Marie Luise Stockinger to lead Salzkammergut Festival

Actress Marie Luise Stockinger will become artistic director of the literature and theatre programme at the Salzkammergut Festwochen Gmunden festival in autumn 2026, ORF reported on Thursday.

The 34 year old, who was born in Linz, is moving from the stage into programme management. Her predecessor, Karin Bergmann, proposed Stockinger as her successor.

Stockinger studied at the Max Reinhardt Seminar, where Bergmann was also one of her teachers, before joining Vienna’s Burgtheater. She has taken on numerous leading roles and worked with directors including Frank Castorf, Barbara Frey, Dušan David Pařízek and Karin Henkel. Engagements at the Salzburg Festival and the Ruhrtriennale broadened her artistic experience.

She has also worked in film and television. Stockinger received the Best Young Female Talent award at the 2018 Romy ceremony for her portrayal of Maria Theresa in Robert Dornhelm’s film of the same name. In 2025, she received the Diagonale acting award and was nominated for the Austrian Film Award for Best Leading Actress for her role in Gina.

Stockinger has a personal connection to the festival and the region. She performed in the festival production Freiwild at Gmunden’s city theatre in 2022, followed by further appearances. In Gmunden, she wants to encourage “curiosity about the unknown”. She also plans to explore the work of Thomas Bernhard, whose writing has accompanied her since her youth, from new perspectives.

“I never really saw myself in such a position,” Stockinger said. Her enthusiasm for literature and theatre was decisive, she added. “There are so many texts that move me, writers whose work has stayed with me, and artists I cannot let go of, as well as the desire to share this enthusiasm with others.”

Bergmann has been responsible for the festival’s literature and theatre programme since 2022 and will remain connected to it. The handover was agreed in close coordination.

During her five years in charge, Bergmann sharpened the festival’s literary and theatrical profile, brought renowned artists to Gmunden, initiated partnerships with Austrian state theatres and opened the programme to younger authors, directors and actors. The first production was Arthur Schnitzler’s Reigen in cooperation with Landestheater Niederösterreich in 2022. Further notable productions followed, particularly in collaboration with Landestheater Linz.

The final production of that collaboration is Thomas Bernhard’s Elisabeth II., directed by David Bösch and starring Sven Eric Bechtolf in the title role. Other guests during Bergmann’s tenure included Harald Schmidt, Joachim Meyerhoff, Jens Harzer and Sona MacDonald. Youth productions, audience discussions and the format Termin mit Schmidt also created new opportunities for encounters and exchange.

Bergmann said Stockinger combined “artistic talent with curiosity, courage and great openness towards people”. She was confident that her successor would continue the festival’s direction with “a very distinctive signature”.

The transition comes as the festival prepares to celebrate its 40th anniversary in 2027. Commercial managing director Johanna Mitterbauer said the change of generation combined continuity with a new beginning.