Profile
Chamäleon Berlin is a creative venue, network partner and stage for contemporary circus.
Since our reopening and the foundation of the current structure in 2004, we have been a showcase for current artistic positions in the international circus scene and over the years have evolved into an important production venue and creative partner. Our mission is to support circus artists in their artistic work, to promote the sustainable development of the art form and to present contemporary circus to a broad audience.
With an orientation and program unique in Germany, the Chamäleon pursues a sincere commitment and makes a significant contribution to increasing the visibility and appreciation of contemporary circus as an art form in its own right.
Under the artistic direction of Anke Politz and the management of Hendrik Frobel, the Chamäleon focuses on three main areas:
The Chamäleon stage is the starting and anchor point of our theatre and is the heartbeat of our daily work. The pieces in our stage program are often co-produced and celebrate their world premiere in Berlin. In addition, we supplement our program with occasional guest performances and open our house to Berlin’s independent scene through open-stage formats or work-in-progress presentations. Every season, artists and companies receive comprehensive production support at our theatre.
Another focus lies in the area of creation: As a producer and creation platform, the Chamäleon promotes the development of new productions on and beyond our own theatre stage. Our aim is to support innovative artistic concepts and to establish sustainable structures that conceive of creation in circus as a holistic process and take the needs of the artists into account.
In addition, the Chamäleon offers circus artists a safe space to work on artistic projects with open-ended outcomes in the form of residencies. A final performance on our own theatre stage is possible, but not a requirement. Making our facilities and skills available is intended to encourage artistic debate and create space for research, experimentation, and the development of ideas.
The sustained connection of these areas forms the foundation of our structures and approach. We are a place for encounters and free exchange and hold openness, respect and social responsibility as elementary values of our theatre. We live these values in our work and represent them externally through our involvement in a variety of networks. We are an active member of the Bundesverband Zeitgenössischer Zirkus (Federal Association of Contemporary Circus) and as such are committed to the long-term establishment of contemporary circus as an art form in Germany.
In 2023, we were awarded with the Federal Theatre Prize in the category “Private theatres and guest performance venues”. In its statement, the jury recognised the Chamäleon as the “spearhead of a dynamic development in the performing arts that transcends existing boundaries between genres and forms of operation.”