Ilene Winkler – Director / Dramaturg – Subject/Subjects Offered: Acting – Classes Offered: One On One Lessons

Born and raised in Detroit, Michigan, the hunting grounds of the Anishinaabe, Wyandot, Iroquois, Fox, Miami and the Sauk, I grew up with a particular fascination for theatre and storytelling. After doing my undergrad studies at Wayne State University in Speech and Drama as well as spending months trying to acquire a taste for archaeology and anthropology in Israel, the trajectory of my life took a drastic turn towards Europe. It was in Berlin, Germany that I first dug my heels into musical theatre. Beginning as an assistant director, becoming resident director and widening my skill set as production stage manager at Theatre des Westens, working with Helmut Baumann, August Everding and Götz Friedrich, I developed a distinct affinity for dramaturgy and new play development. Later, having the remarkable opportunity to work with George Tabori and Wolfgang Reichmann opened my eyes to my own potential and as a result of their mentorship and encouragement, I branched out into stage and film dramaturgy and the politics of translation. I spent several years doing resident direction and casting for Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Really Useful Theater Productions and afterwards was brought on board as Associate Director to James Lapine for the Glöckner von Notre Dame in Berlin. Besides the work in musical theatre, film dramaturgy and dialogue coaching have been passions of mine – particularly working with Anna Justice on her revelatory films Max Minski und Ich and Remembrance. One particularly invigorating juncture in my career was being called upon to co-direct two stage projects with the Bejart dancer/choreographer, Timothy Golliher, for the integrative theatre group, Theater Thikwa, in Berlin.  Alice’s Dream and Puppetina were excursions into the realm of stretching the impossible to make it possible. As a logical consequence of my long years in the theatre, my performance resume includes numerous radio plays and CD productions where I appeared as a principal vocalist, narrator and actor. Noteworthy examples of concert and film appearances: performing Façade- An Entertainment composed by William Walton, based on Edith Sitwell’s poems, with the Rias Orchestra in Berlin and being awarded a role in the renowned independent filmmaker Jon Jost’s film Stagefright, which was later included in his retrospective at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City.  Since 2003, I have been focussed on giving back an abundance of this acquired energy by coaching young performers and working with creative teams on the development of new works. I am a proud member of the LMDA, the Literary Managers and Dramaturgs Association.

“Il mio scopo non è insegnarvi a recitare, il mio scopo è aiutarvi a creare un uomo vivo da voi stessi.” (Konstantin Stanislavskij)

Coach Language: English/German