Dennis Schwabenland

Dennis Schwabenland's aim is to bring people to the theatre who are increasingly losing access to it, or never had it, and to show them perspectives on how they can get involved in society. His productions have a current political reference: they often deal with themes of social injustice and the fight against one-sided representation in society. The works see themselves as laboratories for a future coexistence.

Dennis Schwabenland was born in Wiesbaden in 1983. Father of a son (1 year old). Grew up in Mülheim an der Ruhr (Ruhr area), actor and director, has lived in the city of Bern for 17 years. He completed his acting studies at the Bern University of the Arts (HKB) in 2008 with a diploma and the BEST award to outstanding graduates of all HKB courses. During his studies, he was awarded the sponsorship prize of the Armin Ziegler Foundation as an actor.

He is the founder and co-director of the theatre group PENG! Palast. With this group and the play Woyzeckmaschine (director), he won the renowned young talent competition PREMIO (first place / director) in 2009. The work of PENG! Palast was also honoured with the Youth Prize of the Burgergemeinde Bern at the end of 2010.
With PENG! Palast he also developed the plays "Hamlet MASSIV" (co-director), "Woyzeckmaschine" (director) and "Götter der Stadt und Die 120 Tage von Sodom" (director), "the holycoaster s(HIT) circus", together with the Israeli dance house Machol Shalem (Jerusalem), "KING", "FIGHT! PALAST #membersonly" (co-directed), "BYE BYE BABEL",

"Die Asozialen - Ein Endzeitwestern" (director), "Faul!" & "Future Lab!". Furthermore, he is co-director, producer and actor of the feature film (mockumentary) "the holycoaster s(HIT) circus", which had its world premiere at the 51st Solothurn Film Festival, was invited to the Hamburg Film Festival in 2016 and the 2018 Copenhagen Jewish Film Festival. The film won the Bern Film Prize in 2016.
In 2020 he founded the theatre company dennis schwabenland: thecodes. With this company he will realise the project "Brave New Life" in October 2021 with the Theater Orchester Biel Solothurn, the Schlachthaus Theater Bern and the Kleintheater Luzern. In June 2022 he will premiere the theatre project "Gilgamesh Origin", together with the Al Kasaba Theatre, Ramallah-Palestine and the Grossen Halle Bern.

His theatre projects have toured Switzerland, Germany, Austria, Palestine & Israel, Netherlands, China & Hong Kong, Singapore and Thailand.
Furthermore, he directed the musical "Sit so guet, s.v.p." by Kämpf/Urweider/ Schwabenland/Hari, which premiered at the Dampfzentrale Bern in 2017. He invented and developed the participatory capital city culture project "Time For Change", which took place from 2016-2017 at the Generationenhaus and the Schlachthaus Theater and will move into a follow-up project in 2019-2020 with "Time to Move" together with Bernmobil and the Junge Bühne Bern.

His productions "FIGHT! PALAST #membersonly", "BYE BYE BABEL", "Sit so guet, s.v.p." & "Edward Snowden stands behind the window and wakes up pears" were on the shortlist of the Swiss Theatertreffen.

As an actor he worked among others in the following constellations (selection): Theatre Biel- Solothurn "Frühlings Erwachen" (Moritz Stiefel), "Tartuffe" (Valere) and "Was ihr wollt" (Sebastian, Musiker), in the open air theatre Augusta Raurica / Theater Basel(Romulus,der Grosse (Cäsar Rupf)), in the Schlachthaus Theater Bern "Erika in Afrika", as well as "Was bisher geschah" (by Matto Kämpf & Raphael Urweider) and "Ich, ohne aufzufallen - Texte/ Theater Mani Matter" (Director: Meret Matter) and David Copperfield in the Weltalm play of the same name.
Since 2015 he has performed in the formation BUES/MEZGER/SCHWABENLAND in the plays "Als ich einmal tot war und Martin L. Gore mich nicht besuchen kam" and "Edward Snowden steht hinterm Fenster und weckt Birnen ein" (text: Daniel Mezger, director: Marie Bues).

He worked as a guest lecturer at the Bern University of the Arts in the transdisciplinary Institute Y and volunteered on the board of the professional association of independent theatre professionals ACT from 2011-2016, was a board member of ACT Bern from 2013-2019, and was president of ACT Bern from 2013-2016.
where he was president from 2013-2016. In May 2011 he was a scholarship holder at the International Forum Berlin ("Theatertreffen"). At the end of 2013 he was awarded the Off-Stage Scholarship by the Canton of Bern. From 2014-2019 he was a member of the board of Schlachthaus Theater Bern.