GRIPS Theater

Children and young people are curious and enjoy thinking, feeling, developing perspectives and designing independently! GRIPS stands for precisely this kind of thinking, literally "thinking with fun".

Founded in 1969 by Volker Ludwig, the children's and youth theater has been called GRIPS since 1972. In the same year, the theater was given the same name as its logo: an eumel peering out of a box with curious eyes. To this day, independent thinking, curiosity and asking questions are essential aspects that the GRIPS Theater promotes with its theater work for young audiences. It shows perspectives for understanding the world and circumstances as changeable. Under the direction of Philipp Harpain, the GRIPS Theater is an open house for people of all ages. It is a stimulating, locally and internationally networked venue for children's and youth theater in the tradition of realistic, emancipatory contemporary theater. It advocates the basic rights of children and young people on stage and through its work.

Questions about productions relevant to the repertoire and any new engagements of ensemble members are not decided solely by the artistic management, but are decided by a majority of twelve employees according to a co-determination model.

The repertoire is characterized above all by world premieres: Contemporary authors develop plays for a young audience - usually on behalf of the theater and together with the theater's dramaturgy department. In addition, the GRIPS Theater is committed to the targeted promotion of young authors for children's and youth theater in the form of tenders and competitions. Current, socio-political or unique, touching stories are taken up in research, so that experiences, motifs and perspectives from the concrete world of the young audience are reflected in the plays. The result is exciting theater experiences from a wide variety of perspectives that appeal to children and young people and reflect the diversity of our society today. Theater that encourages.

At the heart of all theater work is a thirteen-member ensemble and a large network of artists: Guest actors, musicians, directors, authors, set and costume designers, choreographers, video artists and many more. The extraordinary enthusiasm of the ensemble, which stands behind the work and material with great commitment, is almost always transferred to the young audience. Music often plays a key role in the productions - songs and compositions are developed especially for the individual productions. The musical dramaturgy always provides impulses and accompanies the musical development of the theater. All these artists work together to create five to six productions for young audiences at the GRIPS Theater each year. Together with the productions of the children's club Rakete jetzt!, the youth club Banda Agita and the Club Teleskop, this makes up to nine premieres per season.

In order to reach children and young people from all over the city, the GRIPS Theater is networked far into the city with its programs and diverse partnerships. It maintains close relationships with teachers, trainee teachers, social workers, doctors, NGOs and many children and young people themselves. GRIPS classes, Tuki and Tusch partnerships and more than 30 school partnerships through GRIPS Fieber give young audiences long-term access to cultural education.

In one of the largest theater education departments in Germany, the offer ranges from intensive support for the play development process by children and young people, to a training area for educators, to political participation projects and artistic theater work with children, teenagers and young adults in the clubs.
The direct contact and exchange between the GRIPS Theater and children, young people, educators and civil society actors is particularly important in all of these projects.

With the establishment of GRIPS' own music label GRIPS Records and the GRIPS Foundation by theater director Philipp Harpain and managing director Andreas Joppich, the theater is positioned in a contemporary and sustainable way.