Puppeteer and artistic director of “KOBALT Figurentheater Lübeck” and “KOLK17”
Stephan Schlafke, born in 1962 in Berlin, co-founded and directed the “berliner marionettenbühne” ensemble (1986 – 2008) designing not only the puppets but also the stage sets. He attended seminars at the “Freie Bildungsstätte für Puppenspiel” in Idstedt / Schleswig-Holstein, at the “Little Angel Marionette Theatre” London (with John Wright, Benita and P. K. Steinmann, Dieter Kieselstein, Eric Bass, and others) and in his hometown of Berlin.
In collaboration with the Hamburg puppet designer Jürgen Maaßen, Stephan developed control techniques and construction principles for a modern standard of historical rod marionettes, dealing with traditional design / construction techniques of the string marionette peep-box stage and with modern revolving stage constructions for mobile stages. He continues to explore the evolution of the art form, experimenting with various digital image and film projection options in combination with the analog performance theatrical puppet.
He conducts workshops on puppet control and puppetry.
Since 2000 he has been a member of the ensemble of the KOBALT Figurentheater Lübeck.
From 2003 to 2015, Stephan Schlafke was the first chairman of the Union Internationale de la Marionnette/Germany (UNIMA) and continues to work there as an editorial member of the professional journal “Das andere Theater”.
In 2007 he took over the artistic direction of the “Figurentheater Lübeck“, now KOLK 17, working there now as puppet theatre director and in 2012 the chairmanship of the state association of independent theatres in Schleswig-Holstein. Since 2018, he has been active on the board of the Verband deutscher Puppentheater e.V. – first as an assessor, then as 2nd chairman.
Artist Talk with Momo Ekissi
Stephan Schlafke talks with Momo Ekissi about his Theat- re Play “Das Treffen der Ahnen” (The Gathering of the Ancestors).
