About
Henning Bochert works as a writer, lecturer, dramaturg, and (federal certification) translator in Berlin. Since 2007, he has been on the board of raum4 – netzwerk für künstlerische alltagsbewältigung e. v., and since 2009, of Drama Panorama: Forum for Translation and Theater e. V., an international platform for theater translators. He is a member of the ver.di union, of the German Translators Association (BDÜ), of the Association of German Language Translators of Literary and Scientific Works (VdÜ), of the Weltlesebühne, of the theatre writers union VTheA, and of The Fence. From 2014-2019, he was a member of the German committee of the European network for drama in translation Eurodram.
Together with Barbora Schnelle, he has been directing Drama Panorama’s New Czech Theatre Festival since 2014. In 2023, he was co-curator of the literary translation festival translationale berlin 2023. In 2022, he committed more to teaching and has since taught at the UNC in Chapel Hill, the Humboldt University in Berlin, the Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf and the Ruhr University Bochum. In 2021, he collaborated for the second time with Slovak choreographer Alica Minar as a writer and dramaturg in her production Permeance, an international coproduction with raum4-netzwerk für künstlerische alltagsbewältigung e. v. after having written text for her master degree production Explosion in 2020 already. In February 2017, the Anima Collective used his text VIKTORS VISIONEN in their production ANIMA-Vom Beseelen der Dinge. In 2012, he hosted the seminar Translating for Theater – LIVE! of Deutscher Übersetzerfonds ((German Translators Fund) DÜF) in the GETTING ACROZZ programme at the PAZZ festival in Oldenburg. In 2010, he was a dramaturg in the Russian-German coproduction SumSum2 – eine grenzenlose Liebes- und Sprachverwirrung, (a coproduction of Theater Erlangen and Teatr Pokoleniy, funded by the German Cultural Foundation/fund “Wanderlust”), conceived by Eberhard Köhler and himself. He also shared the artistic direction of phoenix transatlantic with Christine Richter-Nilsson (two festival days with new plays from North Rhine-Westphalia and New York City; 2010). He acted as mentor for a dramatic literature translation contest at Theater Bielefeld (funded by Bundeszentrale für politische Bildung). In 2008, he realized the Werkschau Wuppertal for the Representation of North Rhine-Westphalia, an evening with 15 Wuppertal artists from different genres. In 2002, he taught acting at the Universität der Künste Berlin (University of Arts).
In 2022/2023 he is – once again as he was in the 2020/2021 cycle – mentor in the BDÜ’s mentoring program for starting professional translators. Since 1996, he accomplished many translations of theater plays for various agencies (incl. Özlem Dündar, Christoph Hein, Bernhard Studlar, Ingrid Lausund (henschel SCHAUSPIEL), M. Heckmanns (Suhrkamp Verlag) into English, and Deepika Arwind, Dawn King, Eve Leigh, George Brant, Neil Simon and Carlos Murillo into German.
Awards/Grants
2024. DÜF working grant for the translationof Eve Leigh’s SALTY IRINA.
2022/23. Mehr Sprachen, mehr Theater, DÜF guest lecturer in theatre science at the Ruhr University Bochum.
2022. “extensiv-initiativ” grant from German Translators Fund (DÜF) for the translation and edition of a collection of Susan Glaspell’s short prose.
2022. Grant from the Goethe Institute to translate Özlem Özgül Dündars AN GRENZEN.
2021. Neustart Kultur Grant from the VG Wort for the translation of Jim Grimsley’s CASCADE.
2021. Research Grant from the Berlin Senate for an exchange project with the UNC in Chapel Hill, NC, USA.
2021. Luise Adelgunde Victorie Gottsched Grant from the DÜF for researching Susan Glaspell’s work.
2021. DÜF working grant for the translation of Dawn King’s THE TRIALS.
2020. Working grant from the DÜF for the translation of Eve Leigh’s MIDNIGHT MOVIE.
2019. Initative grant from the DÜF for anthology KRIEGER+INNEN (WT).
2017. Translation of Sivan Ben Yishai’s YOUR VERY OWN CRISIS CLUB wins production at the Autorentheatertage Festival at Deutsches Theater Berlin.
2011. Grant from the Goethe Institute to translate Martin Heckmanns’s KOMMT EIN MANN ZUR WELT (CSULB University Players 2011, D: Valentin Levitsky).
1999. Grant from the Goethe Institute to translate Christoph Hein’s DIE RITTER DER TAFELRUNDE (Cal Rep Long Beach 2000, D: Eberhard Köhler).
Education
2020. Aus kritischer Distanz – Wie redigiere ich mich selbst? – Translators seminar of the DÜF with Miriam Mandelkow and Rosemarie Tietze.
2019. Invitation to THEATRICAL TRANSLATION AS CREATIVE PROCESS, a conference at the UNC in Chapel Hill with the translation of Bernhard Studlar’s IPLAY.
2016. Participation in the European Theatre Academy, organised by the European Theatre Convention at the Avignon Festival.
2015. Fellow at Berliner Übersetzerwerkstatt (Berlin Translators Workshop) of Literarisches Colloquium Berlin.
2014. National exam for translators, National Examination Bureau Berlin.
Authorization for Berlin courts and notaries for the English language.
2002. Workshop days for playwrights at Deutsches Schauspielhaus in Hamburg.
1994. Bachelor of Arts (Acting) at University of Arts Berlin.
Teaching
2024. Regular English classes for vocational students at mediacampus frankfurt.
2023. Formate der Theaterübersetzung, block seminar on theatre translation at the Heinrich-Heine-Universität Düsseldorf (Literary Translation).
2022/23. Mehr Sprachen, mehr Theater, DÜF guest lecturer in theatre science at the Ruhr University Bochum.
2022. One-week mentorship at Translation House Looren.
2022. Translating Theatre – Texts to Speak and Hear, block seminar on theatre translation at the Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf (Literary Translation).
2022. Translating Discourse in U.S. Drama, summer semester seminar in American Studies at Humboldt University in Berlin, together with Joseph Megel.
2022. What’s playing?, Talk on contemporary German theatre and it’s subjects; class on theatre translation, class on B. Brecht’s The Evitable Rise of Arturo Ui, German Dept., University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill, NC, USA.
2020-2021 & 2021-2022. Mentor in mentoring programme of BDÜ for professional beginners.
2018. Three talks about Dramaturgy, Text Analysis, and Production in Contemporary German Theatre at the Theater School of the DePaul University Chicago, IL, USA; talk about Theatre Translation at Knox College, Galesburg, IL, USA.
2017. Translators among students – Seminar on translation of film subtitles with students at the Literarisches Colloquium Berlin.
2014. Talk at international workshop at FAU Erlangen-Nürnberg Modern Theater in China and Europe: Unforeseen Obsatacles – Cultural Transfer in Theatrical Practice
2002. Summer semester: acting classes about John Cage at the University of Arts Berlin.
Publications of own texts
Own performative writings include: PERMEANCE and EXPLOSION (texts for the stage/dance, choreography: Alica Minar), HYBRIDE – theme and variations, Übersee – short play 2005 in Leipzig (D: Ulrich Hüni), Heimatfilm – narration 2003, credits – play 2006 sophiensæle Berlin (D: Nora Somaini), Aschenputtel – play (Neue Pegasus Verlag) UA 2008 TdA Stendal (D: Eberhard Köhler).
- KRISE AUF MEHREREN EBENEN – The situation of the playwrights, Theater heute 02/2024 (ISSN 00 40-55 07)
- VERHÄRTETE FRONTEN – Discourse on racism in US theater, Theater heute 07/2019
- INSEL DER SELIGEN – Theater heute 01/2019
- HYBRIDE oder Ich will Kelly Osbourne sein – Die Novelle, Zeitschrift für Experimentelles #6 (ISBN 978-1542994583)
- Theaterübersetzen Drama Panorama – Uebersetzen magazine 01/2018 (ISSN 1868-6583)
- DIE WEITEREN AUSSICHTEN – PS | Politisch Schreiben. Anmerkungen zum Literaturbetrieb Nr. 3 (ISSN 2365-7014)
- 100 YEARS THAT SHOOK THE WORLD – The Theatre Times 09.12.2017
- QUANTENSPRUNG DES ÜBERSETZENS – nachtkritik.de 09.01.2017
- ONE YEAR IN BERLIN – Andrea Stolowitz and Henning Bochert (http://howlround.com) (http://hotreview.org)
- Carlos Murillo and Henning Bochert: PLAYWRIGHT, PLAYTEXT, AND DIRECTOR IN US THEATRE (http://www.howlround.com)
- PLAYWRIGHT, PLAYTEXT, AND DIRECTOR IN U. S. THEATRE (www.hotreview.org)
- KOMMT EIN MANN ZUR WELT/A MAN WALKS INTO A WORLD – The Mercurian Vol. 3 No. 4 (ISSN 2160-3316)
- EIN BISSCHEN SCHWUND (www.hotreview.org)
- WEGBESCHREIBUNG – Muschelhaufen No. 43/2003 (ISSN 0085-3593)
- THESEUS AUF KRETA – Fliegende Literatur Blätter No. 1/2002 ISSN 1430-1040, macondo 7 (ISSN 1436-7378)
- A WHIFF O’ THE LIFFEY – freie zeit art no. 46/2002
- Theater in LA? – Theater der Zeit 06/1998
1986-1992 “Bumix – Schaumzucker und Straßenmusik” all across Germany (1987 invited by Berliner Festspiele to Treffen junger Liedermacher (Festival of young singers/songwriters)). Acting engagements at Schauspiel Frankfurt, Theater Winkelwiese Zurich, Theater zum Westlichen Stadthirschen Berlin. 1997-2000 USA, numerous projects as voice-dubbing director and translator. Founded a translation agency Bochert Translations in 1997.