“We’re all leading actors”: This theatre work is good for your whole life

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School is important, but it’s hard work. And school isn’t everything. Countless leisure activities in the afternoons and during the holidays nurture young talent, encourage physical activity and open up new horizons. In Plagwitz, a young drama school teaches not only the artistic craft of theatre but also skills that are just as useful off the stage.

You can do it

Max is fed up. His mum is no less so. Max won’t tidy his room, but his mum insists he does. Max shouts, his mum shouts, the door slams. Max alone in the woods, rain, storm – he mustn’t give up now. Get out of here and under no circumstances go back to the madness at home. Max is a character role. Max must be played with a balance between raw anger and fairy-tale reverie. After all, the runaway boy will soon become the little king in a completely different world.

For anyone who didn’t realise by the time of the coronation: Max is actually a Maxima, because the little lad caught between dream and reality is played by Alice Marina, who has just started Year 7, and who – were the role and the person one and the same – would have to be a queen. By playing the boy Max as a matter of course, Alice proves that she has learnt perhaps the most important thing in her theatre holiday course – something that comes in handy on stage or in front of a camera: to be whoever you want to be, no matter who you are.

Drama school for children and young people

At SPIELRAUM LEIPZIG, Alice has found a place where dramatic play, improvisation, play development and performances in front of an audience are taught. The school describes its approach as an opportunity for young people to learn acting techniques, discover their own abilities and, above all, work creatively with others. This is facilitated by age-appropriate groups and a trusting atmosphere amongst the participants. Ensemble work, in particular, plays an important role according to the school’s own concept.

SPIELRAUM LEIPZIG was founded in 2025 by two teachers with different artistic backgrounds: Dorothee Frauenlob and Philipp J. Neumann. Frauenlob began acting, writing and directing as a child, but initially chose a different career path and became a paediatric physiotherapist. After breaking both her legs in an accident, she attended a drama school. She later worked in Berlin and Potsdam, amongst other places, at the ACTivity Drama School, where she taught hundreds of children and young people.

Neumann brings with him many years’ experience as a director, playwright and set designer. His enthusiasm for the theatre began with Mozart’s *The Magic Flute* at the age of four. He sang in the Gewandhaus Children’s Choir and later worked in cities including Hanover, Erfurt, Kiel, Leipzig, London and Tel Aviv. At the age of 15, Neumann directed his first play; this was followed in 1999 by his first work for the opera stage, Gluck’s ‘Orfeo ed Euridice’.

The educational concept of the new drama school brings together the diverse experiences of the two founders, who are currently in talks with other potential lecturers to further develop this principle of complementarity.

Afternoons and during the holidays

The ongoing drama course during term time is aimed at 10- to 13-year-olds. It takes place on Mondays from 4.00 pm to 5.30 pm, lasts 90 minutes and is limited to a maximum of twelve participants. The monthly fee is 89 euros. According to the school, free taster sessions can be requested. Lessons begin with warm-up exercises and the basics of acting, which are then put into practice through improvisation, amongst other activities.

As the course progresses, the group develops a stage play that incorporates the children’s own ideas and individual skills. A performance is planned at the end of the half-year or school year. The holiday programmes also follow this principle.

From 19 to 23 October 2026, there will be a workshop entitled “Five, six, seven, eight… Friends!” This programme for 9- to 12-year-olds is loosely based on Enid Blyton’s “The Five Find-Outers”. The participants help to develop their own roles and work together to create the scenes for a stage play. A performance for parents, friends and other interested parties is planned to round off the workshop. The workshop runs from Monday to Friday, from 10.00 am to 2.30 pm each day, and is limited to twelve participants.

A second holiday course will follow during the winter holidays from 15 to 19 February 2027. “Power, Courage, Magic!” takes the legend of “Krabat” and the book of the same name by Otfried Preußler as its starting point. The programme will explore themes including friendship, betrayal, courage and magic. The course is aimed at 10- to 13-year-olds and will also take place daily from 10.00 am to 2.30 pm with a maximum of twelve participants. Both holiday workshops will be led by Philipp J. Neumann. According to the website, the workshops normally cost 195 euros; the price is 135 euros for siblings and 175 euros for holders of the Leipzig Holiday Pass.

The stage is not a boundary

Alongside the art of acting, however, the children and young people take away something quite different from the lessons: the ability to broaden their own horizons, develop self-confidence and open themselves up to new encounters and human interaction.

And whilst the small stage on Karl-Heine-Straße may not offer the ‘boards’ that could one day mean the world to these young artists, by the end of the courses they have a healthy dose of self-esteem and respect to take with them on their journey through life.

When Alice asks me after the performance why I wanted to speak to her of all people, I say that the story is best told through the lead role. And the pupil playing the boy Max (who, of course, eventually returns home, enriched by a wealth of experiences) replies, almost taken aback by my suggestion: “But we’re all the leading actors in the play together!”

Please take your seats

There are still a few places left for the current course and also for the one during the autumn half-term. And after the autumn half-term, further courses – including some for a wider age range – are set to be added. All the information on how to register is summarised HERE ONLINE.