Home Game

The Federal Cultural Foundation recently established the HOME GAME fund to promote theatre projects which address the urban and social reality of cities and try to attract new audiences to (city) theatre. Theatre often plays a key role in the image and identity of a city. It is a public place where people gather together and reflect on themselves and society on the whole. However, all public theatres have to struggle to gain the audience’s acceptance and financial support. What is involved when producing theatre productions for cities nowadays? How can we make theatre a place which tackles urgent contemporary issues? How can theatres attract new audiences while presenting their regular audiences with unusual points of view?

The Federal Cultural Foundation wishes to encourage general theatre directors, festival organizers, dramaturges, directors, set designers and musicians to incorporate impulses from their home cities into their theatre activities. They are urged to go out into unfamiliar city quarters and acquaint themselves with the residents' life stories and everyday routines. This is the only way to create new forums which would produce a true exchange between theatre and the city's inhabitants - between art and reality.

In recent years, we have seen an increasing number of artistic projects which have tried to address reality in new forms by putting amateurs on stage. But this is not about setting up "warm rooms" in theatres or publicly "exhibiting" certain groups of the population with all their quirks. The goal is rather to have artists and residents collaborate in a creative process in which both can learn from one another. In the end, both groups would benefit in producing an artistically interesting and ambitious result.

Before applying for funding from HOME GAME, applicants should do intensive research about their city. What issues are especially important to the people in the city? Which groups of people experience things which generally go unnoticed on a day-to-day basis? What areas of the city are unfamiliar or overlooked by cultural artists? The project administrators ought to address specific social groups in their research and conception phase - by visiting socially underprivileged city districts, clubs, companies, etc.

Funding will be granted to theatre projects which examine the urban and social reality of their cities in an artistically exceptional way. If possible, the project's results should be presented in the "large auditorium" or "big stage" in the theatre. The goal of HOME GAME is to fund projects which will get new circles of the public interested in theatre and encourage everyone involved to examine the role of (city) theatre in Germany.

Playing on the home turf, the fans are sitting in the audience rooting for their team, and all the players are fighting to win for their hometown - that's what HOME GAME is all about.

The programme runs until 2013. The last submission deadline ended 30 April 2011.
 

Funded projects in HOME GAME - Fund for Theatre Projects

Projects awarded funding at the 11th jury session on 27 June 2011:

Uckermärkische Bühnen Schwedt: Die Spur der Steine in Schwedt
Premiere: 17. June 2012

Theater Dortmund: Crashtest Nordstadt
Premiere: 1. March 2012

Badisches Staatstheater Karlsruhe: Der Gastfreund / Die Argonauten
Premiere: 30. June 2012

Theaterhaus Jena: The Voice
Premiere: 29. February 2012

Theater Oberhausen: Schwarzbank: Kohle für alle!
Premiere: March 2012

Landesbühne Sachsen-Anhalt: Vom Rande in die Mitte
Premiere: October 2011
 

Jury: Olaf Kröck, dramaturge, Schauspiel Essen; Tobias Rausch, writer and director, lunatiks, Berlin; Tobias Wellemeyer (Generalintendant Theater Magdeburg)

  

 
Projects awarded funding at the 10th jury session on 20 December 2010:

Theater Rudolstadt: Entfaltungen
Premiere: 30. September 2011

Stadttheater Bremerhaven: Verzögerte Heimkehr
Premiere: 19. March 2011

Theater der Altmark, Stendal: Angst (frei)
3. - 11. September 2011

Puppentheater der Stadt Magdeburg: ... zu neuen Ufern
Premiere: 18. June 2011
 

Jury: Olaf Kröck, dramaturge, Schauspiel Essen; Tobias Rausch, writer and director, lunatiks, Berlin; Tobias Wellemeyer (Generalintendant Theater Magdeburg)

  

 


Projects awarded funding at the 9th jury session on 31 March 2010:

Anhaltisches Theater Dessau: Schwarzweiß
Premiere: 10. June 2011

Schauspiel Hannover: Republik Freies Wendland - reaktiviert
Premiere: 18. September 2010

Theater Heilbronn: Wohnzeit
Premiere: June 2011

Maxim Gorki Theater Berlin: Die Hofmeister
Premiere: 4. June 2011
 

Jury: Olaf Kröck, dramaturge, Schauspiel Essen; Tobias Rausch, writer and director, lunatiks, Berlin; Tobias Wellemeyer (Generalintendant Theater Magdeburg)

  

 
Projects awarded funding at the 8th jury session on 14 December 2009:

Theater Dortmund: Heimat unter Erde. Von der Grube auf die Halde?
Premiere: 14. January 2011

Münchner Kammerspiele: Munich Central
Premiere: 4. June 2010

Theater Vorpommern: Moondog
Premiere: 10. July 2010

Junge Akteure / Theater Bremen: Open Space_Open Heard_Open Mind
Premiere: 28. May 2010

Theater Oberhausen: Abseitsfalle
Premiere: 1. February 2010

Landesbühne Niedersachsen Nord: Schlicksoldaten. Theater aus dem Alltag Wilhelmshavener Marinesoldaten
Premiere: June 2010

Jury: Olaf Kröck, dramaturge, Schauspiel Essen; Tobias Rausch, writer and director, lunatiks, Berlin; Tobias Wellemeyer, general manager Theater Magdeburg

 

Projects awarded funding at the 7th jury session on 29 June 2009:

Theater Freiburg: Der Rap des Nibelungen
Premiere: 8 June 2010

Deutsches Theater Berlin: The Poor Maiden Monsters
Premiere: 30 April 2010

Niedersächsische Staatstheater Hannover GmbH: Trollmanns Kampf
Premiere: 30 April 2010

Anhaltisches Theater Dessau: Funk - Das Stadttheater als Sende- und Empfangsapparat
Premiere: September 2009

Jury: Olaf Kröck, dramaturge, Schauspiel Essen; Tobias Rausch, writer and director, lunatiks, Berlin; Tobias Wellemeyer, general manager, Theater Magdeburg


 

Projects awarded funding at the 6th jury session on 15 December 2008:

Schauspiel Frankfurt: Remake :: Rosemarie
Premiere: 16 December 2009

Deutsches Theater in Göttingen: Stadt in Zukunft
Premiere: 1 October 2009

Thalia Theater Halle: Ultras
Premiere: 18 September 2009

Theaterhaus Jena: Der Dritte Weg. Eine theatrale Demonstration
Premiere: 28 October 2009

Staatstheater Kassel: Raumbefragung: Posen für die Macht. Ein TanzTheaterProjekt von Sabine Simon
Premiere: 16 May 2009

Puppentheater der Stadt Magdeburg: "…… vor Anker"
Premiere: 19 June 2009

 

Jury: Nuran Calis, writer and director: urbanstories, Schauspiel Hannover and homestories, Schauspeil Essen; Matthias Lilienthal, artistic and executive director, Hebbel am Ufer Berlin;Tobias Wellemeyer, intendant, Theater Magdeburg.


 

Projects awarded funding at the 5th jury session on 6 June 2008:


Staatsschauspiel Dresden: Alles Auf Anfang!
Premiere in spring 2010

Musiktheater im Revier Gelsenkirchen: Eichbaum-Oper
Premiere: June 2009

Theater Oberhausen: Klima-Talk. Oberhausen
Premiere: 5 June 2009

Jury: Nuran Calis, writer and director: urbanstories, Schauspiel Hannover and homestories, Schauspiel Essen; Matthias Lilienthal, artistic and executive director, Hebbel am Ufer Berlin; Tobias Wellemeyer, intendant, Theater Magdeburg.


 

Projects awarded funding at the 4th jury session on 17 December 2007:


Theater Magdeburg: projekt mögliche welten
Premiere: 15 February 2008

Deutsch-Sorbisches Volkstheater Bautzen: Antigone in Bautzen
Premiere: 9 May 2009

Staatstheater Nürnberg: ArbeitsEnde: Gestern
Premiere: 24 October 2008
 

Jury: Thomas Bockelmann, Staatstheaer Kassel; Nuran Calis, director and writer, Munich; Matthias Lilienthal, general director of the Hebbel-am-Ufer Theater Berlin.

 

Projects awarded funding at the 3rd jury session on 22 May 2007:


Niedersächsisches Staatstheater Hannover: Tacheles / Klartext
Premiere: 10 April 2008

Münchner Kammerspiele: Illegal - Das unsichtbare Leben
Premiere: 20 June 2008

Thüringer Landestheater Rudolstadt: <Lebens>|<Zeichen>
Premiere: 1 May 2008

Theater Vorpommern: SCHICHT C - Eine Stadt und die Energie
Premiere: 2 October 2008

 

Jury: Thomas Bockelmann, Staatstheaer Kassel; Nuran Calis, director and writer, Munich; Matthias Lilienthal, general director of the Hebbel-am-Ufer Theater Berlin.

 

Projects awarded funding at the 2nd jury session on 22 January 2007:


Puppentheater Magdeburg: Schöne Aussicht - Geschichte(n) von Tür zu Tür
Premiere: 9 June 2007

Staatstheater Stuttgart / Schauspiel Stuttgart: Irrfelsen Stuttgart
Premiere: 16 June 2007

Nationaltheater Mannheim: Pimp the City
Premiere: 5 June 2007

Theater an der Parkaue: Dynamoland
Premiere: 22 October 2007

Westfälische Kammerspiele Paderborn: Ophelias Schattentheater
Premiere: 6 October 2007


Stadttheater Konstanz: Troya - Ithaka - Konstanz
Premiere: 15 March 2008

 

Jury: Thomas Bockelmann, Staatstheaer Kassel; Nuran Calis, director and writer, Munich; Matthias Lilienthal, general director of the Hebbel-am-Ufer Theater Berlin.

 

Projects awarded funding at the 1st jury session on 15 May 2006:


Theater Aachen: Der Mensch sucht's, Gott gibt's
Premiere: 3 May 2007

Theater und Philharmonie Essen: Glaube Liebe Hoffnung
Premiere "Glaube": 27 January 2007,
"Liebe": 16 March 2007, "Hoffnung": 29 April 2007

Schauspiel Frankfurt: "Die Familie Schroffenstein", Projekt nach Heinrich von Kleist
Premiere: 29 March 2007

Mittelsächsisches Theater und Philharmonie Freiberg und Döbeln
Spielplätze - Das Theater in der Stadt: Discotheater
Premiere Döbeln: 23 November 2006, Freiberg: 22 December 2006

Theater Freiburg: Orbit + Freiburg Mitte
since: 15 September 2006

Musiktheater Oberlausitz-Niederschlesien Görlitz: Radio Babylon
Premiere: 3 May 2008

Thalia Theater Halle: Opferpopp
Premiere: 23 March 2007

Thalia Theater Hamburg: Glück in Hamburg - Stadtnotizen
Premiere "Stadtnotizen 1": 14 November 2006,
"Stadtnotizen 3": 20 February 2007

Theater und Philharmonisches Orchester der Stadt Heidelberg: Das neue Wunderhorn
Premiere: 21 July 2007

Stadttheater Hildesheim: Wunschpavillon
since: 27 September 2006

Theater Lindenhof Melchingen: Leonce und Lena
Premiere: 13 March 2007

Schlosstheater Moers: Mit-Esser
Premiere: 12 May 2007

Neue Bühne Senftenberg: OSL lebt
Premiere: 8 November 2006

Staatsoper Stuttgart: Zeitoper III: Bunker
Premiere: 8 June 2007

Deutsches Nationaltheater und Staatskapelle Weimar: My god rides a skateboard
Premiere: 20 April 2007

 

Jury: Thomas Bockelmann, Staatstheaer Kassel; Nuran Calis, director and writer, Munich; Matthias Lilienthal, general director of the Hebbel-am-Ufer Theater Berlin.