Stefan Otteni is a director, writer, and dramaturg who has created over 80 productions at municipal and state theatres across the German-speaking world, including in Berlin, Hamburg, and Munich. He is a member of the Sabunkaran Theatre in Iraqi Kurdistan and has long been committed to theatre work with refugees and marginalized communities. His projects have been supported by institutions such as the German Federal Foreign Office and the Goethe-Institut. He is also a board member of Nawras e.V., a platform for Syrian and German-Arab artists, and was one of the initiators of One language, a transcultural theatre lab funded by the Fonds Darstellende Künste.