Sonder

Everything has a story: every discreet glance on a train, every awkward shuffle on the sidewalk, every heavy sigh on a bench. How can we follow those stories? Who are those people, and what are their lives like?
The word sonder comes from The Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows by John Koenig and means “the profound realization that every random passerby is living a life just as vivid, complex, and detailed as your own, complete with their own ambitions, worries, and inner world—and that you are just an extra or background figure in theirs.”
Shawn Fisher is an improviser, performer, and educator based in Vienna, Austria, with over 15 years of experience in improvisational theatre. He performs regularly with the English Lovers, one of Vienna’s longest-standing improv groups, as well as with other groups and duos such as Darling Follies and Two Buttons Short. Shawn thrives on the spontaneity and connection of live performance, especially when leaning into the fantastical. By treating the absurd with sincerity, he transforms silly impulses into moments of shared wonder.

The performance is in English.

Performers: Anne Rab, Shawn Fisher
Musician: Goran Završnik
Concept: Anne Rab, Shawn Fisher
Light design: Antoine Noirant

Offstage, Shawn draws on his background as a primary school teacher to craft workshops that balance trust, fun, and refinement. His teaching prioritizes efficient group dynamics and individual growth, rooted in the belief that great improv (and great learning) happens when people feel safe to play. Originally from the US, he has taught classes and workshops and led open improv sessions in Vienna since 2018, fostering a community where curiosity leads the way.

Anne Rab lived and worked as an actor, director, and theatre educator since 2010 in Leipzig, Germany. She is part of the leading team for ‘Momenta’, the international festival for improvisation in Leipzig, and is a long-standing member of the Theaterturbine.
2017 Anne moved to Vienna, Austria, where she continues her work teaching, directing and performing regularly with the Viennese improv community. Anne also works internationally teaching and performing, as well as developing improvised formats and shows.Her interest for improvisation started over 15 years ago in an ensemble of clowns that made up stories without words, and this work drives and fascinates her to this day: exploring non-verbal improvisation and teaching bodywork to actors, improvisers, and anyone that wants to discover and learn.
She also loves to perform with her duo-partners, including: Sarah Arndtz (Heroes), Ursula Anna Baumgartner (Bemme&Melange), and Jim Libby (The Messengers), and is a passionate advocate for community awareness in the world of improv.

Goran Završnik: after three years of learning the piano he ran from music school and never came back. Then he discovered the synthesizer with lots of buttons and everything became fun again. Now, after thirty years, he’s playing with some amazing improv people, accompanying some crazy events, trying to push the right button or key at the right moment, trying not to interrupt too much the almighty improv action on the stage. The best accompanying music, they say, is music you don’t hear. But sometimes improv musicians need to be loud and sometimes they want to be number one in the show, wanting to play fast and hot as hell. From punk singer and keyboard player in a Yugoslavian Army Highschool band to the strongest (110 kg) Slovenian impro theatre music maker. Also playing organ in Andrej Rozman Roza religion movement Zaničniki.