inkl.

31 Oct 2025 | 10:30am – 12:00pm | DT Rangfoyer („upper foyer“)

More and more theatres are adopting inclusive working methods. Artists with disabilities are shaping performances, ensembles and structures – and have set a change in motion that extends far beyond theatre. Inclusion is becoming a shared goal: dramaturgy, technology, communication and scheduling departments are creating new prospects for interacting and staging artistic productions together. What does this transformation mean concretely for the theatre scene? What aesthetic impulses arise when playwrights write plays with dialogue between deaf performers? What kind of challenges occur in a rehearsal process when a chorus of blind singers plays a key role in a performance? And how can funding structures and cultural policies contribute to making inclusion not merely an exception, but an established practice? The podium discussion invites participants to reflect on the experiences and lessons they have gained from the “pik” Programme. | In German, with translation into English, German Plain Language and German Sign Language (GSL)

31 Oct 2025 | 1:30am – 3:30pm | DT (various locations) 

What does it mean for a theatre to work inclusively? The project partners from the seven theatre partnerships funded by the “pik” programme, including large municipal and state theatres, an international production company, independent theatres and theatre groups, report on their everyday activities and share their insights and experiences. What areas did they focus on? What kind of challenges were they surprised by? What worked well and what would they do differently in the future? The expert discussions will address a variety of inclusion-related topics, such as inclusive authorship, inclusive ensembles, inclusive children and youth theatre work, and possibilities for further professionalising artists with disabilities. The discussion will be conducted in small groups that encourage professional exchange and peer-group learning. They will supplement the publication featuring lessons learned by the funded theatres and independent groups, which will be presented during the festival and later published on our website. With translation into Plain Language, English and German Sign Language (GSL)
 

1 Nov 2025 | 1:00pm – 3:30pm | DT Probebühne („rehearsal stage“)

Over the past two years, 45 artists and cultural professionals were supported in the pik-Mentoring Programme for Disabled Leadership. Their perspectives and artistic expressions enrich the national art and culture scene. During the festival, this can be experienced in three lecture performances: Musicians Fred P. Lohr and Nick Klapproth, who develop community music formats in Frankfurt am Main and Cologne, among other places, provide insight into their working methods. In his autofictional short performance ‘Von Sprüngen und Klasse’ (On Jumps and Class), artist Steven Solbrig explores physical diversity and social inequality. In their performative correspondence ‘Zwischenzeitlich’ (In the Meantime), artists and curators Anika Krbetschek and Linnéa Meiners will reflect on possibilities for artistic collaboration beyond conventional time structures and expectations. Each contribution will be followed by a short discussion with the artists. The programme will be accompanied by author, actress and consultant for inclusion and anti-discrimination Alina Buschmann.

In German, with translation into English, Plain Language and German Sign Language (GSL)