Irina-Simona Bârcă is a dramaturge and mediator. Born and raised in Romania, she studied acting in Bucharest and theater pedagogy at Osnabrück University of Applied Sciences. After working in Münster and Berlin, she was a dramaturge at the FFT (Forum Freies Theater) in Düsseldorf from 2017 to 2024, where she was responsible for the Young FFT section, including the programmatic focus "The Theater of Digital Natives". She has worked with pulk fiktion, Ives Thuwis, subbotnik, Leute wie die, machina eX and PINSKER + BERNHARDT, among others. She is part of various juries in German-speaking countries (Spielarten NRW, kicks! Theaternetzwerk Schweiz, Landesbüro freie darstellende Künste NRW) and was a member of the board of trustees at the Augenblick mal! 2021. As a lecturer, she gives seminars and training courses. Since January 2024, she has been Head of Artistic Mediation and Participation at Theater an der Parkaue.

Dorte Lena Eilers is professor and head of the master's program "Cultural Journalism" at the University of Music and Theater in Munich in cooperation with the August Everding Theater Academy. She also works as a cultural journalist, predominantly in the fields of music and theater against the background of socio-political developments. Previously, she was editor from 2007 to 2021, most recently editor-in-chief of Theater der Zeit. She is a member of the German Academy of Performing Arts and the advisory board of the magazine "junge bühne" and has served on various juries (including the German Federal Theater Prize and the Mülheim Theater Days). Publications (as co-editor) include Frank Castorf, Dimiter Gotscheff, Bulgarian theater and new German-language drama. Most recently, her volume of talks "backstage TSCHEPLANOWA" was published.

Martina Grohmann, born in Mödling near Vienna, studied theater at the University of Vienna. She began as a production manager at steirischer herbst in '98 and '99. From 2000 on, she was engaged as a dramaturg at Staatstheater Kassel, at LTT Tübingen, at Theater Heidelberg, where she directed the venue zwinger1 for author's theater and projects from 2005 to 2007, and at Theater Basel. She has also worked as a guest dramaturge at the Schaubühne Berlin and the Schauspiel Frankfurt. Her work focuses on contemporary drama, play development, and interdisciplinary formats and festivals. Since August 2013, she has been the artistic director of Theater Rampe together with Marie Bues.

Friedrich Kirschner is a director and software developer. He uses interactionism as a theoretical and video games as a technological basis for participatory social simulations. As a professor for digital media, he leads the master's program Game and Object at the Ernst Busch Academy of Dramatic Arts.

Julian Kamphausen has many years of experience in dramaturgy, directing, and cultural management at renowned German theaters (including Deutsches Schauspielhaus Hamburg, Düsseldorfer Schauspielhaus, Berliner Ensemble, Schauspielhaus Wien). As an author and director, he has developed and realized award-winning radio play projects. Between 2016 and 2021, he successfully initiated and directed innovative formats for digital and performative art (Performersion at re:publica, Hauptsache Frei Festival Hamburg, Prater Digital Berlin). As co-founder of the Studio for Infinite Possibilities (2021), he is responsible for strategies, conception, and the expansion of strategic partnerships and networks. He also volunteers on cultural policy committees and juries (including Fonds Darstellende Künste, Stiftung Zukunft Berlin, Fachausschuss Kultur Berlin, among others).

Bettina Masuch studied theater studies in Giessen. After working as a dramaturg at the Kaaitheater in Brussels and the Theaterhaus Jena, she moved to the Volksbühne am Rosa-Luxemburg-Platz in Berlin in 1998, where she worked as a dramaturg for productions by Frank Castorf, Christoph Schlingensief and René Pollesch, among others. In 2002 and 2003 she was production dramaturge for the choreographer Meg Stuart at the Schauspielhaus Zürich. From 2003 to 2008, Bettina Masuch worked as a dance curator for Berlin's Theater Hebbel am Ufer. Until 2008, she was a member of the artistic direction of the renowned dance festival "Tanz im August" and was also responsible for its 25th anniversary edition in 2013. She was artistic director of the Springdance Festival in Utrecht from 2009 to 2013. From January 2014, Bettina Masuch was artistic director of tanzhaus nrw in Düsseldorf, which was awarded the "Theaterpreis des Bundes" under her directorship in 2017. She is the editor and author of various specialist publications and holds teaching positions at national and international universities. Bettina Masuch is a member of various juries and expert commissions, including the German Federal Cultural Foundation, the Fonds Darstellende Künste and the Goethe-Institut. She has been Artistic Director of the Festspielhaus St. Pölten since fall 2022.