Lois Groß (real name: August Frankl), born 26.8.1893 in Trautmannsdorf (Styria), died 2.4.1971 in Graz. Actor, director, theater director, playwright; son of a maid and a shoemaker; first performances at the Gleichenberg summer theater as early as 1910, after 1918 founding of the "Alpenländische Volksbühne" in Andritz; first great success as a theater director in 1923 with a dialectal adaptation of Jedermann by Franz Löser; from 1924 Groß's troupe performed under the name "Steirische Landesbühne" (later: "Volkskunstheim"), permanent residence in the Minioritenkloster in Graz until 1937; in 1929, participation as an actor in the first Austrian sound film G'schichten aus der Steiermark by Hans Otto Löwenstein; in 1925, Groß emerged as an author himself with Die Welt ist ein Komödienhaus; by 1931, more than 1000 performances of works by a total of 146 authors, including Anzengruber, Morres, Ganghofer, Rosegger, among others; first performances of plays by Max Mell, Eduard Hoffer and Heinz Nonveiller; after the Anschluss in 1938, productions at the Graz Schauspielhaus, more tours; from 1941 at the Stadttheater Memmingen, 1942 at the Grenzlandtheater Marburg a. d. Drau, from 1943 director there; after 1945, attempt to reactivate the "Grazer Volkstheater", active until 1955, mainly with guest performances.
Theater works include: Die Welt ist ein Komödienhaus (1925), Der Klosterjäger (1927, Ganghofer dramatization), Unser Schubert Franzl (1928), Ben Hur (1929), Augustin will träumen (1930), Der Himmel voller Geigen (1930, adaptation of the play by Mannstädt and Costa), Die große Kaiserin (1930), Frau Antonia, die Rößlwirtin (1931), Menschen, Menschen san ma alle (1932, based on a comedy by Labiche), Der Latschenbauernseppl als Diktator (1933), Die Räuber bei der Kulm-Mariedl (1933), Hoch vom Dachstein an ... (1934), Der Schulmeister vom Himmelpfortgrund (1935), Vordertreppe und Hinterhaus (1935), Lusti is auf'n Kirta geh'n (1936), Menschen die im Schatten gehen (1936), A jeder hat sein Vogel (1937).
Stock
Scope: 2 archive boxes, 10 bound volumes "Grazer Volkstheater"
Contents:
Director's books for, among others:
Roses and thorns around Habsburg
High up from the Dachstein
My mother is a Viennese
The world is a comedy house
Where the alpine roses bloom! or Mothers
The great empress
The schoolmaster from Himmelpfortgrund
7 theater postcards: photo 21 x 21.5 cm; photo 17.5 x 23 cm
Reviews and performance notes "Grazer Volkstheater". [Kp., several volumes]
Degree of processing: The inventory is roughly indexed.
Shelfmark: FNI-GROß
Current/core period: 1893-1971