The flausen+scholarship is aimed at groups of professional artists who want to pursue an idea or (research) question within the performing arts, but outside production logics, and who find it difficult to obtain funding for this. The grants are designed for four artists. The focus is on the research project, so directors, choreographers, video artists, authors, musicians, actors, visual artists, etc. can participate. Existing groups, new groups, or artists who want to explore something and find other artists to do so, can apply.

There is no age limit!

1. A working stay of 4 weeks and for 4 people in a flausen+scholarship theatre. The scholarship phase is agreed after the finalchoice.
2. Current scholarship theatres are: Theaterlabor Bielefeld, Theater im Ballsaal Bonn, Freies Werkstatt Theater Köln, Theater neben dem Turm Marburg, Theaterwerkstatt Pilkentafel Flensburg, Sensemble Theater Augsburg, Combinale Theater Lübeck and theatre wrede+ The Jahrmarkttheater Altenmedingen and the Meta Theater Moosach are also new participants in the 2023 scholarship programme.
3. A research allowance of currently 2,000 euros per person for the complete period of four weeks plus free accommodation for 4 (up to max. 5) people.
4. A research budget for materials (stage, costumes, media) in the amount of 500 euros; purchases in consultation with the scholarship theatre.
5. Provision of professional process support (mentor:in).
6. Organisational and technical advice and support for the work by the Stipend Theatre.
7. The theatre also provides a contact person who coordinates between the artists and the bursary theatre and helps the group with information, e.g. about the city (where can I get what? etc.)
8. The host theatre takes care of the accounting so that the artists can devote themselves exclusively to their project during their scholarship.
9. Networking with possible future sponsors, cultural offices, venues and other production supporters.

Note to *: Each research idea is to be evaluated separately and needs different premises. "In consultation" means that the scholarship holders and the scholarship theatre sit down together and discuss what is useful and necessary, what things the scholarship theatre may already have in order to ensure the greatest possible promotion of the research idea.

1. The applicant must have his/her primary residence in Germany.
2. The professional status of all participants is required and must be proven. The participants must provide evidence of at least 2 productions or professional works (own productions or collaboration).
3. The scholarship is designed for 4 people, at least 3 of whom should work on stage.

The flausen+scholarship is designed for groups consisting of 4 people (+). It is therefore important that four people are already named in the application form for the flausen+scholarship, so that the application is complete. As the scholarship is a close trusting process, it is important that the persons involved have common work experience. If four participants are not named, the application will be dropped for formal reasons.

More than four people are allowed to participate in the flausen+ scholarship, but they must be named in the initial application (see next point).

Especially when it comes to new artistic forms with risk and urgency, the perspectives of artists who are structurally denied access to the stage or who have been underrepresented up to now are of particular urgency. Whether it is groups with mothers, mixabled groups, groups that need interpreters, there is always a need for support and supervision in order to be able to participate in the project on an equal footing.

Unfortunately, the costs for this are currently not included in the scholarship; the group must raise these on its own responsibility. We support groups in applying for the costs with advice, tips as well as letters of reference.

We are very aware of the importance of funding that covers these needs and are working to create the conditions to compensate. This process is underway, but we cannot guarantee implementation for the 2023 scholarships.

This is possible for the involvement of additional scholarship holders and/or supervisors.

Otherwise, it must be ensured in consultation with the scholarship theatre that the project is still a research project and not about funding a production. If the research project requires it, it is possible to seek further funding. Be aware that there can be no double funding.

In the first round of applications, only the application form from this website needs to be completed and sent to us by mail or post within the call timeframe. The date of submission, not the postmark, applies.

Your research idea should be clearly formulated. It should be clear from the application that you have an open research interest and will not use the scholarship to implement a production. In addition to the brief description of the idea in the application form, the implementation idea is also important. In addition, you should briefly describe why you as an artist or as a group find this idea so important.

Describe the research project as concretely as possible and give examples:
Often there are empty spaces in the application that deal with the "HOW" of the research project. Sometimes "generalities" are mentioned that contain many interesting ideas, but unfortunately none of them are specifically named and further elaborated and integrated in relation to aesthetic research. Topics are often not narrowed down enough, so the thematic focus is not apparent. It would therefore be helpful to have examples of theatrical realisation or of how and where the research scholarship starts on stage - even if the examples mentioned are discarded later in the project, this makes the project much more tangible for the jury.

Consider the content-related and aesthetic research focus in the flausen+stipendium:
If you only research content, you don't need a stage. Therefore, it is important to describe in the application which aesthetic starting points the content-related research question offers. The aesthetic aspect in particular very often remains without explanation or is only hinted at through the selection of a theory. Examples help to make the planned procedure comprehensible.

Make urgency clear:
Often the urgency of the project and especially the urgency with which the grant is needed due to the artistic situation of the group cannot be read from the applications. Important are points like: What is your performance and funding situation? Do you have a circle of supporters and audiences that you cannot get beyond, but desperately want to get beyond? Have you reached a point artistically where you want to or need to rethink your existing and established approach? Do you want to enter artistic territory in which you have no experience, and why is this important to you? Do you serve a sector that has been neglected and needs new impulses (e.g. children's theatre)?

The application should not read like a play development/production intention:
flausen+ is a model project for awarding free scholarships that promotes daring and offbeat ideas. A dare includes the possibility to fail with the attempt. Flausen+  creates the space for this possibility. If it is clear from the applications that a final product/scenic goal has already been established, the preliminary jury assumes that it is a play development and not a focus on the research subject. The jury then sees no need for the shelter of a four-week free scholarship.

Whether dance, music, video art, performance, puppetry, directing, technology, but also theoretical references and academic discourse - technical languages are complex, especially in their interplay within groups.

In order to enable a precise understanding of the research content, we accept applications in German and English. The online application form is available in both languages.

As often as you have an unusual idea. It is also possible to apply again with the same idea. Even if you have already been invited to the finalchoice, this is no reason to put the idea down. After the application, there is the possibility to receive feedback that can additionally help with a reapplication. Even if you have already been through a fellowship at flausen+, you can apply again in the same or a different constellation and a new project or the continuation of the "old" project.

Every year from 15 December to 15 March of the following year, you have the opportunity to apply for flausen+ scholarships.

1. The preliminary jury selects a manageable number of applications (approx. 20 groups) for the jury. These finalists will then receive an invitation to a short public presentation as part of the finalchoice. For the finalchoice, you must send the vitae of all group members, a work plan for the possible scholarship and, if applicable, thematic aesthetic ideas for the focus of the mentoring.
2. At the finalchoice, you will have the opportunity to present your research idea in the form of a five-minute live presentation on stage, followed by a discussion with the jury. The nationwide jury of experts, appointed by the flausen+bundesnetzwerk, will select the scholarship holders the next day.
3. The jury's criteria are first and foremost the venture, the research idea and its implementation idea; as well as possibly the social relevance of the topic and the need for support of the scholarship holders.
4. The successful applicants will then be notified and informed of the further procedure (scholarship contract, financial framework, concrete work plan, etc.).

During the finalchoice, the type of presentation is open: Work samples can be shown live or through videos, for example. It is also possible, for example, to show a model that the artists want to work with or to take up an example from the application in an aesthetic-performative way. On the flausen+ website you can find video summaries of the past finalchoices, which give a good insight into the event and presentations on stage.

1. The project is a research grant project. The scholarships are intended to enable the research of scenic arts independent of a "saleable" result.
2. During the scholarship, attendance is compulsory for all participants. Absences are thus limited to the weekends (a 5-day week applies, whereby the days of the week are irrelevant in consultation with the scholarship theatre). Further employment/secondary employment during the fellowship period is excluded or only possible in special cases by arrangement. In order to secure their livelihood during the research scholarship, the scholarship holders receive a weekly stipendof 500 euros per person.
3. At the end of the fellowship, the artists commit to a public event, the makingOFF. This is an open format developed especially for flausen+, jointly moderated by a flausen+headquarters representative and the hosting theatre, thus providing a protected setting for the group and the audience to engage in exchange about the project's scenic research. The aim is to share material from your research and to engage the audience given the (in part) unfamiliar format. The format also offers the possibility to get feedback from the audience as additional research material.
4. The artists will share with the host theatre once a week and provide documentation and media (photos, videos etc.) about the research period for inviting the public to the makingOFF. In addition, a weekly logbook must be kept, excerpts of which will be published on the flausen+ website.
5. The artists and mentors participate in the evaluation of the fellowship and the fellowship programme through a final report. Feedback on the fellowship is also exchanged in a final discussion on the day of departure.
6. The scholarship holders will refer to the scholarship in productions that emerge from the research at flausen+ in the form specified by the model project.
7. Should a production based on the flausen+scholarship be completed, the group of artists agrees to perform the result arising from the research in the scholarship theatre after consultation and financing.

Note: Upon receipt of the scholarship, a scholarship contract will be concluded regulating all details.

No. The flausen+stipendium offers a research scholarship, at the end of which there is another research day, only with an audience. At the so-called makingOFF, excerpts of the research work are shown and put up for discussion. This format is a low-threshold evening for both the audience and the group, providing interesting insights for both sides.

The scholarship phases for the following year (approx. 10 scholarships in 2024, distributed among 9 scholarship theatres in Hesse/Lower Saxony/NRW/Schleswig Holstein/Bavaria) are planned with the individual theatres for the respective following year during the application process. In principle, the scholarship phases are mainly between May - September (frequently) and less frequently February - April or October - December.

The planning with the scholarship theatres is done as early as possible for the following year in order to inform the scholarship holders as soon as possible.

In principle, the theatres specify scholarship phases for their houses, as they have to make their theatre hall available for four weeks and integrate this into their in-house programme planning. The scholarship holders cannot dictate the phases, but they can make requests regarding the phases, the province, the host theatre, etc. The final distribution of the scholarships will be made by the theatres. The final distribution of the groups of scholarship holders to the scholarship theatres/phases will then be made by the flausen+headquarters in consultation with the groups and individual houses. As many wishes and requirements of all scholarship groups as possible will be taken into account with regard to the available phases.

flausen+ supports groups of artists and not individual artists, so it is important that the fellows work together as a collective on an equal footing. During the fellowship, the fellows form a GbR (which dissolves at the end of the fellowship, unless the group is generally a GbR).

During the fellowship, the fellows commit themselves not to carry out any ancillary activities (e.g. a part-time job), but to devote themselves entirely to their research project. Therefore, there is a general obligation to be present during the scholarship period (regardless of the weekend, of course).

The scholarship groups receive support for their research project from the scholarship theatre and subject-specific mentoring.

Meetings between the group and the mentor from the scholarship theatre take place about once a week, so that the host theatre and the scholarship group are also involved in a practical exchange and the mentoring is additionally enriched in this way.

The group is also supported in their research project through subject-specific mentoring. The jury assigns the scholarship holders to groups according to the focus of the project and the needs as well as potential mentors. The mentor is there for the group about once a week and accompanies the introduction and the makingOFF.

Neither mentors nor the scholarship theatre are authorised to give instructions. They give feedback, impulses and share their experiences; what the group makes of them for their project is up to them. The exchange between the scholarship theatre, scholarship holders and mentors also encourages dialogue, creates a practical discourse and can result in valuable networking opportunities.

The mentors are proposed by the jury depending on the application and the presentation at the finalchoice and should provide the groups with specific impulses to support the research project as well as possible. Before the finalchoice, the groups can send in their own suggestions for thematic and aesthetic focal points for mentors, which will be considered by the jury. It is important that the group has not yet worked with the mentor, so that new impulses and discourses are possible.

The flausen+headquarters will contact potential mentors and, if they agree to the conditions of flausen+, contact will be established between the mentor and the group in order to exchange information about the project, working methods and ideas. The mentoring then only takes place if both sides give their consent.