Application

The application phase for the Theatertreffen der Jugend has started!

Are you passionate about theatre and the stage?
Have you developed a play or performance?
Would you like to show your work in Berlin and try it out in workshops together with other young theatre makers?
Then apply now with your theatre project for Theatertreffen der Jugend 2025!
For all young theatre makers aged 11 to 21.

We are looking for young artists whose language is theatre!

We are looking forward to you and your work – whether it is a draft text, your own texts, research projects or self-developed pieces. There are no time, formal or thematic constraints, your stage can be small, large, indoors or outdoors. We are curious about what you have to say and what you want to tell. It doesn’t matter if you are a large or small group, a school group, a theatre club or an independent ensemble. We are curious about the formats you choose: classical narrative forms, works from the performance field, experiments with theatre, whether you include media or cross the borders to other art forms.
Our independent jury of experts selects the artists from all the entries who will be invited to Berlin to show their work to an audience. All award winners can take part in the diverse workshop program, which is led by theatre professionals, and try out and learn new things with other young theatre professionals.

Dates for the Theatertreffen der Jugend 2025

Call for applications October 2024
Questions & answers about the application with the team 16 January 2025, 17:00
Registration at treffenjungeszene@berlinerfestspiele.de
Deadline for applications 31 January 2025
Live viewing period 24 February to 19 March 2025
Announcement of the prize winners 24 March 2025
Theatertreffen der Jugend 30 May to 6 June 2025

Applications

Please submit your application via our ApplicationPortal. After you have registered, you can enter all the details of your application there. Please also upload the following application materials:

A video recording of your project. It may also be a rehearsal. We prefer to take recordings of pieces filmed with a single camera in long shot. Depending on how well a project can be presented, several parts are possible.
Comments on the video recording. For example, is it the premiere or a rehearsal? What can be seen already and what not yet? For example, are costumes or elements on stage missing? Write us more about it in the comments.
Please indicate how you would like your work to be presented.
Information about the group. What is the composition of the ensemble? How do you work? Where do you train or rehearse? How was your work created? What material did you use for it? You are welcome to submit further supporting material (project descriptions, programme notes, etc.).

If you have any questions or problems using our application portal, please call us at +49 30 254 89 113 or via email treffenjungeszene@berlinerfestspiele.de

Selection

On the basis of the recording and the application documents, an independent jury initially nominates the productions in February for the shortlist to take part in the Theatertreffen der Jugend. These productions will be visited by the jury to get a live impression and to have a conversation with the group about the play.
On the basis of these live impressions and the discussions, the jury decides in a second selection round on the winning plays which will be invited to the Theatertreffen der Jugend in Berlin. The selection process is completed at the 24h of March. The jury's decision is final - there is no right of appeal.

Meeting

The theatre groups chosen as the winners of the nationwide Theatertreffen der Jugend contest will be invited with their productions to the Theatertreffen der Jugend in Berlin.

The centrepiece of the meeting is the public performances of the chosen theatre productions. Beyond these, the meeting also offers the chosen companies and invited participants in the specialist conference opportunities for collective practical theatre work, critical discourse about the productions, fora for discussion and much more.

Documentation

All selected productions will be recorded during the Theatertreffen der Jugend and can be viewed in the Berliner Festspiele Media Library and in the archive of the Deutsches Kinder und Jugendtheaterzentrum der Bundesrepublik Deutschland in Frankfurt am Main for study purposes.