Theaters need freedom in their artistic activities and in the development of their structures. Such freedom arises when they are given the opportunity to be self-determined and autonomous. But what does it mean to be autonomous as a theater? Does self-administration also mean more leeway on a structural level? And would it mean planning an aesthetically daring program without social expectations that go beyond a pure "artistic experience"?

The symposium explored the potential of autonomous theater and identified possible danger spots. Pleasures; that is the pleasure of devoting oneself to the obstinate, ambivalent and unknown - of being artistically autonomous. Politics; this is the challenge of creating legal and political framework conditions in which such autonomous free spaces can emerge, which in case of doubt also resist the grip of authoritarian and reactionary political forces. And both culminate in the question of how a socially committed theater can grow without being reduced to its functionality.

2. October 2024, 10 am to 5 pm
Haus der Berliner Festspiele
as part of Theaterpreis des Bundes 2024
With Aljoscha Begrich, Dora Yuemin Cheng, Marlene Grunert, Lisa Tuyala, Anna Volkland, nora chipaumire, Kevin Rittberger, Margarita Tsomou, among others.

The programme booklet is available here.

Detailed information on the Federal Theatre Prize and the prizewinners can be found at the website www.theaterpreisdesbundes.de.

The symposium ‘Pleasures & Politics of Autonomy - Theatre between Resistance and Responsibility’ took place as part of the German Federal Theatre Award 2024. It was curated and organised by the German Centre of the International Theatre Institute (ITI Germany) in cooperation with the Fonds Darstellende Künste.