Vera Oelschlegel

Vera Franziska Oelschlegel (born 5 July 1938) is a German actress, singer, artistic director, drama director and professor of drama at the Ernst Busch Academy of Dramatic Arts. She was a celebrity in East Germany before 1989. After that, from 1990 till 2013, she headed up the touring theatre company.

Biography Oelschlegel was born in Leipzig. Her mother, Ruth Oelschlegel (née Lauterbach, 1914–2014), was trained as a journalist. Her father, businessman Gottfried Oelschlegel (1910–1945), was killed in World War II. She attended the prestigious St. Thomas School in Leipzig, passing her school final exams (Abitur) in 1956. After that she studied between 1956 and 1959 at the acting faculty of the , from which she emerged with a degree, and where she also served as the secretary for the faculty's Free German Youth section. In 1976, she was a co-founder of the Palace Theatre (Theater im Palast / TiP) in Berlin, an experimental theatre project that attracted controversy in the East German establishment. Oelschlegel served as the theatre's intendant from 1976 till 1990. During the 1980s she worked with Corinna Harfouch as her "master student" at the TiP. Oelschlegel was also producing plays; she staged Dürrenmatt's and Shakespeare's Merry Wives of Windsor and King John, along with works by Peter Hacks and Ulrich Plenzdorf.

In 1981 Vera Oelschlegel began teaching at the Ernst Busch Academy of Dramatic Arts in Berlin where she conducted masterclasses in acting. In 1984 she became an honorary professor for acting at the academy.

Oelschlegel's notability rests as much on her own acting career as on her work in theatre administration, production and teaching. Both within East Germany and more widely, she became particularly known for her Brecht interpretations, especially during the 1960s and 70s. One response by Vera Oelschlegel was the publication of her autobiography, entitled "Wenn das meine Mutter wüsst" ("If my mother were to have known that"). The press response was mixed, with some critics complaining about details that had apparently been left out. The omissions that most troubled reviewers may well have been those involving Vera Oelschlegel's private life – all three of her husbands achieved notability as members of the East German elite – rather than those concerning her professional career. The company showcased East German drama, employing actors such as Hans-Peter Minetti There was also a focus on the crowd-pleasing classics.

She has been married three times. Her first husband, to whom she was married between 1961 and 1967, was the dramatist-film director Günther Rücker. Between 1971 and 1976 she was married to the writer Hermann Kant. Her third marriage, between 1977 and 1987, was to the politician and senior Central Committee member, Konrad Naumann. Between 1988 and 2006 she lived with the screenwriter-journalist Gregor Edelmann. Her life partner since 2008 has been the architect and urbanist .