Werner Ruhnau studied from 1941 to 1950 at the Technical University of Gdansk, the Technical University of Braunschweig and the Technical University of Karlsruhe. Ruhnau founded an office in Gelsenkirchen in 1956 where he was commissioned to build the musical theater. The theatre wa sinfluenced by Bauhaus and was created together with artists Yves Klein, Paul Adams, Paul Dierkes, Norbert Kricke and Jean Tinguely. Artists and engineers lived on the construction site and worked hand in hand. Ruhnau taught from 1971 to 1972 at the University of Cologne, Department of Theatre Studies.