August Wilhelm Iffland

August Wilhelm Iffland (19 April 175922 September 1814) was a German actor and dramatic author.

Life Born in Hanover, his father intended him to be a clergyman, but Iffland preferred the stage, and at eighteen ran away to Gotha in order to prepare himself for a theatrical career.

He received instruction from Hans Ekhof, and made such rapid progress that he was able to accept an engagement at the theater in Mannheim in 1779, beginning his rise into prominence. In Mannheim, he played the lead role Franz Moor in the acclaimed premiere of Friedrich Schiller's The Robbers in 1782. He soon stood high in his profession, and enhanced his reputation by frequently playing in other towns. In 1796 he settled in Berlin, where he became director of the national theater of Prussia, and in 1811 he was made general director of all presentations before royalty.

Works Iffland specialized domestic dramas depicting everyday life. His works display a thorough mastery of the technical necessities of the stage, and a remarkable power of devising effective situations.

His best-known plays are Die Jäger, Dienstpflicht, Die Advokaten, Die Mündel and Die Hagstolzen. Iffland was also a dramatic critic, and German actors placed high value on his reasonings and hints about their works in his Almanach für Theater und Theaterfreunde. During 1798–1802 he issued his Dramatischen Werke in sixteen volumes, to which he added an autobiography (Meine theatralische Laufbahn). During 1807–1809 Iffland put out two volumes of Neue dramatische Werke. Selections from his writings were later published, one in two volumes, the other in ten volumes.