„“HochX München is an independent performance venue that puts on an impressive program in a small space and on a tight budget, while promoting both Munich-based and non-Munich-based artists and forging new alliances. The Germany-wide network AYŞE X Staatstheater was founded at HochX. The video production of the dance production “Scores that shaped our friendship” by Lucy Wilke and Paweł Duduś, which was invited to the 2021 Theatertreffen, was developed at HochX, which, under the direction of Antonia Beermann and Ute Gröbel, has stood for the spirit of optimism in Munich’s independent scene since 2016 – despite traditionally adverse conditions. It is also being awarded the 2021 Theaterpreis des Bundes for this, as a driving force and important networker for the independent scene as it evolves into a production house for Munich with supra-regional appeal.” – Jury statement " - Jurybegründung

„“Bostelwiebeck – since the Jahrmarkttheater has been working here, this village has become a place where nationally relevant theater is rehearsed, performed, watched and discussed. Where else, if not in such a small village, would it be necessary to engage in dialog with the village society? Dialogue means speaking and listening. And that is what distinguishes the Jahrmarkttheater: It doesn’t just speak, it listens. It not only offers to a landscape with otherwise limited cultural offerings sophisticated, great and yet accessible theater art, but it also collects the themes on the village street, processes them and attracts a supra-regional audience. Thomas Matschoß, Anja Imig and Andrea Hingst succeed in seducing their neighbors to engage with contemporary formats and forms, to leave familiar paths, to abandon themselves to the joy of play and the invention of new worlds. With self-irony, fun, courage and great consistency, the Jahrmarkttheater fills the term “popular theater” with new life. Bostelwiebeck thus becomes a global village and the Jahrmarkttheater a well-deserved winner of the Theaterpreises des Bundes.” – Jury statement " - Jurybegründung

„“The LOT Theater Braunschweig sees itself as a guest performance and (co)productions venue for the independent scene and up-and-coming theater talents of Lower Saxony, and works long-term with important groups, artists and newcomers in the state. The artistic program ranges from children’s and youth theater to dance and performance. A committed artistic program that deals with issues of social cohesion (‘participation, inclusion and accessibility are not empty words, but constant companions’), exciting exchange programs with local institutions and social organizations in the city, diverse networking, unusual and lovingly developed digital formats and the tireless cultural-political advocacy for the independent scene in Lower Saxony make the LOT Braunschweig stand out as a highly promising and reliable venue and as a driver of the independent scene, even in supra-regional comparison.” – Jury statement " - Jurybegründung

„“What characterizes experimental theater? The American writer Chris Kraus writes that it is a ‘utopian diaspora.’ What is that supposed to mean? Utopia, a ‘non-place’ and diaspora, the scattered, dispersed ‘in-between.’ Quite simply a double negation, an impossible place. But the Papiertheater under Johannes Volkmann, which has been active in and beyond Bavaria since 1995, is exactly that. An interactive think tank that thinks and works exclusively with paper, which is in constant motion, but without a home, nomadic, always somewhere else, but always together with the places it travels to, and above all together with the people that the Papiertheater visits and invites to intervene in the world through its ‘social productions’: How can people really achieve peace? Why are children’s rights still not a matter of course all over the world? With the simple but powerful material of paper, the Papiertheater unites the seemingly contradictory with admirable ease: it is an archive of theatrical co-creation that will always have enough space to continue writing the future.” – Jury statement " - Jurybegründung

„“The Salzlandtheater in Staßfurt, Saxony-Anhalt, is the first INTHEGA theater to receive the Theaterpreis des Bundes. The theater sees its task as promoting regional culture and at the same time drawing attention to Staßfurt through renowned artists and ensembles. The committed team’s declared aim is to counter the challenges facing the region – emigration, unemployment, structural weakness – with cultural means. In addition to performing, the Salzlandtheater is an intergenerational educational center. Projects are carried out in the form of inclusive theater groups, concerts and performances for daycare centers and schools as well as early cultural education, project work with the disabled and offers for senior citizens. In 2016, the Salzlandtheater founded its own dance school. The theater has been a recognized provider of public youth welfare services since 2008. Under the direction of Stefan Czuratis, the dance department was re-established at the Salzlandtheater. As one of the stages included in the TANZLAND program of the Kulturstiftung des Bundes, there is a close cooperation with the Theater Koblenz ballet. The program of this guest performance venue is characterized by a wide variety of genres: Drama, puppet theater, cabaret, comedy, concerts, dance and musicals can be found in the repertoire. During the pandemic, solidarity with artists was a matter of course for the Salzlandtheater team. Not only were cancellation fees paid, but the theater also developed into an advisory body with regard to funding opportunities.” – Jury statement " - Jurybegründung

„“The smallest municipal theater in North Rhine-Westphalia has stood for continuity and high artistic innovation on the western edge of the Ruhr region for over four decades. With 22 employees, five of whom are ensemble actors, the theater produces classical material, premieres of new texts, plays for children and young people and artistic explorations of regional events, such as the Love Parade disaster of 2010. In an impressive way, the theater opens up unusual venues in the city, such as a fitness center, a deportation detention center or a shopping center, and enters into remarkable collaborations with partners in urban society. Livestream formats, Telegram theater for children and young people or one-person telephone readings are evidence of remarkable creativity, including during the pandemic. The Schlosstheater Moers is a theater that does outstanding work with limited financial resources at the interface between high artistic standards and ‘social initiatives.’” – Jury statement " - Jurybegründung

„“Lena Kußmann, Jonas Vietzke and Milena Fischer took over the Theater an der Glocksee, which was founded 30 years ago by students on the squatted Glocksee site, from founding member Helga Lauenstein in 2018/19 and completed a convincing generational change. Although, as a small independent venue in Lower Saxony, they are forced to work on a project basis, they also plan for the long term and explore individual topics in depth, such as the 2020 annual project on plants. Great importance is attached to contact with the audience, both in new mediation formats and in the design of the theater space, in which audience seats are integrated into the stage design. During the pandemic, the Theater an der Glocksee impressed with its imaginative outdoor and online formats. The supra-regionality and internationality of the digital format has ‘unleashed many ideas that want to be pursued,’ the leadership team wrote in their application for the Theaterpreis des Bundes. The jury wants to support them in their ‘megalomaniac dream of global theatrical networking.’” – Jury statement " - Jurybegründung

„“The Theater an der Ruhr in Mülheim has been a unique feature on the scene for over 40 years. A true theater of the future that, since its founding in 1980 by Roberto Ciulli, Helmut Schäfer and Gralf-Edzard Habben, has negotiated with visionary power all those discourses that are indispensable for a contemporary art venue. It sees itself not only as a non-hierarchical collective of artists (with the involvement of all the employees at the venue), but also as a theater in constant motion. Traveling for the purpose of cultural exchange is a basic principle of the ensemble; in return, international artists (from Egypt, Turkey, Iran, Iraq and the countries of former Yugoslavia, among others) regularly make guest appearances at the theater. Cultural diversity and migration (Ciulli himself came to Germany from Italy in 1965) were thus a topic here long before other theaters began to address them. Sven Schlötcke, managing director and long-standing member of the artistic direction, has consolidated this program as part of the upcoming generational change and further anchored the theater in the post-migrant urban society. Groups such as Anagoor from Italy, Kumbaracı50 from Turkey and Ma’louba from Syria work continuously in Mülheim, the ‘Ruhrorter’ project has been implementing theater and installation works with refugees since 2012, while director Philipp Preuss, a new member of the artistic direction, is expanding the art space with his multimedia works. The theater of the future cannot ignore the debate about the threat to our future: in the talk series “Hammerthaler’s Zeit für Zukunft,”climate activists, scientists and politicians regularly enter into dialog to discuss how to save our planet Earth. For this groundbreaking work as an artistic space for diversity and socio-political visions, the jury awards the Theater an der Ruhr the Theaterpreis des Bundes.” – Jury statement " - Jurybegründung

„“A neighborhood theater, a place for social encounters in the courtyard garden, a source of artistic inspiration in a lively network with other cultural institutions in the city of Mannheim, as well as being a host for international literature festivals – none of this is contradictory for the bustling management team of Theaterhaus G7. They have developed their theater into a cultural venue for local and national audiences with an international focus. While it was established 30 years ago, it is only in the past five years that Theaterhaus has also undergone rapid professionalization. During this time, Theaterhaus G7 has also developed an unusual profile for an independent theater: It is constantly working on the literary word, on text-based contemporary theater and has developed into a special, artistically qualitative, internationally active venue for independent authors’ theater in the five years of its professional history.” – Jury statement " - Jurybegründung

„“The WUK Theater Quartier is still a relatively new theater that has already become an integral part of the city of Halle and is vital to the survival of the scene in Saxony-Anhalt. But the word “quarter” describes it much better, because it is a site and not just a building and, more recently, even a theater ship on the Saale, which underlines the mobility and permeability of this institution. A wide range of independent performers from dance, concerts and drama to performance and installation find production and performance opportunities here. And a reliable partner. With all openness and willingness to cooperate, the WUK Theater Quartier team, led by Tom Wolter as host, consistently makes its mark in chapters such as #8gottisttot or #9WBLCHKT and thus brings the individual productions and performances into a discourse. In the midst of this, the WUK creates its own artistic works, with which it confronts the debate. In its constant dialog with urban society, WUK meets the requirements of the Theaterpreises des Bundes in every conceivable respect and clearly deserves the prize.” – Jury statement " - Jurybegründung

„“Before and during the coronavirus pandemic, the Wuppertaler Bühnen und Sinfonieorchester distinguished itself through diverse and rich extensions (digital stage) to physical performances, that had been prevented by the lockdowns. Under the outgoing general music director, Julia Jones, the three-part company with independent directors of equal rank, who work closely with the autonomous Tanztheater Wuppertal Pina Bausch, developed concert formats for new audiences. With updated versions of the classical and modern repertoire, they demonstrate an emphatically contemporary approach. Dramatic works gain a rejuvenating dimension through explorations of the body in space instead of concentrating on the text. The management teams of the Wuppertaler Bühnen und Sinfonieorchester show particular attentiveness to contemporary initiatives relating to digitality (the ‘Share Your Opera’ app with cell phone use during selected performances), diversity, gender equality and the promotion of young talent (NRW Opera Studio). International co-productions in music theater productions and distinctive young directorial signatures add to the pluralism of style and interpretation.” – Jury statement " - Jurybegründung