FAQs for Open Submissions Format of the 2019 Festival
Who can register a work to be included in the schedule of programming for the Open Submissions format?
Work to be included in the schedule of programming can be registered Berlin performance venues and event locations of the independent performing arts community which present the work of professional Berlin-based groups and/or artists. Each performance venue/event location can submit up to four productions or events via the PDF form; however, we ask you to bear in mind that one or two submissions per venue is ideal. In general, the participating performance venues and event locations should have been in operation for at least 6 months before the festival. The event location generally also serves as the contractual partner for the festival for the production(s) submitted.
Berlin-based groups and/or artist who would like to present site-specific work or work in public space are excepted from this rule. In these cases, we ask the artists to contact the festival team directly. Initiatives for ideas that go beyond the notion of production locations and performance venues or would like to suggest series of programming should also contact the festival team directly.
Who is the presenter?
The presenter is the contractual partner of the PAF and functions as the ticket seller for the events that it registers. They are responsible for the implementation of the event as well as for, if applicable, GEMA and other fees if nothing to the contrary has been agreed between the presenter and the group/individual artist. The presenter has the authority to make decision of last resort onsite and should have a liability insurance policy for presenters, as they are liable for audience members in the event of any incidents. They should also be responsible for contracts between the presenter and the group/individual artist and additional performances and, if applicable, is liable for paying dues to the KSK (artists’ social insurance fund).
This list used to serve as a definition of presenters as well as the consequences involved makes no claim to completeness.
What can be registered as a contribution to the schedule of programming for the Open Submissions format?
Performances featuring professional work within the field of performing arts (spoken word theater, performance, music theater, dance, puppet and object theater, children’s and youth theater, et cetera as well as with interdisciplinary work that has a basis within the performing arts) can be registered. Site-specific work and productions taking place in public space can also be submitted.
How are contributions to the schedule of programming selected?
The schedule of programing for the Open Submissions format of the Berlin Performing Arts Festival is curated by the performance venues/event locations. They make contributions to the schedule of programming in coordination with the artists, artist collectives and groups. The precondition for this is the proper registration via the PDF form and the meeting of the criteria and guidelines of the Berlin Performing Arts Festival. As such, the members of the independent performing arts community decide for themselves the work with which present themselves during the festival. They should seriously consider the amount of organizational and financial expenditures they are able to make (offering additional performances of productions which already exist is recommended).
Information regarding performance dates and times
Performance and contributions to the schedule of programming for the Open Submissions format can be submitted for the festival days from May 28 to June 2, 2019. We ask you to please refrain from scheduling any events on the opening night of the festival, May 28, 2019.
Events should generally be schedule to take place between 12:00 pm (earliest beginning; 10:00 am for children’s and youth theater productions) and 12:00 am (end of performance).
In order to ensure that the scheduling of programming includes events all throughout the days of the festival, we ask you to not only suggest performance times in the evening, but to also include alternative performance times and/or to work with the coordination team of the festival. The festival coordination team will support all participants in finding a performance time that is reasonable and fits with their contribution to the schedule of programming.
Contributions to the festival's schedule of programming in the field of children's and youth theater should be planned from 10:00 am (start) and 4:00 pm (latest start time) for the days from May 29 to June 2. Contributions that fall under the category of “late night” should not begin before 9:30 pm.
Who is the festival intended for?
The festival’s schedule of programming is, of course, intended both for a Berlin-based audience as well as interested parties and professionals throughout Germany and abroad.
Who organizes the festival?
The Berlin Performing Arts Festival is an event shared between all independent performance venues, groups and artists working in Berlin, the independent performing arts community. The community is responsible for the festival artistically and organizationally.
The festival is presented by LAFT Berlin in cooperation with the performance venues HAU Hebbel am Ufer, Sophiensaele, Ballhaus Ost and Theaterdiscounter. The festival coordination team works for LAFT Berlin. It will centrally promote the festival and the participating productions, both in Berlin as well as internationally, and provide comprehensive support to the independent performing arts community for the realization of the festival.
The festival’s schedule of events and the productions presented will be decentrally organized and financed by the participating performance venues and locations. The performance venues and event locations and the participating artists and groups must ensure that their participation in the festival can be independently realized in terms of organizational, financial and technical requirements. As a result, we ask all interested parties examine very carefully the extent to which it is possible to participate in the festival based upon their respective financial situation.
What Does the festival offer?
Since 2016, the Berlin Performing Arts Festival has annually presented the work and artistic positions of Berlin-based artists and groups working in all genres for the Berlin audience as well as visitors and industry professionals from throughout Germany and abroad for one week packed with performances and events.
The festival team provides comprehensive support to the independent performing arts community for the realization of the festival, provides advice during the planning of the schedule of programming and helps to put together a balanced overall schedule of programming under consideration of the submissions received. The centralized press and PR work will promote the participating productions in Berlin as well as nationally and internationally. In addition, the festival will develop diverse ancillary formats for the schedule of programming that provide audience members and interested members of the public access to and insight into the schedule of programming, the artistic work and the profiles of the performance venues and event locations. Ancillary programming will be offered throughout the festival and provide the audience members, artists and industry professionals with space to get to know Berlin’s independent performing arts community through encounters and conversation.
Conditions for participation
The mandatory condition for participation is the on-time, complete submission of programming proposals via the PDF form.
The sender of the submission is informed that the presented production is decentrally organized and financed by the participating performance venues or the presenting artists/groups and must ensure that they are financially and organizationally in the position to present the work.
The participating performance venues and event locations must be part of Berlin’s professional independent performing arts community and, in general, should have been in operation for at least 6 months before the festival.
Only professional productions from Berlin (the participating artists and groups are based in Berlin and/or the productions are Berlin (co)productions)) are included in the festival’s schedule of programming.
Each performance venue/event location can submit up to four productions or events by Berlin-based groups and/or artists; however, we ask you to bear in mind that one or two submissions per venue is ideal. Site-specific work and productions that take place in public space can also be submitted as long as they originally conceived as site-specific or work in public space.
The performance dates stated in the submission must be within the dates announced by the festival and the performance times must also fall within those announced for the schedule of programming.
The ultimate presentation dates and times will be determined in conjunction with the festival coordination team.
All information not yet made available will be requested from the participants after the selection and creation of the schedule of programming. This information will be used to advertise and promote the festival.