OVIGO Theater
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| OVIGO Theater e. V. | |
| Founded | 2012 |
|---|---|
| Members | 200 (as of 2026) |
| Legal form | Registered association (eingetragener Verein) |
| Member of | Verband Bayerischer Amateurtheater |
| Location | |
| Headquarters | Schwarzenfeld |
| Country | Germany |
|
| |
| Links | |
| Website | ovigo-theater.de |
| Social media | Facebook · Instagram · YouTube |
The OVIGO Theater e. V. is an amateur theatre association from Oberviechtach in the district of Schwandorf, Upper Palatinate, Bavaria, Germany. It grew out of a school drama group founded in 1979 at the Ortenburg-Gymnasium Oberviechtach, has used its present name since 2012, and has no permanent house: it plays plays, musicals, family theatre and its own formats at changing, often unusual venues across the Upper Palatinate.[1][2]
History
The school drama group of the Ortenburg-Gymnasium was founded in 1979 by the art teacher Wolfgang Pöhlmann as the Ortenburg-Ensemble; its first success was Der Spitzel, an extended scene from Bertolt Brecht's Fear and Misery of the Third Reich.[1] Later productions included Die Dreigroschenoper, Jedermann and Faust, and in 2002 the ensemble helped to launch the Doktor-Eisenbarth-Festspiel in Oberviechtach.[2] In 2012, when none of the players were still pupils, actors without a connection to the school had joined and Pöhlmann had retired from teaching (in 2011), the ensemble separated from the school and took the name OVIGO, from "OVI" for Oberviechtach and "OGO" for Ortenburg-Gymnasium.[1] Its first production under the new name was Love-Jogging by Derek Benfield (2012).[3] In 2014 Pöhlmann directed the group for the last time, in Curt Goetz's Dr. med. Hiob Prätorius for the school's 50th anniversary, and handed over to Florian Wein and Julia Ruhland.[2]
In September 2016 OVIGO was re-founded as a registered association; the first board consisted of Florian Wein, Julia Ruhland, Julia Gruber and Erich Wein. The following years brought productions throughout the Upper Palatinate and a strong growth in membership.[1] From 2017 the group was a placement for the federal volunteer service, and it offers regular theatre training for members.[2] During the COVID-19 pandemic it developed new formats; on 5 July 2023 Florian Wein became its first full-time artistic director (Intendant), and Ilona Glück became chair of the association.[1][4] After the success of Spamalot and SAD-88, the theatre gained the new theatre association Neue Bühne Oberpfalz as a partner from 2026, which made it possible to employ further staff.[1] According to the regional wiki OberpfalzWiki, its productions have drawn around 60,000 spectators.[2]
Repertoire
Besides plays and musicals, OVIGO has developed formats of its own: Zeitreisen (time journeys), guided walks with scenes at historic sites such as the castle ruins of Murach and Thanstein; Dinner mit Killer, crime plays combined with a dinner, and Dinner mit Singer, a dinner with a musical.[2][4] In 2022 it devised the bilingual cross-border tour Fingierte Grenzen – Auf den Spuren der Aktion Kámen, played together with Czech performers.[2] Its own play SAD-88, by Florian Wein, deals with the racist arson attack on the Habermeierhaus in Schwandorf on 17 December 1988; it premiered on the anniversary of the attack in 2024 in the Felsenkeller in Schwandorf, with the film actress Anna Maria Sturm in the cast, and was also performed at schools.[2] The group also teaches drama courses at schools in the district.[2]
| Season | Title | Author | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | Love-Jogging | Derek Benfield | First production as OVIGO |
| 2014 | Dr. med. Hiob Prätorius | Curt Goetz | Last production directed by Wolfgang Pöhlmann |
| 2015 | Der Gott des Gemetzels | Yasmina Reza | God of Carnage; directed by Florian Wein; Bayerischer Amateurtheaterpreis |
| 2015 | Diamond Lucy | Youth play[4] | |
| 2016 | Schneewittchen | First children's play; about 1,000 spectators | |
| 2016–2017 | Die Verwandlung | after Franz Kafka | The Metamorphosis; played in glassworks among other venues |
| 2017 | Lampedusa | Henning Mankell | In a television studio |
| 2017–2018 | Männerhort | Kristof Magnusson | In an air-raid shelter and a shopping centre's ventilation plant |
| 2017–2018 | Peter Pan | after J. M. Barrie | Family musical; almost 3,000 spectators |
| 2018 | Scrooge – Eine Weihnachtsgeschichte | after Charles Dickens | A Christmas Carol |
| 2019 | Pippi Langstrumpf | after Astrid Lindgren | Family musical; 4,431 spectators |
| 2019 | A Clockwork Orange | after Anthony Burgess | A Clockwork Orange |
| 2020–2022 | Eine ganz heiße Nummer | Andrea Sixt | 4,200 spectators; revived 2026 |
| 2021–2022 | Emil und die Detektive | after Erich Kästner | Emil and the Detectives; almost 2,000 spectators |
| 2022–2023 | Der kleine Horrorladen | Howard Ashman and Alan Menken | Little Shop of Horrors; over 3,000 spectators |
| 2023 | Sid und Nancy – Ein Junkymärchen | Ben Becker | |
| 2023–2024 | Pension Schöller | Carl Laufs and Wilhelm Jacoby | |
| 2023–2024 | Die Wunderübung | Daniel Glattauer | |
| 2024–2025 | Das kleine Gespenst | after Otfried Preußler | Children's ensemble, with live music |
| 2024–2026 | Monty Python's Spamalot | Eric Idle | Spamalot; 29 performances, almost 9,000 spectators |
| 2024–2025 | SAD-88 | Florian Wein | Premiere 17 December 2024, Felsenkeller Schwandorf |
| 2025–2026 | Blind Date | Musical comedy, open air | |
| 2026 | Robin Hood | Open-air family play at Burgtreswitz, Grafenwöhr and Winklarn |
The 2026 programme also included Kalter weißer Mann, Momo, Tod im Beichtstuhl, Das Experiment, Hamlet for you, Heureka and Nur ein Tag.[5]
Venues
As OVIGO has no theatre of its own, its venues vary; it plays frequently in Schwandorf, Nabburg, Oberviechtach, Neunburg vorm Wald, Winklarn and Bodenwöhr, in Regensburg, Weiden and Amberg, and in places such as Waldsassen, Bärnau and Sulzbach-Rosenberg. Under the label oviGO! it regularly uses unusual venues, including glassworks in Waldsassen and Zwiesel, a television studio, a classroom, a nursery garden, an underground car park and the ventilation plant of the Donau-Einkaufszentrum in Regensburg.[2]
Organisation
OVIGO Theater is led by a full-time artistic director and a voluntary board.[4] It has more than 200 members.[6]
Awards
- 2016: Bayerischer Amateurtheaterpreis ("Larifari") of the Verband Bayerischer Amateurtheater e. V., acting category, for Der Gott des Gemetzels.[2][3]
- 2018 and 2023: Zukunftspreis of the district of Schwandorf.[2]
- 2023: Jugend-Kulturförderpreis of the Bezirk Oberpfalz.[2]
- 2024: Heimatpreis Bayern of the Bavarian State Ministry of Finance and Home Affairs.[7]
The youth productions Diamond Lucy (2017) and Mein Freund, der Schrank (2019) were nominated for the international Papageno youth theatre award.[2]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 Unsere Geschichte, OVIGO Theater e. V., retrieved 20 October 2026. Archived on 21 October 2026.
- ↑ 2.00 2.01 2.02 2.03 2.04 2.05 2.06 2.07 2.08 2.09 2.10 2.11 2.12 2.13 2.14 OVIGO Theater, OberpfalzWiki, retrieved 20 October 2026. Archived on 21 October 2026.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Archiv, OVIGO Theater e. V., retrieved 20 October 2026. Archived on 21 October 2026.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 Unser Führungsteam, OVIGO Theater e. V., retrieved 20 October 2026. Archived on 21 October 2026.
- ↑ OVIGO Theater, OVIGO Theater e. V., retrieved 20 October 2026.
- ↑ Oberviechtach, German Wikipedia, retrieved 20 October 2026.
- ↑ Heimatpreis Bayern, German Wikipedia, retrieved 20 October 2026.