Gabi dan Droste, artistic director of the FELD Theater, in a conversation with Christine Wahl about the difficult period after winning the Theaterpreis des Bundes and investing the prize money.

Gabi dan Droste, you won the Theaterpreis des Bundes with Berlin’s independent FELD Theater in the “Independent Production Houses” category in 2024 – as the first venue, no less, that primarily targets a young audience. What has happened in the meantime?

Gabi dan Droste: Our situation was disastrous directly after the awards ceremony. In the midst of the joy about this honor, more or less confusing information interrupted everything, made us insecure and signaled to us: It is completely unclear how things will develop in Berlin’s cultural sphere from January 2025 onwards.

That was almost exactly one year ago, when almost the entire Berlin cultural scene was surprisingly and suddenly confronted by the Berlin Senate’s drastic cost-cutting measures.

Droste: For us it meant that, shortly after the awards ceremony, we had to ask the few employees who work at the FELD Theater to register at the Unemployment Agency as seeking employment. The Basisförderung grant for the complete year of 2025, which had already been promised, could not be guaranteed by the senate administration. Shortly after Christmas 2024, we received a quarterly statement – the notification that we would be receiving the grant for January to March 2025. Of all the numerous individual project grant applications that the artists had applied for on their own and upon which the majority of the FELD Theater’s program is based, only one was approved, for a piece with a premiere scheduled in 2026.

So practically overnight, your 2025 was completely up in the air?

Droste: Yes, unfortunately that was the case. We are actually a “house of premieres” with six or seven premieres per year – then we suddenly had nothing. Finally, the word was: We have to close shop in January and February of 2025; we just couldn’t offer a program. The schedule also fell apart for the following months. It wasn’t clear how and if the location could be maintained at all.

That sounds dramatic!

Droste: Yes, it was an extremely hard hit. We stayed above water with cultural education projects and a small program, which was generated in part by solidarity initiatives from cooperation partners. A program block for very young children was made possible by a private donation.

A truly difficult period!

Droste: Indeed, also emotionally. Last but not least, it’s also an important source for your own motivation: that performances happen, the house is full, it’s vibrant and you get excited about the art. In the end, that’s the reason why we are doing all of this. And suddenly, it was so quiet, so empty. I am all the more grateful for all the initiatives, network partners, theaters, associations, friends and supporters of the house who, despite the situation, simply continued to come and asked us, how they could help.

Given this background, what does the Theaterpreis des Bundes mean to you?

Droste: Given the situation I described, this prize was essential for survival! It created our backup, so to speak, that we guarded like a treasure, as well as our buffer for transitions.

But you actually had other plans with the prize money…

Droste: … that we are also realizing, despite the difficult situation! On the one hand, recently there was a residency for Hyemi Jo and Paulina Güllü, two deaf artists, with a grant and an open rehearsal workshop. This is extremely important, as such formats for deaf artists are often the only training and further education available. German art and theater universities are still not without barriers for them.

There is a second thing that you wanted to finance with the prize money: All FELD employees should – since working with the deaf represents a central emphasis at your house – receive the possibility to learn GSL, German Sign Language.

Droste: Exactly. The cuts and confusion also had massive effects on our employee structures, so that we shrunk to a minimal core team. We are currently rebuilding; new colleagues are joining us. And the funds from the Theaterpreis enable us to now actually learn GSL together. In the endd, since communication is still a big subject at our house. We work bilingually, and I really regret that I still can’t sign fluently.
In addition to the actually realizable projects, I would also like to describe a completely different effect the Theaterpreis had.

Namely?

Droste: We actually brought an underfinanced structure to life. The award had an empowering effect on everyone, including FELD’s external colleagues. People who were also at the awards ceremony as friends of the theater – such as Cornelia Strauss from the Initiative Kiezkultur zur Rettung des Theaters am Winterfeldtplatz or also artists and colleagues – are now involved in the battle for the venue. The prize encouraged us to carry on. I’m not sure how we would have found the courage without it.

In the meantime, the financial situation is looking far more positive: For the Basisförderung grant for production venues 2026/2027, FELD belongs to the most subsidized institutions in this segment at 220,000 Euro per year. What perspective do you have; what are your plans and ideas for the future?

Droste: Yes, the Basisförderung grant enables us to have a certain basic financing for the structure. I think the community aspect will play a bigger role in the future. Because if – structurally and in general – art funding is reduced, the question is raised: What other potentials does a venue have? I really like the thought of opening the doors a bit wider and entering into a stronger dialogue with our audience.