ORBIT

Vendula Nováková is a music theatre director, curator and activist born in Czechoslovakia. She studied acting, film and theatre studies, as well as theatre pedagogy. After an Erasmus stay at the Berlin University of the Arts (UdK) and three years working within Berlin’s dance and theatre scene, she continued her artistic path by studying music theatre directing at the University of Music and Theatre Hamburg.

The focus of her directorial work lies in contemporary music theatre and collective development processes in collaboration with contemporary composers. Her search for utopian visions of authenticity has led her to formats ranging from the “Klangoper” (sound opera) to the poetic documentary music theatre form “Impressionen,” which she developed herself. She has presented her projects at numerous festivals and received the DAAD Prize. She was also invited to participate in the Körber Studio Junge Regie.

Her works have been presented at festivals and venues including Spieltriebe Festival Osnabrück, Mannheimer Sommer, Theater Bremen, and the International Music Festival Heidelberger Frühling. She collaborates regularly with the Bremen Philharmonic Orchestra and the NDR Vocal Ensemble. She teaches at the University of Music and Theatre Hamburg, the University of Music and Dance Cologne, the Lübeck Academy of Music, and the University of Bayreuth. Since 2022, she has curated the festival Stimme X and serves as chairwoman of “Stimme X e.V. – Contemporary Music Theatre North Germany.” She is also actively involved in the nationwide initiative Netzwerk Freies Musiktheater.