Still in her studies, 21-year-old Wokalek made her professional stage debut during the 1996 Wiener Festwochen in Joshua Sobol's play Alma, directed by Paulus Manker. Soon after, she played Polly in Brecht's The Threepenny Opera (also directed by Paulus Manker and with costumes by Vivienne Westwood), shown in Vienna's Burgtheater, one of the best-known stage theaters in the world.