GOTTSCHEF, DIMITER

(1943- )

Director. Gottschef began working in EastBerlinin 1968, attracting little attention until his support for singer/songwriter Wolf Biermann caused his forced repatriation to his native Bulgaria. In 1985 he returned to Germany at the invitation of theColognetheaters to stageHeinerMüller'sQuartett, and thereafter he reestablished his directorial credentials in the unified Germany during the 1990s. In 1991 he was named "director of the year" byTheater Heutemagazine, and in 1992 his Cologne production of August Strindberg'sMiss Juliein Cologne was invited to the BerlinerTheatertreffen. From 1993 to 1996 Gottschef was house director at the Düsseldorf Theater, and from 1996 to 2000 he worked underLeander Haussmannin Bochum. Thereafter he worked inVienna, Frankfurt am Main,Hamburg, and Berlin. His 2004 Berlin Volksbühne production ofBlack Battles with Dogsby Bernard-Marie Koltès (1948-1989) garnered aTheatertreffeninvitation.