Theaters aren’t just places for art; they are places for encounters and social dialogue, democratic places. Places where we meet each other, our lives and its abysses. And here, in the theater, we are not left alone in this confrontation with ourselves. The theater opens us for others, for a counterpart. The Theaterpreis des Bundes seeks to honor those who achieve great things in this intermediation. It intends to strengthen the theaters and venues outside or on the edges of the metropolises, to lift their achievements into public awareness, on the big stage, into the spotlights and to honor their artistic teams that are working innovatively, bravely and with great energy so that theaters remain places for the artistic engagement with issues of the day as well as democratic encounters for all.

Claudia Roth, Minister of State for Culture and the Media

It is immediately possible to apply for the sixth THEATERPREIS DES BUNDES, organized by the Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media; the deadline is April 15th 2024.

Theaters in the Federal Republic of Germany can now apply for this innovation prize, which will from now on be awarded every year and has been realigned since last year. The prize honors mid-sized and smaller theater structures, especially beyond the theater metropolises, and their nation-wide remarkable work in the past few years.

The Theaterpreis is awarded to an outstanding program that is characterized by a convincing aesthetic/artistic further development in contemporary questions of (urban) society, multi-perspective audiences, ecological and social sensitivity and/or technological/digital innovations. Also, the specific structural, financial and, if applicable, socio-spatial situation will be taken into account when awarding the prize.

Theaters can apply in three categories depending on their structural situation:

1. City theaters and federal state stages
2. Private theaters and guest performance venues
3. Independent production houses

• Category 1: City theaters and federal state stages, especially from cities with less than 600,000 inhabitants that are primarily financed with basic public funding and, as a rule, have a permanent artistic ensemble.*
• Category 2: Private theaters and guest performance venues located in the Federal Republic of Germany that, as a rule, are primarily privately organized.
• Category 3: Independent production houses for the independent performing arts located in the Federal Republic of Germany that receive no more that 4 million euro in basic public funding and in which primarily self-employed, so-called independent artists/groups work.

The prerequisite for an application is regular scheduled calendar/operations with various offers of pieces and/or other socially relevant, activating (also participative) program elements in an own venue.

*The limitation of inhabitants does not apply to theaters that are exclusively directed towards a young audience in this category.

The Theaterpreis des Bundes 2024 is endowed with 200,000 € and honors the nationally most remarkable, exemplary and innovative work. This main prize will be awarded once throughout all three application categories.

In addition, in each application category an award will be granted that is respectively endowed with 100,000 € each.

A separate application for the main prize is not required.

An application is completed via a correctly filled-out online form that includes the following aspects, among others:

A comprehensive description of theater operations. This includes:

• Description of the history of the venue and its current positioning
• Description of the structural, human-resource, economic and financial condition
• Information on the theater’s venues/stages
• Audience statistics from the last two years and the number of productions shown per season
• Overview of the people who are primarily responsible for the theater or are particularly influential for the theater’s operations (examples: intendant, artistic direction, management, head dramaturge, program director, etc.).

A comprehensive description of the special offers that were provided by the theater in the last two to three seasons, for example also with a view to the challenges of the (post-) pandemic. These should definitely highlight remarkable aspects of the artistic programs, but can also include house-internal or communication measures.

A short description of the planned project related to the prize money, which logically connects to the remarkable work done in the past years.

Optional: Additional material such as the programs from the 2022/2023 and 2023/2024 seasons or other relevant publications.

The prizewinners commit to using the prize money for additional artistic program work or for the improvement of artistic production conditions. The prize money can thus be used for a new, additional project with an artistic, programmatic or also structural focus in 2025 (or in the first half of 2026). A short description of such a project is a part of the application form (see comprehensive information). In the case of being nominated to the short list, a more detailed description might have to be submitted.

Three expert juries with diverse expertise on the various regions, genres and structures of the performing arts decide on the prize winners on the basis of all formally correct applications received. In October 2024, the main prize as well as the awards will be conferred in the three prize categories.

The prize gala will take place on 02 Ocotber 2024 at the Haus der Berliner Festspiele. The ceremony will be framed by a symposium organized by the ITI - Internationales Theaterinstitut Zentrum Deutschland focused on current issues, future-oriented formats and aesthetics as well as current challenges, duties and (also cultural-political) perspectives of the national performing arts landscape.

The members of the juries will be announced here shortly.

To the application portal