Born in Berlin 1960  

Jo Fabian studied theater from 1980-83. He has been working as a freelance author and theater director since 1987. In 1989, he founds the free project group “example dept.,” with which he moves to Berlin. In the years that follow, he gains his reputation as a director of an unusual theater of images through the Theater of Architecture in Motion, which follows through in drawing the connection between theater, dance, performance, concerts, and installation; in 1994, two of his productions (“Whiskey & Flags” as well as “Keine Gnade” [No Mercy] are invited to participate in the “Berliner Theatertreffen” # Fabian’s theater group “example dept.” becomes the “Jo Fabian DEPARTMENT Theater” that works with freelance actors, singers, musicians, and dancers on a project basis; the Hebbel-Theater in Berlin (under the direction of Nele Hertling) becomes the “Department’s” most important venue in the years between 1994-2003 # Fabian directs, choreographs, films and composes, creating scene designs and light space for his own productions; he draws, composes, and writes for the stage and other fields # the structures of the Japanese Nô theater are just as important to his scenic aesthetic as is the influence of visual art, such as the paintings of René Magritte and M.C. Escher’s geometrically expanded perspective # in 199 Jo Fabian receives the award “Deutscher Produzentenpreis für Choreographie” [German Producer’s Prize for Choreography] in recognition of his work as a director and choreographer. Since 2004, Jo Fabian has been studying the surrealists of the 1920s-30s (again). On the occasion of Salvador Dali’s 100^th birthday in May 2004, he dedicated himself to the study of “spectral surrealism” and produced a “Dali-project” in two parts at the Staatstheater in Kassel.

The next years will probably be dedicated to research and to the development of a new model for presentation. Jo Fabian is currently working on a 12-part series on “spectral surrealism”, which is shown in theaters but also in shop windows. These pieces can be summed up under the title “applepipe.line;” their progress can be observed at Jo Fabian’s homepage in real time at www.nofish-nocheese.de. 

Read more (Proposals)