in Heidelberg. Together with Laura Huber (tempus fungit Lörrach) and Ulrike Stöck (Junges Nationaltheater Mannheim), she has been a spokesperson for Arbeitskreis Junges Theater Baden-Württemberg since 2016, promoting the interests of theatre for children and young people.