Our Residency Programs

As part of our commitment to developing new circus works and supporting the contemporary circus scene, Chamäleon offers a range of residency opportunities for contemporary circus artists.

With our in-house residency program, contemporary circus artists have the opportunity to work on a project or an idea within a fixed residency period. Chamäleon-supported residencies include a free stay in our rehearsal studio The Cave, which allows artists to work creatively in a protected space and try out new ideas with an open mind. Depending on the residency project, the residency also includes dramaturgical and technical production advice from the Chamäleon team and, if desired, can include a public sharing.

Chamäleon-supported residencies are advertised up to twice a year via an open call, including all details on duration, scope of support and application criteria. In the meantime, our rehearsal room The Cave is available for rent.

We are convinced that residencies are an integral step in any artistic creative process, as they allow exploration, experimentation, focus and the so essential possibility of failure. However, these processes are rarely reflected in budgets. We are committed to ensuring that artistic creation is remunerated from the very first minute.

Support our residency program with a donation.

In 2024 and 2025, we were able to realize an expanded residency program thanks to the prize money we received from the Theaterpreis des Bundes (Federal Theatre Award) in the category private theaters and guest theaters. This enabled us not only to offer artists our rehearsal space as well as dramaturgical and production support, but also to support them financially and contribute to their travel and accommodation costs.

We designed the extended residency program as a three-part series: the first edition focused on Berlin artists (Ana Jordão and Vincent Kollar with “A Body and Other Objects”), the second on artists from all over Germany (Leela Tinelli and Laura Stokes with “On the Edge”) and the third edition on international artists from all over the world (Christina Gelsone with “Greef”). All editions were launched through an Open Call and the residency artists were selected by various expert juries.

Thanks to the prize money from the Theaterpreis des Bundes, we were able to reward artistic creation from Day 1 and thus increase accessibility and contribute to greater diversity and thematic exploration.

The residencies were realised with funds from the THEATERPREIS DES BUNDES