The work Sonettfabrik [Sonnet Factory], specially conceived for the defunct lignite briquette factory LOUISE in Domsdorf, Brandenburg and produced as part of the Max Reinhardt Seminar’s cooperative relationship with the Lausitz Festival, served as that festival’s opening performance. And shortly thereafter, at the palace Schloss Leopoldskron in Salzburg, a version tailored specifically to this location entitled Reinhardt probt Shakespeare-Sonette [Reinhardt Rehearses Shakespeare Sonnets] was performed.

Featuring portrayals of femininity and masculinity that diverge from existing norms and conventional notions, queer life realities, and questions of social class as well as the thematisation of physical and physical disabilities, the film projects submitted to and supported through the Gender/Queer/Diversity Call make clear the sheer breadth of this thematic field.

How do kids and teens learn about what’s being researched at universities? And where can the findings of scientists and scholars be directly perceived in our everyday lives? Science communication formats aim to enable people situated outside of academic fields to encounter topics from the realm of science and research in the most accessible way possible.

2025 marks the beginning of a special cooperative project: CCOM, the mdw, and the renowned Austrian music publisher Universal Edition (UE) have teamed up to plan a competition for young composers. This competition is set to take place every two years, alternating between chamber and orchestral music focuses.

For years, the mdw has been a leader in the testing and implementation of new streaming technologies. Considerable technological investment and quite some willingness to experiment on the part of all those involved are necessary in order to make possible and utilise high-quality audio and video transfer with the lowest possible latency for concerts, for remote lessons, and especially for musicians playing together live in different locations.

Actor Katharina Haudum also works as an intimacy coordinator— in which capacity she has been teaching the course Intimacy Coordination and Consent-Based Practice at the Max Reinhardt Seminar since the summer semester of 2024. She recently provided mdw Magazine with intriguing insights into her work.

KlangBildKlang, the mdw's transdisciplinary festival, celebrated its start on 20 April at the Künstlerhaus in Vienna with a reception and the concert Beyond Keys: Synesthetic Soundscapes.  Johannes Meissl, Vice Rector for International Affairs and Art, presented the festival program and provided an overview of the more than 50 artistic projects accompanied by music and art mediation activities.

Director Christina Tscharyiski, born in Vienna in 1988, has been looking forward quite a bit to her involvement with the Max Reinhardt Seminar as a visiting director this summer semester. She’s now hard at work with the third-year acting class on a staged production of Elfriede Jelinek’s text Sonne, los jetzt!

“Green filming” refers to measures taken as part of film production that aim to reduce CO₂ output and conserve resources. The film industry’s environmental footprint is a large one: film teams travel to all kinds of locations, equipment needs to be transported, and set elements as well as costumes need to be made—all of which results in large amounts of waste as well as high energy consumption. Recent years, however, have seen a shift in attitudes.