Birgit Schreyer Duarte – Translator

As a German Native speaker in Toronto, I've translated both into and out of German for two decades. I love drama, fiction and short fiction, but also enjoy translating biographical writing and travel literature.

I have translated two dozen plays, including works by the most celebrated German writers, such as Roland Schimmelpfennig, Max Frisch, Lukas Bärfuss, Marieluise Fleißer, Felicia Zeller, Nino Haratischwili, Ewe Benbenek, Philipp Löhle, Thomas Köck, Pascal Mercier, Friedrich Dürrenmatt, and many others. My translations have been staged across Canada, in London, UK, Berlin and Münster, Germany.

Four of my play translations are now published in "New German Plays for Challenging Times" (Bloomsbury)

I have also been a German language consultant on a film set, a surtitle supervisor for the opera, and created subtitles for a show on tour.

You'll find that I'm an expert collaborator and a cheerleader for your work, since I'm a dramaturg by training. That's essentially a script editor, play consultant, adaptor, researcher, cultural mediator and therapist all in one. This background is beneficial to any writer who wants to share their stories in another language and culture. We dramaturgs serve as the connectors between writers, directors and performers in the theatre: our job is to bring out the best in a writer and in their text and to help communicate between all parties involved. As a translator, too, I listen closely to the writer's voice before carefully considering the cultural, personal and situational context of each task. I am thoughtful, sensitive, obsessed with nuances, and I love in-depth debates over word choices and cultural differences!

I also work with a proofreader.

TESTIMONIALS:

The collaboration with Birgit who translated my text “Tragödienbastard” into English was the best collaboration with a translator I had so far. It was an honor to work with such an experienced and creative translator. Birgit could grasp the form and rhythm of my language [and] I felt very seen in the way she connected with the topics of my text. (Ewe Benbenek)

Birgit was a wonderful addition to the "asses masses" team. She boldly dove into the work’s sea of sophisticated wordplay and crass puns to find how they might best resonate with German audiences. Her experience as a director and dramaturg, her openness to the project’s experimental format (a video game for the stage), and her attention to all textual details has really made this version come alive. We highly recommend collaborating with her! (Patrick Blenkarn and Milton Lim, co-creators)

Birgit’s German translation of "The Knitting Pilgrim" for our German tour was fantastic. Due to her intimate knowledge of both cultures involved, she was not only diligent in finding the best way to convey the play’s message, but helped immensely with adapting the translation for our projected surtitles. (Claire and Kirk Dunn, Producer/Writer)

“Barfuss' dialogue [is] masterfully translated by Birgit” (blogto.com)

“[THE TEST] can also be, in Birgit's excellent translation, laughout-loud funny” (Robert Cushman, National Post)

“[Birgit] did an excellent job with the translation/re-imagination” (Atom Egoyan, film director)