In the location's words:

Studiobühne Leverkusen

the theater in the Künstlerbunker

The Studiobühne Leverkusen was founded in August 1985 on the initiative of director Karin Staffe by 12 founding members aged between 16 and 60. The theater is run by the registered non-profit association of the same name. Initially without its own domicile, the theater was a guest at various institutions; the performances took place at different venues as part of the city's Kultur mobil program.

At the instigation of Dr. Wolfgang Schulze-Olden (✝︎), then Head of the Department of Culture, the troupe was finally able to move into its permanent home in the Künstlerbunker in Leverkusen-Opladen in 1988 as a co-founder of the "Künstlerverein Begegnungsstätte Bunker Karlstraße". An indoor theater with 50 seats was born, in which the audience still occupies one half of the room and the stage the other. Initially, the only adjoining room was also a dressing room, make-up room, costume store, scenery store, office and workshop.

After the MaBuKa girls' club moved out, the entire first floor of the Künstlerbunker was allocated to the theater and the new room became today's fundus. The auditorium was finally equipped with steps to give the last of the six rows of seats a good view of the stage. Thanks to a generous private donation, the old lighting console was replaced with a new system.

In the "pandemic years" of 2020/21, the now rather run-down checkroom was renovated and equipped with new large cupboards for the costume collection.

The Künstlerbunker has seen many artists come and go. The Studiobühne, a constant in the building and in the cultural landscape, can now look back on almost four decades of theater work and a long list of productions. Over the years, the small theater in the Künstlerbunker has built up a loyal regular audience. The 50 seats are usually sold out.