Working with four shrewd language tinkerers and the game concept Icon Poet, pupils from from 8 secondary schools are encouraged to write and tell stories. They are to use the following three rules to write unusual, funny and witty short stories.

The young people write stories on the basis of a predetermined scenario and five diced icons, which may be freely interpreted and associated. They have 180 seconds. After the time has elapsed, the stories are read aloud and evaluated by fellow pupils on the basis of various criteria. The idea is to write a large number of short stories in this way and to compete with each other in a playful way. The climax is the public final event after an internal qualifying round.

The writers support the young people on this path in their workshops. They do not bring any prefabricated professional texts. Like the pupils, they embark on a spontaneous journey of text discovery. This is reflected in failure, in a successful text or a great performance. This playful experimentation, together with the professional writers in a set framework, is very immediate and enjoyable. The professional’s considerable stage experience shows the young people how to deal with a text on stage – they educate, reflect and bring the texts to life through an exciting performance.