Theaterpreis des Bundes 2019
In 2019, the Theaterpreis des Bundes was awarded for the third time by the then Minister of State for Culture, Professor Monika Grütters. As in previous years, this year’s prize was aimed at small and medium-sized theaters that sought artistic experimentation and defended artistic freedom with their cultural offerings, theater productions, guest performances and participatory projects.
Award winners
In 2019, 11 theaters were awarded the Theaterpreis des Bundes, which this year was endowed with €75,000 each.
„“Since 2009, the boat people project has been working on a new form of political theater. It has implemented what is repeatedly demanded in many debates about the theater, but rarely dared: A collective of people from different backgrounds running the theater. It conceives its own productions and collaborations with ensembles and institutions at home and abroad. The variety of formats ranges from musical theater and solo opera performances to games. With great seriousness and a pleasurable lightness of touch, the boat people project finds a way of dealing with contemporary phenomena as well as traditional materials and motifs; in a way that does justice to the complex 21st century – both structurally and aesthetically. This genuinely transcultural work functions in Göttingen through a variety of links with the city environment, including its own mediation channel. Ambivalences are permitted and demanded here, the democratic culture of debate is sharpened by the acumen of art, diversity is normality – on, in front of and behind the stage.” – Jury statement " - Jury statement
„“The HELIOS Theater has continuously expanded its appeal as a children’s and youth theater since moving from its founding location in Cologne to Hamm (1997). Under the artistic direction of Barbara Kölling (director) and Michael Lurse (playwright), interdisciplinary productions such as ‘Gegenüber’ (4+) are created, a play that, together with a video artist, poses the question of digital reality. Particularly noteworthy is the programmatic focus on a ‘theater for the very youngest (2+),’ in which HELIOS is a pioneer and which it supports with academic research in cooperation with other EU countries. Aesthetically, many of its productions are characterized by object and material theater and as a result function without speech – one more reason for the ensemble’s worldwide invitations to guest performances, which have also included two artists from Iran since 2017/18. With the biennial focus of the international theater festival ‘hellwach’ and not least through the committed networking work on site with schools or in the intercultural ‘Café Welt’ for refugee families, the HELIOS Theater succeeds in bridging the gap between local and international commitment.” – Jury statement " - Jury statement
„“The Landestheater Schwaben in Memmingen has been undergoing a comprehensive renewal and revitalization since 2016: with a passionate and political repertoire, a large-scale opening into the city and beyond, and a strong focus on youth theater. Artistic Director Dr. Kathrin Mädler and her team catapulted the Landestheater Schwaben back onto the theater map and showed how it is possible to generate national attention even in the so-called provinces and at the same time retain local audiences in a wide variety of formats: e.g. with ‘Vereinte Vergangenheiten,’ a Doppelpass project in collaboration with geheimagentur, with a world premiere of ‘Nebel im August’ that dealt with the history of the murder of the sick in Irsee during the Nazi era, with young directors (50% of whom are women) and productions with challenging aesthetics and many premieres and first performances, as well as commissioned plays. Finally, with the conference ‘Theater in the provinces – cultural participation and artistic diversity as a program’ in cooperation with the University of Hildesheim, the small theater proved that it is one of the greats and the jury honored it for this.’” – Jury statement " - Jury statement
„“Under the directorship of Florian Lutz, Oper Halle has gained supra-regional appeal with its new aesthetic program. His experimental music theater has quickly brought the young management team to the attention of discerning audiences and garnered several awards. With the Raumbühne, a multi-perspective ‘stage on the stage,’ in which the opera team also invited the other theaters of Bühnen Halle to try out the relationship between artists and spectators in a new way – with one premiere per year and transcultural projects such as the multi-stage rewriting of the opera ‘L’Africaine’ by Giacomo Meyerbeer. The team at Oper Halle is increasingly seeking contact with its audience in pre- and post-performance discussions. The jury sees this opera concept as a highly remarkable innovation that cannot be played off against the friction it has caused, both among the opera staff and in the urban society.” – Jury statement " - Jury statement
„“The Piccolo Theater in Cottbus is much bigger than its name suggests: founded in 1991 by director and musician Reinhard Drogla, it is the largest children’s and youth theater in Brandenburg and has had a modern new building in the middle of the city since 2011. Drama, dance and puppetry are performed in two venues with 127 and 70 seats respectively: political, approachable and always in tune with the times. Just last year, the far-right AfD targeted the award-winning production ‘KRG,’ which warns of the dangers of fascism. The party’s state parliamentary group leader Andreas Kablitz questioned the financial support of the theater and asked ‘how many plays with a decidedly topical social and/or political reference similar to the play “KRG” were performed at the Piccolo during this legislative period.’ Anyone familiar with the history of the Piccolo Theater knows that there are many and, given the political situation, there will be more to come – for a democratic, open and diverse Cottbus, for the freedom of art. Because that’s what the Piccolo Theater stands for, and that’s what the jury is honoring the team for.” – Jury statement " - Jury statement
„“The Puppentheater der Stadt Magdeburg is one of the last independent ensemble puppet theaters in Germany: contemporary, relevant to the present and with a great aesthetic diversity of material, object and puppet theater. Productions for children and young people are on an equal footing with the evening program for adults. It cannot be underestimated how consistently young directors for puppet theater are promoted in cooperation with the universities in Berlin and Stuttgart, for which there is otherwise no structured training. The research project ‘Aufbruch,’ in which the structures of ensemble puppet theater are questioned in order to make the genre’s work processes fit for the future, also provides a boost for the scene. With the puppet theater festival ‘Blickwechsel’ acting as an international meeting place for the field, the large collection of puppet plays in the affiliated ‘villa p.,’ a wide range of theater education programs and networking in urban society, the theater under the directorship of Michael Kempchen is a central anchor of German puppet theater – for the past, present and future.” – Jury statement " - Jury statement
„“The Ringlokschuppen Ruhr is one of the most important independent production houses in Germany. Over the past 15 years, it has evolved from a socio-cultural venue that has always been home to theater to a fixed hub in the performing arts network. The following are representative of the wide range of important artists: kainkollektiv, andcompany&Co, Marta Górnicka, LIGNA, Boris Nikitin, Gintersdorfer/Klaßen and René Pollesch. The Ringlokschuppen’s program questions the hierarchies of theater – and this always includes the social stage – with relish and intelligence. For example, when the KGI group creates an amateur ensemble in its productions in Mülheim that unites people with different backgrounds and abilities; or when productions are presented with surtitles in several languages. With this substantial work, which is artistically highly advanced and thus enables access for a heterogeneous audience, the Ringlokschuppen is a productive disruptor and an irreplaceable space in Mülheim’s urban society. It is a venue that works locally and at the same time has an international network and has transformed itself again since 2015 in terms of intercultural openness based on this dual self-image. The Ringlokschuppen Ruhr is thus a model of a future theater in the post-industrial Ruhr region – and far beyond.” – Jury statement " - Jury statement
„“Under the directorship of Katja Ott, the Theater Erlangen is positioning itself in the Nuremberg metropolitan region as the ‘municipal theater of the future.’ To mark its 300th anniversary in January of this year, it organized a forum with theater professionals, political representatives and the ‘ensemble-netzwerk’ on this topic and also carried out an internal mission statement process with all employees. As the largest art institution in Erlangen, a city of 110,000 inhabitants, it networks with other institutions such as the city’s landmark university, schools, clubs and the city library. With a public consultation hour for dramaturgy, it opens itself up to audience participation. In its program, it makes a mark with contemporary plays on the big stage and collaborations with renowned greats of the independent scene such as Hans-Werner Kroesinger and Turbo Pascal. With 14 female directors in 25 productions, Erlangen makes an important contribution to gender equality in German theater, and new talents are discovered and promoted in the competition for up-and-coming young directors.” – Jury statement " - Jury statement
„“Based on contemporary auteur theater, Theater Rampe in Stuttgart succeeds in establishing a variety of connections to state theaters as well as to the local and national independent performing arts scene, for which it is a vital source of inspiration. In just a few years, the artistic duo Marie Bues and Martina Grohmann and their team have developed the theater into a nationally acclaimed production house for independent theater of all genres. Numerous artists develop and present contemporary and socially critical, experimental, aesthetically challenging productions ranging from spoken theater and performance to dance and interdisciplinary projects. In large-scale transdisciplinary collaborations, for example with the visual arts institutions, and in collaboration with various municipal initiatives, the Rampe creates an impact that goes far beyond the boundaries of the stage and into the heart of urban society. With participatory formats, the theater creates relevant contributions to performative urban development, connects artists and audiences and is a driver and transmission medium for current social discourse. Theater Rampe in Stuttgart embodies a new type of municipal theater in the best sense of the word.” – Jury statement " - Jury statement
„“Theater Thikwa is a true artists’ theater. Its ensemble is made up of all kinds of characters, each with their own energy as players, dancers, musicians and performers. This could lead to chaos. At Theater Thikwa, it leads to pure, unconventional and relentlessly direct productions that are as unpredictable as life itself. The themes arise from everyday life, revolve around communication, body images, life plans and utopias, which are sometimes poetic, sometimes crazy, sometimes deeply existential – but above all are one thing: never standardized. The players of Theater Thikwa don’t allow themselves to be forced into roles, they don’t act or think according to patterns. They practice a free play of heterogeneity using the means of contemporary theater. And this has political potential in today’s world. Together with their two directors Nicole Hummel and Gerd Hartmann, the Thikwas take every risk and overcome the supposedly impossible. The wheelchair-bound performer becomes the protagonist of an evening of dance, love songs resound almost silently in the room using sign language. No exuberant stage design or opulent costumes distract from this impression. Time and again, the Thikwas also invite guests from the independent scene to take part in this permanent expansion of the art zone as directors, choreographers and performers. The jury honors Theater Thikwa for this outstanding evocation of social diversity and simultaneous desire for artistic radicalism.” – Jury statement " - Jury statement
„“Located on a side street not far from Flensburg’s harbor, the Theaterwerkstatt Pilkentafel looks far beyond the city’s borders. Flensburg: That means harbor city. City of tourism. City of rum. But also, the city to which the Nazis retreated at the end of the Third Reich. A city that profited from the slave trade and exploitation. Elisabeth Bohde and Torsten Schütte pursue their themes in long chronological lines, linking the city’s history with world history, the present with the past. They never want to lecture. Their productions demonstrate an attitude, but also constant doubt, which is the beginning of all thought. In their small theater space, which once actually housed a workshop, we look inside the human machine. ‘Von der Begierde Burgen zu Bauen’ is the title of a self-examination, ‘Vom Reisen in ehemaligen Kolonien’ is a positioning piece that links the colonial history of the Virgin Islands with the present-day wealth of the Hanseatic city of Flensburg. Pilkentafel’s plays make use of drama, performance, object theater and new music. Complex, multifaceted and tentative, they resemble a shared search in which the performers constantly put themselves at risk. As one of the few independent theaters in Schleswig-Holstein, Pilkentafel is also actively involved in the expansion of the independent scene. Opening up to young talent is also a top priority in order to develop the theater workshop, whose impact as a productive place for thinking and negotiating socio-political issues extends far beyond the city, into a central, supra-regionally networked production house for Schleswig-Holstein’s independent scene in the future. The jury considers this long-standing essential pioneering work to be absolutely worthy of the award.” – Jury statement " - Jury statement
Award ceremony
The award ceremony for the 2019 Theaterpreis des Bundes was held at Theater Gera on May 27, 2019. After a welcome speech by the evening’s host, Thomas Bille (mdr), and a speech by the Minister of State for Culture, Professor Monika Grütters, Professor Dr. Benjamin-Immanuel Hoff (Minister for Culture, Federal and European Affairs and Head of the State Chancellery of the Free State of Thuringia), Julian Vonarb (Lord Mayor of Gera), André Neumann (Lord Mayor of Altenburg) and Kay Kuntze (Director of Theater Altenburg-Gera) opened the panel discussion. In addition to the laudatory speeches for the award winners, the evening’s program included three excerpts from current productions at the Theater Altenburg-Gera.
Jury
As in previous years, the jury was appointed by the Minister of State for Culture, Professor Monika Grütters. It consisted of the following people:
- Jörg Albrechtdirector Burg Hülshoff - Center for Literature
- Sophie Diesselhorsttheater critic for nachtkritik.de
- Dorte Lena Eilerstheater critic for Theater der Zeit
- Bettina Jahnkedirector Hans Otto Theater Potsdam
- Ulrike Koltertheater critic for Die Deutsche Bühne
- Matthias Schulze-Kraftartistic director Lichthof Theater Hamburg
Conference ‘Dialogue with Urban society’
The conference “Dialogue with Urban Society,” which accompanied the Theaterpreis des Bundes award ceremony, took place on May 27, 2019 at the Theater Gera. The conference brought together around 120 participants from all areas of the theater landscape for an intensive dialogue. Two keynote speeches kicked off the discussion. Thirteen discussion groups then took place, ranging from theory to practice and bringing together specific projects by the award winners and theaters that had applied for the award. The second part of the conference entitled “Theater under pressure?” confronted the theater associations with three keynote speeches that demanded not only a dialogue with urban society, but also the associated, necessary change of perspectives and structures in the theaters.
Special publication
31 individual portraits of small and medium-sized theaters beyond the metropolitan areas
The 31 theaters that were awarded the Theaterpreis des Bundes in 2015, 2017 and 2019 are portrayed in the special publication by Theater der Zeit “City, country, art – theater in dialogue with society on the outskirts of cities and beyond the metropolises.”
The result of a collaboration between the German ITI-Zentrum and the editorial team of Theater der Zeit, the special publication was included in the May 2020 issue of Theater der Zeit. In this publication, authors from the world of theater presented the work of small and medium-sized theaters in individual studies. These portraits were supplemented by two discussion rounds, which examined the role of the prize both from the perspective of theaters that have not yet won the prize and from the perspective of representatives of the theater associations.
The digital version of the special publication is available free of charge here.
The Theaterpreis des Bundes was awarded in 2019 by the Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media. The project sponsor was the Zentrum Bundesrepublik Deutschland des Internationalen Theaterinstituts e.V. (ITI).