Lothar Schreyer first studied art history at Heidelberg University, then law in Berlin and Leipzig. In 1910, he graduated in literary and artistic joint copyright law. He began to work as a writer and simultaneously studied theatre direction with Emil Milan. Between 1911 and 1918, he worked as a dramaturge and assistant director at the Deutsches Schauspielhaus in Hamburg. From 1916 to 1928 he was editor of Herwarth Walden’s magazine ‘Der Sturm’. Until 1924, he also taught at the Sturm-Schule für Bühnenkunst und Pantomime (Sturm school of stagecraft and pantomime). In 1918, Schreyer co-founded the expressionist theatre Die Sturmbühne with Herwarth Walden. Schreyer’s first plays ‘Kreuzigung’ (Crucifixion) and ‘Kindssterben’ (Death of a Child) were performed during his tenure as director there, which continued until 1921.
In 1921, Walter Gropius appointed Schreyer as a master and director of the stage workshop at the Staatliches Bauhaus Weimar. He taught there until 1923, leaving the Bauhaus after the failure of his play ‘Mondspiel’ (Moon Play). On the recommendation of Adolf Behne, he accepted a job at the Zentralinstitut fur Erziehung und Unterricht (central institute of education and teaching) in Berlin. In 1924, he became a member of the committee for the founding of the Waldorf School in Berlin. He was also the temporary director of the art school Der Weg until 1927. From 1928 to 1932, he was chief editor and executive editor for culture and literature at the publishers Hanseatische Verlagsanstalt, Hamburg. After converting to Catholicism in 1933, Schreyer wrote under the pseudonym of Angelus Pauper, among other things compiling legends of the saints for the publishers Caritasverlag. After 1945, he worked for the publishers Herder Verlag and for the Caritas organisation. He continued to paint up to his death in 1966.
