Daniel Wetzel

Daniel Wetzel works as an artist in the fields of theater, sound, radio play, and installation. He financed his studies through extensive DJing and his first projects in his first artist collective, which have already been shown at professional venues both nationally and internationally.

Since 1999, he has worked primarily in collaboration with Helgard Haug and Stefan Kaegi, with whom he founded the label Rimini Protokoll in 2002, under which all of the three's works, regardless of the respective constellation (solo, with others, in pairs, or in threes), are collected and communicated. Rimini Protokoll maintains the production office Rimini Apparat in Kreuzberg. His work is dedicated to experimentation, research-based artistic work, working with non-artists, and exploring other spaces and places. It is about updating theater and related arts as a process of research, discovery, encounter, and rethinking. 


Currently, Daniel is working on an ensemble of musical instruments made from fitness equipment (Sweat), for which eight songs are being composed by various, primarily non-male artists (Songs of Push and Pull). He is also collaborating with Helgard Haug on Futur4, a monologue performed by a woman who creates an LLM of herself on stage, training it with memories, documents, her voice, and dialogues. The goal: to make herself accessible—potentially 30 years from now—to her granddaughter, born in 2025.

For Daniel, practical seminars are more than just academic exercises—they are immersive, transformative processes. They offer a way to share familiar methods and approaches while observing how they evolve in new contexts. Just as importantly, they provide opportunities to develop new ones. This exploration is always informed by what is happening beyond the campus.

Recent stops on this personal academy on tour include:
"City, Market, Play" (fft Düsseldorf 2025) – a two-day investigation of a discount store as a performative space.
"24 Timelines Performing" (UdK Summer School 2024) – a 24-track headphone-based performance for 24 participants, exploring synchronized and layered storytelling.

Awards for his work with Rimini Protokoll in general include:

• Der Faust – National German Theater Award (2007)
• Mülheimer Dramatikerpreis – National Dramatist Award (2007)
• European Theater Award – Category New Realities (2008)
• Silver Lion – 41st Theater Biennale, Venice (2011)
• Swiss Grand Prix Theater / Hans-Reinhardt-Ring (2015)

Contact:
Daniel Wetzel
Arts
d.wetzel[at]berlin.bard.edu