MATTHIAS HALDIMANN - BERNARD KELLER

After having finished his studies (M.A. in Conference Interpreting), Matthias Haldimann has become a freelance interpreter and translator for English and Japanese. In order to train his soft skills, he leads an improv theatre group at the School of Translation and Interpreting in Heidelberg that some members of the cast have grown really fond of.
After his impressive performance in Closer by Patrick Marber, Matthias now accepted the challenge of impersonating the terminally sick Bernard. Previous roles include Ferdinand in Shakespeare’s The Tempest and the Poet in Arthur Schnitzler’s La Ronde.
Our Swiss friend is very competent and shares his extensive experience in acting and improvising with us, which we greatly appreciate. On top of that, Matti is always willing to support our sometimes helpless director with his ideas. The truth is that he wanted to become a professional actor, but the grand acting schools of some German-speaking countries didn’t recognise the potential and the talent standing before them. It’s damn sure – they would really regret their decision if they saw our star on stage.

SEBASTIAN "DE BADI" DOLLHOFER - MICHAEL KELLER

This dude is cool as ice. There is almost nothing that could disturb his peace of mind and self-control. Or … wait! Except for, maybe, wild and dangerous animals like dogs, especially if they want to play. And maybe some female fellow actors who like to engage in girlie talk and gossip, too.
But apart from that, Badi will surely become the most popular teacher in his school after he graduates from university. Or he will end up as a rock star. We don’t know.
Playing quite an opposed character like Michael was somewhat of a challenge but we think that he deserved at least an A for doing his homework and delivering it always on time! Good job and nicely done, Mr. Dollhofer!

THILO HATSCHER - RUBEN KELLER

This youngster has just arrived in Heidelberg to start his academic career as a student of translation studies, which opens a completely exciting world of new friends, hobbies and liberties. Everything is so interesting that it is almost impossible to concentrate on one thing and miss out on everything else. And it’s quite a challenge, too. For example, joining Matthias’ improv group. But we highly appreciate Thilo’s time and devotion to our nice little project.
Playing an autistic person was definitely not the easiest part, but hey, what would life be without challenges? And girls, one question: Do you also find it sweet and charming when a guy has a huge hole in his sweater? We certainly do!
Thilo is also full of surprises and always remains modest. Just one example: After having admitted at the casting that he probably could learn a simple piano piece for the performances, he just started to play a charming improvisation at one of the rehearsals. So we’ll see what’s coming next.

NORA HÖRTLING - SAM KELLER

After debuting at the Schauspielgruppe des Anglistischen Seminars in Beyond therapy, Nora luckily returned to the seminar. Her outstanding performance at the rehearsal knocked us out of our shoes. Nora often makes us speechless when she tells us her many different stories.
Nora was touring with a professional drama group for some time before settling down in Heidelberg and starting her studies to become a teacher. She has already successfully proven her pedagogical abilities by training her dog, Anton. He has also become a crew member and participates in the rehearsals.
Even though Nora was late for almost every rehearsal, we couldn’t be angry with her for a long time. Because she is just such a loveable and nice person. And because she always brought us chocolate and biscuits to make up for the delays. Nora is our creative mastermind and always comes up with all kinds of great ideas like selling shots at the bar filled in, let’s say, very special vessels.
And we never prayed so hard when we wished our Irish girl would pass her last exam.

ALEXANDRA OKS - HANNAH

Alexandra is not only a cast member impersonating Hannah, she also co-produces the project and is the director's girlfriend. There have been some rumours recently about how she got the role in the production. But they all are, let’s put it that way, completely groundless.
Anyway, this is Alexandra’s 4th project with the drama group of the Anglistisches Seminar, after having starred in Cocktails with Mimi (2007), Time and the Conways (2008) and Closer (2011).
In 2011 she graduated from university with a M.A. in Conference Interpreting for English and Russian, and like Matthias is a freelance interpreter now.
After having followed her significant other to the horrible city of Kaiserslautern, she still spends quite a lot of time in her favourite city of Heidelberg, which she enjoys much.

RAÚL GONZALEZ - ROBERT

He is our ‘Latin lover’ and a very calm and easy-going fellow. Originally from Mexico, Raùl came to Germany to conquer the academic world of political science and German universities. ‘Hey, they didn’t tell me there would be an oral examination at the end of my PhD project!’.
And being taught by a Swiss cast member songs about Mexican volcanoes with almost unpronounceable names that probably nobody in Mexico has heard of before, was certainly a great experience, too.
This is his debut at Anglistisches Seminar but he has already gained a lot of acting experience with amateur and semi-professional drama groups in Mexico and Spain.
It’s a shame Raùl will leave the country soon. We wanted to learn more about Mexicans and their habits and traditions, like wearing strange wrestling masks in public. And oh, just in case you were wondering: Raùl is definitely a MexiCAN, and not a MexiCAN’T!

DMITRIJ LAABER - DIRECTOR

Dmitrij is a much too soft director and producer of the play who nevertheless has managed to receive some respect from the crew. After a very short participation in the drama group at the University of Kaiserslautern, he finally returned to the seminar. Even the distance of 90 km could not prevent him from starting a new project in Heidelberg.
This is his second project at Anglistisches Seminar (after Closer), which at the beginning was meant to be something funny. Although he prefers depressing stuff. Well, according to the playwright, A Good Death is a comedy.
Being actually an engineer who is working on his PhD project at the University of Kaiserslautern, he betrays his subject during his free time in order not to become a nerd. You remember these guys from ‘The Big Bang Theory’? And he really loves escaping the job and Kaiserslautern for a while. On the other hand his technical skills are really useful for the production…

ANTON 'THE DOG' - ASSISTANT DIRECTOR

Well, Anton is without doubt the most productive team member. He gives his comments in a very specific way, e.g. by snoring during a boring scene. Actually, it's really a challenge to satisfy his extraordinarily high expectations. And though he rather hears than sees our rehearsals, Anton is always ready to jump up and dance with the cast or to find a cosy place at his mistress' side.

april 16, 2013Posted by gooddeath@ol-projects.de