The Augsburger Puppenkiste - wooden actors wanted

An hour's drive west of the Bavarian capital, Munich, lies Augsburg, an attractive town which used to be famous as a centre for the gold merchants of medieval Europe.

Today, Augsburg is known for its "Augsburger Puppenkiste" - literally, the Augsburg Puppet Box - a marionette theatre which has gained enormous popularity nationwide since its creation half a century ago.

The theatre was founded by the father of Hannelore Marschall-Oehmichen during the last years of the Second World War. It was intended as a form of family entertainment and a way of providing a distraction from the war. Hannelore Marschall-Oehmichen first worked in the theatre as a teenager in the 1940s, helping out in her father's workshop. But she herself soon became an expert at turning pieces of wood into unique characters and until her death in 2003 she created over 6000 puppets.

For generations of German children, the characters of the Puppenkiste have been an important part of their childhood. A long-running series on TV was enormously popular and even today German children still feel the same affection for the distinctive characters.

Mrs Marschall-Oehmichen described how she got ideas for her puppets: "I observe a lot - in the tram, the train, or the pub. I look at faces and see that there are so many different features." It would, she suggested, be "quite possible" to come to the theatre and recognise yourself in one of the characters on the stage.

The theatre remains very much a family business. Hannelore's son Klaus directs many of the productions. He notes that the really difficult skill is to convey emotions through a puppet: "Unlike actors, we do not have our own body which we can use, only the strings." The theatre does not like to employ those who have studied puppeteering because their style is so distinctive. They prefer dealing with eager students who are starting from scratch.
In order to select appropriate candidates, they look partly at the person's character - will they fit in? And Klaus reckons you can tell "within 10 minutes" if somebody has a natural talent.

Museum of the Augsburger Puppenkiste:
Spitalgasse 15
86150 Augsburg
Tel: 0049 821 450 3450
Opening hours: Tue-Sun 10am-7pm

Links:

Augsburger Puppenkiste
Official website of the Augsburger Puppenkiste. All about the theatre, tours, performances and other events. In German.

Marionette theatre museum
Looking back at over 50 years of the marionette theatre in Augsburg. In German.

Augsburg
With over 2000 years of history, the town of Augsburg itself is worth a visit. In English and German.