I am …
Roberto Romeo.
I’ve been studying …
acting at the mdw since October 2021.
My favourite place at the mdw is …
the room occupied by our custodian Hermann Tanil, where I can always look forward to a great conversation and far-too-strong Turkish coffee.
How did you end up becoming one of the Max Reinhardt Seminar’s student representatives? And could you give us some examples of your responsibilities?
At the last elections, nobody had really wanted to take on the job—so we just went for it. Our most important responsibility is definitely serving as contacts for students, faculty, and the department heads who can transparently facilitate feedback concerning problems and desires on all sides in the interest of keeping communication channels as short as possible.
What do you wish you’d known back when you started studying here?
That everything depends quite strongly on my own very personal (artistic) path and how I’d like to shape it—and less on what others think of me or how they feel about me.
In your hometown of Hanau, you co-founded the association Theater der Vielfalt. What exactly does this group do? And are there any projects currently in planning?
We founded it after the racist attack in Hanau with an eye to organising theatrical and other events of an intercultural nature. We put on our first festival in Hanau in 2022; it was entitled “Jetzt! UN(D)sichtbar” and got recognised with an advancement award for young artists from the Main-Kinzig District. At the moment, we’re focused more on organising small-scale events—and to be honest, I’m not so active there right now on account of my studies.
Are you planning anything in particular for your final year at the MRS?
My plan is first and foremost to do lots of things alongside my studies that could enrich my own work, and I’m looking forward to the challenges that now lie ahead—as well as to an uncertain phase where I won’t know what’s coming, what new challenges I’ll be facing elsewhere.
What’s next for you?
Since late November, I’ve been rehearsing for the first Austrian production of Wolf by Saša Stanišic at the State Theatre of Lower Austria, to which I’m looking forward quite a bit. It premières on 22 January 2025.
