View source for Ruhpoldinger Kinder- und Jugendtheater RUKI

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The '''Ruhpoldinger Kinder- und Jugendtheater''' ('''RUKI''') is an amateur children's and youth theatre in [[wikipedia:Ruhpolding|Ruhpolding]] in the district of [[wikipedia:Traunstein (district)|Traunstein]], [[wikipedia:Upper Bavaria|Upper Bavaria]], Germany. Run as a non-profit association, it stages fairy-tale plays and children's musicals with performers of all ages in its own small theatre, the ''RUKI-Theater'' on Ruhpolding's Hauptstraße.<ref name="ttb" /><ref name="vbat" /><ref name="sn2025" />

== History ==
The theatre was started in the Haus des Gastes in Ruhpolding by Heidegunde Weichart, a teacher from Marquartstein, and Monika Kloiber, a long-standing member of the Ruhpoldinger Heimatbühne, with a handful of local children; its aim was relaxed learning through play, without the pressure of school. The journalist and teacher Wigbert Dehler, who had worked for the Bavarian broadcaster, joined as author and director.<ref name="ttb" /> According to a report in the ''Traunsteiner Tagblatt'' about three years after the start, the ensemble had grown to 40 players from the whole district and from all types of school, including 13 children with parents from other countries. By then the group had moved into the Altes Kino (old cinema) in Ruhpolding, equipping it with curtains and lighting from a grant of the Friedrich-Probst-Stiftung; all other work, from scenery to costumes, is done by volunteers and parents.<ref name="ttb" />

== Repertoire ==
The RUKI stages fairy tales and children's plays for families, usually a summer fairy tale and a Christmas production, as well as plays with its youth group.<ref name="ttb" /><ref name="sn2025" /> Productions have included ''Die kleine Hexe'' after [[wikipedia:Otfried Preußler|Otfried Preußler]], a youth production based on ''[[wikipedia:Dead Poets Society|Dead Poets Society]]'',<ref name="ttb" /> the children's musical ''Anton, das Mäusemusical'' directed by Wigbert Dehler (November 2024 to January 2025)<ref name="vbat" /> and ''[[wikipedia:King Thrushbeard|König Drosselbart]]'' with 14 players (May–June 2025).<ref name="sn2025" /><ref name="ttb2025" />

== Venue ==
The RUKI-Theater is at Hauptstraße 55 in Ruhpolding.<ref name="vbat" /> In the former cinema the audience sits on tiered seating, so that even the smallest children can see the stage.<ref name="ttb" />

== References ==
<references>
<ref name="ttb">[https://glueckskindlmarkt.de.tl/Theater-aktuell.htm Ruhpoldinger Kinder- und Jugendtheater "RUKI"] (reproducing a report of the Traunsteiner Tagblatt), 1. Ruhpoldinger Glückskindl-Markt, retrieved 20 October 2026. [https://web.archive.org/web/20261021121207/https://glueckskindlmarkt.de.tl/Theater-aktuell.htm Archived] on 21 October 2026.</ref>
<ref name="vbat">[https://www.amateurtheater-bayern.de/index.php?modul=stueck_show&stueck_id=4739 Anton, das Mäusemusical], Verband Bayerischer Amateurtheater, retrieved 20 October 2026. [https://web.archive.org/web/20261021121336/https://www.amateurtheater-bayern.de/index.php?modul=stueck_show&stueck_id=4739 Archived] on 21 October 2026.</ref>
<ref name="sn2025">[https://www.samerbergernachrichten.de/ruki-theater-koenig-drosselbart/ RUKI-Theater "König Drosselbart"], Samerberger Nachrichten, retrieved 20 October 2026. [https://web.archive.org/web/20261021121414/https://samerbergernachrichten.de/ruki-theater-koenig-drosselbart/ Archived] on 21 October 2026.</ref>
<ref name="ttb2025">[https://www.traunsteiner-tagblatt.de/region/landkreis-traunstein/ruhpolding_artikel,-gelungene-premiere-des-rukitheaters-koenig-drosselbart-in-ruhpolding-aufgefuehrt-_arid,940228.html Gelungene Premiere des RUKI-Theaters: »König Drosselbart« in Ruhpolding aufgeführt], Traunsteiner Tagblatt, retrieved 20 October 2026. [https://web.archive.org/web/20261021121507/https://www.traunsteiner-tagblatt.de/region/landkreis-traunstein/ruhpolding_artikel,-gelungene-premiere-des-rukitheaters-koenig-drosselbart-in-ruhpolding-aufgefuehrt-_arid,940228.html Archived] on 21 October 2026.</ref>
</references>