Inclusive art practice in theatre: Expert discussions

inkl. – Festival for Theater, Dance and Performance

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General informations about the expert discussions

What does it mean for a theatre to want to work inclusively? What might new working models for artists with disabilities look like?

In individual expert discussions, the project partners of the seven theatre collaborations funded by the ‘pik’ programme, among others, report on their everyday work and share their insights and experiences. What priorities have they set? What challenges took them by surprise? What has been successful and what would they do differently in the future? The discussions take place in small groups and specifically encourage collegial exchange and peer group learning. They complement the publication ‘Impulse für eine inklusive Bühnenpraxis’ (Impulses for inclusive stage practice), which was developed on the basis of the experiences of the funded theatre collaborations and will be presented during the festival. The accessible publication will be available on this website.

All registered participants in the discourse programme can register for the expert discussions at the information counter during the festival.

Table 1: Inclusive authorship

With: Athena Lange, Raphaela Bardutzky and Nele Stuhler

Location: Reinhardt Room

What does an inclusive writing process look like? Does it raise new aesthetic questions? How does one's own writing practice develop?

The Deutsches Theater, the RambaZamba Theater and the Schauspiel Leipzig have placed a focus on contemporary inclusive authorship within the pik programme. For the world premiere of ‘Leichter Gesang’ (Light Singing), Nele Stuhler explored with the actors of the RambaZamba Theater and the DT ensemble how writing with and for an inclusive theatre ensemble can be implemented. Raphaela Bardutzky collaborated with Athena Lange to develop a character for Altbau in zentraler Lage (Old Building in a Central Location) and wrote the scenes for that character. The play offers a shared stage for two different languages: in this case, spoken German and German sign language.

With translation into German Sign Language

Table 2: Inclusive ensemble

With: Nele Jahnke, Luisa Wöllisch

Location: Upper Foyer Chamber

How can theatres be made accessible? How can artists with disabilities be better integrated into artistic work? What does an inclusive ensemble and inclusive work require? How can a theatre operate barrier-free in the long term? Does inclusive art practice still need an extra label?

Can other events in the theatre be accessible? How can we encourage other venues to become inclusive? As part of the pik cooperation between the Freie Bühne München and the Münchner Kammerspiele, the two institutions have addressed these structural issues beyond the specific theatre productions. Actress Luisa Wöllisch talks about her experiences on stage as a member of the Münchner Kammerspiele ensemble, and director Nele Jahnke shares her experiences from many years of working with artists with disabilities.

Table 3: Inclusive dance practice

With: Alexandra Morales, Günther Grollitsch and Till Krumwiede

Location: Spiegelfoyer

How can production structures for dancers with disabilities be improved? How can inclusive professional and junior training programmes be successfully designed? How can a local network for inclusive art practice be established beyond cooperation? Theater Bremen has collaborated with tanzbar_bremen in the fields of dance and young theatre. This collaboration resulted in the production ‘Drinnen und Draußen’ (Inside and Outside), which was invited to the inkl. Festival, and the production ‘The Tide’, developed in collaboration with dancers from Unusual Symptoms, which will premiere on 21 November 2025.

With translation into easy language

Table 4: New working models for artists with disabilities

With: Neele Buchholz (actress and dancer), Konstantin Langenick (artist at Theater Thikwa) and Silke Stuck (Artistic Direction Theater Thikwa)

Location: Cloakroom on the left

How can long-term prospects be created for artists with disabilities in the cultural sector? How can artistic work and fair pay for disabled artists be designed in a way that is needs-oriented and sustainable? The current framework conditions, such as the ‘workshop model’, unclear financing prospects and a lack of provision or coverage of assistance services, make participation and individual artistic development difficult. It is a joint task to create open and accessible structures in order to establish new working models for artists with disabilities in the independent scene, but also in municipal and state theatres.

With translation into easy language

Table 5: Networks for artists with disabilities

With: EUCREA and Service Centre for Inclusion in the Cultural Sector

Location: Cloakroom on the right

Where can artists and cultural professionals with disabilities obtain competent and professional advice? Where are there supra-regional forums and exchange formats for the inclusive cultural scene? Where can I get practical support on issues of accessibility to universities and other artistic training institutions? How can the representation and participation of artists with disabilities in the cultural sector be increased?

EUCREA has been the association for art and disability in Germany, Austria and Switzerland since 1989. Its members include artists with and without disabilities, studios, companies, ensembles, foundations, organisations and networks. With its ARTplus programme, EUCREA opens up pathways to art colleges. INTO is EUCREA's peer counselling centre. It supports creative people with disabilities in their training, studies and careers.
The Inclusion Service Centre promotes inclusion-oriented cultural work in Saxony and supports actors from cultural practice, administration and politics in realising this task.

With translation into German sign

Table 6: Impulses for inclusive stage practice

With: Uwe Maximilian Korn and Steffen Sünkel

Location: DT Rangfoyer

Inclusive stage practice is an opportunity – for art and society. It goes hand in hand with profound change. And it requires courageous initiative to ensure that art created inclusively becomes visible, even under conditions that are not (yet) perfect. How can this change be initiated? Which measures are particularly effective? How can structural barriers be broken down in the long term? The recommendations are based on the experiences of the theatre collaborations funded by pik – inclusive art practice from 2022 to 2025 and will be published on this website in an accessible format during the festival.