Sina Heiss is a director, writer, and musician. She primarily works in the fields of theater and performance. She teaches and conducts research.
Sina Heiss in the stage design of "The Unnecessary Ones," 2022 TAG Vienna, motif © Anna Stöcher.
Sina Heiss
Sina Heiss was born in 1981 in Reutte/Tirol. In 1999, she joined a small experimental theater group in Innsbruck for the first time. Unconventionality and breaking expected forms have been recurring themes in her works since then. In 2000, she moved to Linz/OÖ and studied Graphic Design at the University of Art and Design, while also pursuing Jazz Singing at the Bruckner University. In 2011, she left Austria to pursue a Master's degree in directing at Columbia University NYC under Anne Bogart and Tina Landau. After completing her studies and a training year in NYC, she returned to Austria in 2015 and currently resides in Vienna. She predominantly works as a freelance director and writer, but not exclusively. She researches, composes, provokes, and tells stories.
On and off the stage (or on camera), Sina has worked with Annie-B Parson, Paul Lazar, 600 Highwaymen, Las Gafas, Shakespeare Exchange, Toneelgroep Amsterdam, and No.11 Productions, among others.
Today, more than ever, Sina firmly believes in the analog power of theater and its potential for shaping a healthy society's future. Theater is a space of seeing and being seen, where relationships can be artificially created and simultaneously become real. It's a place of encounter, exchange, conflict, and growth. A political space. A place for ideas. A space for people, their emotions, and collective actions.
Education:
MFA Theatre Directing - Columbia University New York 2014
BA Jazz Singing and Improvised Music - Anton Bruckner Private University 2008
Mag. art. Visual Media Design (Graphic Design & Photography) - UFG Linz 2005
Scholarships/Awards:
Dramatists' Scholarship from the Austrian Federal Government 2023
VORBRENNER Project B**oomB! 2023
Art Scholarship from the State of Tyrol for drama divers 2022
Golden Wire Media Award, winning project: Erdbeerwoche 2018
Best Women Filmmaker Merits Award for Blank, La Jolla Shorts, USA 2012
Stage Credits:
As an actress and director in Austria at Theater Phönix Linz, Kosmos Theater Wien, BRUX Innsbruck, Kleines Theater Salzburg, Akzent Wien, Posthof Linz, Brucknerhaus Linz, etc.
In Germany at Theaterhaus Berlin Mitte, Ingolstädter Frauentage, Künstlerhaus München, and PATHOS München.
Downtown New York at Connelly Theatre, Treehouse Theatre, and La Mama Theatre.
As a singer, Sina Heiss has performed on stage at the Rubin Museum of Art, Queens Museum, Folk Festival Koprivtschitsa in Bulgaria, Musikverein Wien, and A Capella Festival Budapest.
