Theaterpreis des Bundes 2019

Puppentheater Magdeburg

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