Frank Soehnle
Legend of Dance
Why They Matter
Soehnle’s contribution lies in proving that the string marionette can remain a contemporary instrument rather than a preserved historical specialty. His figures are sculptural objects with their own balance, resistance and rhythm; his staging lets the audience see the person who gives them motion.…
Known For
Biography
Frank Soehnle, born in Stuttgart in 1963, is a German puppeteer, puppet maker, director and visual-theatre performer who has spent over three decades developing the string marionette into a contemporary performance instrument. He studied figure theatre at the State University of Music and Performing Arts Stuttgart from 1983 to 1987, where the curriculum's marionette lineage was closely associated with Albrecht Roser, whom Soehnle encountered as a teenager and later acknowledged as a mentor. This training integrated construction, manipulation and stage composition into a single practice rather than treating the puppet as an object added after direction.
After graduating, Soehnle directed Karlsruhe's marotte puppet theatre from 1987 to 1990. In 1989 he began a long collaboration with the music group rat'n'X, establishing a working method in which sound functions as a rhythmic partner to the figures' weight, suspension and transformation. In 1991, Soehnle and Karin Ersching founded the independent touring company figuren theater tübingen. That year's solo *Nachtgesichter* inaugurated what the company calls "visual poems" at the threshold of visual and performing art. *Flamingo Bar* followed in 1996, with Soehnle's figures and performance, Hendrik Mannes's direction, rat'n'X's music and Ersching's lighting. The production toured internationally and helped establish the company's adult, image-driven theatre language.
The repertoire expanded into political, literary and cross-disciplinary work. *Kinder der Bestie* (2000), based on David Grossman and performed by Soehnle with actor Yehuda Almagor, placed material and puppet dramaturgy in a political context. *liquid skin* (2005) paired Soehnle's puppetry with James Cunningham's choreography and dance in an IGNEOUS collaboration under Suzon Fuks's direction and video design. *salto.lamento* (2006), a solo work with music by Stefan Mertin and Johannes Frisch and choreography by Karin Ould Chih, returned to a concentrated frame.
Soehnle's treatment of the visible relationship between puppet and manipulator has become central to his practice. In 2011's *Hôtel de Rive*, inspired by Alberto Giacometti, he performed alongside actor Patrick Michaëlis with live music. In 2013 he joined fellow Roser students Alice Therese Gottschalk and Raphael Mürle for *Wunderkammer*, choreographed by Lisa Thomas; the production received the Jury's Prize at the International Festival of Puppetry Art in Bielsko-Biała in 2014.
Recent work has continued to revisit puppetry's inheritance and new collaborative structures. *Das 2te Ich* premiered in 2018, and Munich's Stadtmuseum mounted an exhibition of Soehnle's figures that year. *strings up!* (2019) restored and reactivated marionettes by Fritz Herbert Bross; *_night.flowers* (2022) paired Soehnle's figures with Søren Gundermann's piano; and *kafkabagage* (2024) translated Kafka fragments into an alternating-cast visual score. Alongside performance and direction, Soehnle has taught at institutions in Stuttgart, Berlin, Bochum, Charleville-Mézières, Jerusalem and Tours.
Career Highlights
Soehnle began the four-year figure-theatre degree at the State University of Music and Performing Arts Stuttgart. source
After graduating, he became director of Karlsruhe’s marotte puppet theatre, a post he held through 1990. source
He began the continuing artistic collaboration with the music group rat’n’X. source
With Karin Ersching he founded figuren theater tübingen and premiered the solo visual poem Nachtgesichter. source
Flamingo Bar premiered on 6 December at Figurentheater Stuttgart, with figures and performance by Soehnle, direction by Hendrik Mannes, music by rat’n’X and lighting by Ersching. source
Kinder der Bestie, based on David Grossman and performed by Soehnle and Yehuda Almagor, premiered at Theaterformen in Hanover. source
liquid skin joined Soehnle’s puppetry with James Cunningham’s choreography and dance in an IGNEOUS collaboration directed by Suzon Fuks. source
The solo salto.lamento premiered in Tübingen with music by Stefan Mertin and Johannes Frisch and choreography by Karin Ould Chih. source
Wunderkammer, performed by Soehnle, Alice Therese Gottschalk and Raphael Mürle and choreographed by Lisa Thomas, premiered on 13 April. source
Wunderkammer received the Jury’s Prize at the International Festival of Puppetry Art in Bielsko-Biała, Poland. source
strings up! premiered at FITZ Stuttgart, reanimating restored Fritz Herbert Bross marionettes through an ensemble directed by Soehnle. source
Soehnle directed and designed the puppets for kafkabagage, built from Kafka stories, fragments and a letter. source
Legacy & Impact
Soehnle has demonstrated that the string marionette can remain a living contemporary art form rather than a preserved historical specialty. His figures function as sculptural objects with their own balance, resistance and rhythm; his staging renders manipulation legible as a danced relationship of weight, attention and exchange. Through figuren theater tübingen's international touring, interdisciplinary collaborations with choreographers, dancers, musicians and visual artists, and his teaching practice, he has connected Albrecht Roser's marionette lineage to adult visual theatre and contemporary performance without dissolving the puppet's material specificity.
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