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Alina Gause

 

When I was 8 years old, I took to the piano and at the same time began writing songs. In doing so, the “second person” in me –  the creative – was born, to use my own terminology. I sang and played music, and even made films as a child – this was my world. At 14, I was selected to sing alongside Konstantin Wecker, Udo Lindenberg, Spliff, and Mercedes Sosa at the Waldbühne amphitheater in Berlin, and at 19 I represented Germany as a finalist in the “Second Golden Kite World Song Festival” in Malaysia. I sang, played, and wrote, knowing nothing about the market artists have to serve if they want to make a living from their work. My only interest was in doing all I could do to improve.

And so I did my training in dance, singing and acting in Berlin - four and a half years.

 

 

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I had wanted to become better and had found a profession on the side, which I practiced at the Maxim Gorki Theater and the Theater des Westens in Berlin, in Stuttgart and Freiburg, in film, television and studio productions, among others. Singing, dancing, and playing music for 15 years, of which not enough hours were dedicated to what I had come to expect from art. It was frustrating: the houses, roles, and fees got bigger, but my sense of satisfaction did not. I had to change something, although I didn’t know what.

 

I had already played a solo evening at the Ku-Damm Theater – consisting of Cocteau and jazz standards, mostly. I decided to try my hand at writing music and lyrics, and, sure enough: the houses were smaller, as were the fees, but the satisfaction was much greater. This burgeoning awareness led me to a number of subsequent decisions.

I studied psychology, wrote my own stage productions, and started a family.

I was now able to bring my 20 years of experience onstage and off, in film and studio productions, together in an comprehensive, integrated way with my training as a psychologist.

As a licensed psychologist, I had an array of tools at my disposal, which I used to develop a consulting concept for creative persons and their processes.

I published my first book (“Warum Künstler die glücklicheren Menschen sein könnten,” or “Why artists could be the happier ones”) and in 2009 established “a.way – Consulting for Artists” in Berlin. I gave lectures on why I think artists need to stay at the forefront of current trends. On aspects of the creative sector where, in my view, things have gone wrong or been led astray. On what shame and vulnerability have to do with it. I wrote and published articles and columns about this. Was interviewed on how to realize one’s goals and dreams. And I wrote a second book: “Kompass für Künstler” (“A compass for artists”, published by Springer Verlag). In 2016, a teaching position at Berlin’s University of the Arts was added to the roster.

On May 4, 2021, my third non-fiction book „Anbieten ohne Anbiedern – Selbstmarketing für Kreative“ (Springer Verlag) was published, translated into English and published in 2022 under the title “Presenting Without Pandering - Self-Marketing for Creatives” (Springer Verlag).

 

And then I received the offer to take over the management of THEATER IM PALAIS BERLIN. It was a difficult decision for me at first, as I had a successful company that I really wanted to continue. At the same time, I was attracted by the opportunity to help shape Berlin's cultural scene at the helm of a theater in the heart of the capital.

I finally accepted and took over the directorship of THEATER IM PALAIS BERLIN on July 1, 2022, while retaining my consultancy work.

As director of the Haus am Festungsgraben, I do everything I can to offer our audience a sophisticated and entertaining program that is characterized by the integration of music into the productions and the focus on Berlin.

At the same time, as a qualified psychologist, I continue to offer advice to artists - both for individuals and for teams and institutions. At the same time, I have specialized in the risk assessment of psychological stress in the creative industry.

Is there still time for my own art? Yes!

On May 26, 2023, I released my music album “Winter in May” under my stage name Alina Lieske with 11 very personal songs from my own pen (lyrics and music), written over a creative period of almost 40 years. The English-language version “Winter in May” followed a month later.

I also perform as an actress and singer in various productions at THEATER IM PALAIS BERLIN, direct others and write for the theater. The next play, for which I wrote the text, composition and staging, will premiere on 26.10.2024: “100 TAGE - Eine musikalische Komödie über den Ernst des Leben".

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