Youth Prize Jury
Westwind? Can’t wait!
The excitement is building: since February, ten young people aged between 12 and 18 have been preparing for their role as the youth jury at this year’s WESTWIND Festival.
In the run-up to the festival, they will attend theatre performances at regular intervals (e.g. at the Junges Theater Münster or the Theater im Pumpenhaus) and discuss: what defines theatre for young audiences today? Which forms, themes and performances do we find exciting – and where do we feel the connection is missing?
The Youth Prize Jury is looking forward to an inspiring festival and is already eager to see which of the invited productions they will ultimately award with prize money of €3,333.00.
The Youth Prize Jury consists of: Dajana, Frida, Judith, Levin, Luca, Marie, Maya, Merle, Paul and Seoyeon.
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Esra Dural (Junges Theater Münster)
Esra Dural was born in Bad Nauheim in 1996. She studied European Art History and Education at the University of Heidelberg, graduating with a double Bachelor of Arts degree. She then completed a Master of Arts in Cultural Mediation, specialising in art, literature and theatre, at the University of Education in Karlsruhe. During her studies, she immersed herself in participatory forms of theatre and undertook further training in Forum Theatre (Theatre of the Oppressed) based on the work of Augusto Boal. She also developed a particular interest in migrant and post-migrant theatre. In her Master’s thesis, she examined the production of *Dschinns* at the Maxim Gorki Theatre and critically explored representations and perspectives in theatre. She also gained practical experience at the Maxim Gorki Theatre, where she worked in theatre education for Gorki X. Since 2024, Esra Dural has been part of the Young Theatre department at Theater Münster and is responsible for organisation and outreach. Her aim is to open up diverse avenues of access to theatre for young people and to create spaces for exchange and encounter.
Photo: Sinje Hasheider
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David Kilinc (echtzeit-theater)
(born 1986 in Duisburg)
is a freelance actor and theatre educator. Since graduating with a BA in Theatre Education from Osnabrück University of Applied Sciences, he has been working on various projects in the Münster area, primarily with children and young people.
He has been a permanent member of the echtzeit-theater collective since 2011. In addition to his work as an actor (including in ‘Das besondere Leben der Hilletje Jans’, winner of the expert and children’s jury prize at the 2018 westwind festival), he works here as a theatre educator and artistic assistant.
As an actor in theatre for young audiences, he also appears nationwide in various productions by Fetter Fisch – Performance | Theater (including ‘What About Luca?’, invited to Penguin’s Days 2024 & KUSS Marburg 2024), Manuela Neudegger (‘Berührt Euch!’, Youth Jury Prize at the Südwind Festival 2022, nominated for the Augenblick mal! Festival 2023) and as a guest performer at Theater Marabu (“Der Bär, der nicht da war”).
Photo: Jutta Waldhelm