Schröder, Friedrich Ludwig [key], 1744–1816, German actor, manager, and dramatist. He introduced Shakespeare in Germany. The son of actors, Schröder had a difficult, demanding childhood and youth. On the stage from the age of three, he lived for a time in a deserted theater, learning acrobatics from traveling companies that occasionally worked there. Greatly influenced by the acting of Konrad Eckhof, Schröder further developed the realistic school and became the most celebrated German actor of his day. He raised the standard of taste in Germany with his excellent ensemble productions, initiating reforms in costume, scenery, and acting. In 1771 he and his mother assumed the management of the Hamburg National Theater. He produced his own translations of 11 plays by Shakespeare (1776–80), as well as his own plays and those of the new Sturm und Drang movement.
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