!! The Open Call is closed. !!

Stuttgart, 2026-02-05

OPEN CALL: 3 TAGE FREI – THE ART OF PROTEST
Call for applications by Freie Tanz- und Theaterszene Stuttgart gUG (FTTS) within the framework of 3 TAGE FREI by Theater RAMPE, the Landesverband Freie Tanz- und Theaterschaffende Baden-Württemberg e.V. (LaFT BW e.V.) in cooperation with the Freie Tanz- und Theaterszene Stuttgart gUG (FTTS)

As part of the shortened festival edition 3 TAGE FREI, the festival 6 TAGE FREI – Festival of Independent Performing Arts invites artists from the independent dance and theater scene in Baden-Württemberg to participate in the festival opening with performative contributions. We are looking for short artistic interventions that address protest, resistance, utopias, and cultural cuts, and together form an opening revue in the spirit of a “Protest Gala.”

The Open Call is made possible by the Freie Tanz- und Theaterszene Stuttgart gUG, the LaFT BW e. V. with funds from the Ministry of Science, Research and Arts Baden-Württemberg, and the Péter Horváth Foundation.

REQUIREMENTS

Prerequisites for participation include residency and a primary work focus in Baden-Württemberg, as well as professional, freelance activity in the independent dance and theater scene.

WHAT WE ARE LOOKING FOR

• We are looking for performative protest contributions

• Duration per contribution: min. 5 and max. 8 minutes

• Presentation format: Revue as part of the festival opening on April 15, 2026, at Theater RAMPE

• Permitted/desired formats include: utopian texts, choreographic sketches, monologues, choral interventions, lecture or performance formats, hybrid and experimental approaches, etc.

• Conceptual requirements: minimalist setup, quick changeovers, and optionally, a lighting mood, a sound cue

CONCEPT: PROTEST GALA / REVUE

The opening gala of 3 TAGE FREI provides the formal framework for the invited artistic contributions. The dramaturgy of this gala is based on revue forms and thrives on variety, rhythm, and the direct juxtaposition of very different positions. Building on the historically political and socio-critical tradition of the revue, as well as contemporary reception habits, the format works with quick transitions, pointed forms, and strong images. As a collective prelude, the performative contributions within the opening alternate with speeches by the festival team and welcoming remarks from invited politicians, as well as discursive moments. The opening gala sees itself as a polyphonic beginning: loud and quiet, humorous and serious, contradictory, uncomfortable, solidary, and open to different aesthetic stances.

CONTEXT: WHY PROTEST?

The significant cuts in public cultural funding necessitate a radical rethinking and particularly affect the independent scene. At the same time, we are experiencing societal, political, and democracy-endangering developments, as well as global conflicts, which make a loud, creative, and solidary culture of protest more urgent than ever. With the shortened festival edition 3 TAGE FREI, the festival deliberately focuses on the art of protest and raises the question of how artistic practice can take a stand today: through intensification, risk, courageous alliances, and the insistence on the possibility that the world can be different.

GENERAL CONDITIONS

• A total of 7 performance contributions will be awarded

• Of these, 4 to artists residing and primarily working in Stuttgart and 3 positions to artists residing and primarily working in Baden-Württemberg

• One to three people can be involved per contribution

• The selection will be made by lottery

• Fee: €1,500 gross production budget, regardless of the number of participants, based on a funding agreement with the Freie Tanz- und Theaterszene Stuttgart gUG

• In addition, all participating artists will receive a festival pass to attend the festival (Attention: Accommodation costs and meal allowances for additional festival days cannot be covered!)

• Artists with residence outside Stuttgart will receive an accommodation allowance of €120 gross per person as well as a travel allowance of €63 gross per person. Artists residing outside Stuttgart will also receive a meal allowance of €28 gross per person.

PARTICIPATION

The OPEN CALL: 3 TAGE FREI – THE ART OF PROTEST opens on February 5, 2026, and closes on March 5, 2026 (11:59 PM).

Submission of a video clip (max. one minute) with a brief introduction of the participants and the performance contribution.

To the online application

For questions regarding the call, please contact us exclusively by email at produktion@ftts-stuttgart.de.

FESTIVAL

6 TAGE FREI is the festival of independent performing arts in Baden-Württemberg. It has taken place biennially since 2015 and is hosted by RAMPE Stuttgart, in cooperation with LaFT BW e.V. and Freie Tanz- und Theaterszene Stuttgart gUG. It is funded by the State Capital Stuttgart, LaFT BW e. V. with funds from the Ministry of Science, Research and Arts Baden-Württemberg, as well as Lotto Baden-Württemberg and the Ritter Sport Kunstförderung. 6 TAGE FREI is part of the supra-regional network FESTIVALFRIENDS.

THE ART OF PROTEST is made possible by Freie Tanz- und Theaterszene Stuttgart gUG, LaFT BW e. V. and the Peter Horváth Foundation. The festival sees itself as a platform by and for the independent scene.

The festival period is from April 15 to April 18, 2026. Venues include Theater RAMPE, FITZ (Theater of Animated Forms), JES (Junges Ensemble Stuttgart), Freie Tanz- und Theaterszene Stuttgart gUG (FTTS), and other venues.

Further information about the festival at

6tagefrei.de