Calling all artists from the performing arts and music
– Join us and apply for one of our stages in public space by 18 April 2025!
This year, the ‘Sommerwerft’ invites you to the eastern bank of the Main in Frankfurt for the 24th time and opens a space for culture, community and dialogue from 25 July – 10 August 2025. For this purpose, the area at the Weseler-Werft will be transformed into an open space for culture, which we want to create with regional, national and international performances and also with your contribution:
Whether theatre, dance or performance, music or poetry, sound, space or other forms of installation art, on stage or site-specific – we are open to a wide variety of ideas and concepts.
We are growing, growing, growing. But where are we actually growing to, and why? In view of the climate catastrophe, the promise of eternal growth is now beginning to falter. Based on the Darwinian guiding principle of our own societies, in the past we also understood the way of life of the other beings with whom we share this earth solely in terms of competition and the ‘right of the strongest’.
Today, more and more publications are emphasising cooperation, sharing and communicative intelligence as fundamental ways of functioning in nature, especially in trees and forests. It seems to us that this could be a source of inspiration in times of growing insecurity in our societies. Perhaps at a time when social fragmentation and political polarisation are often gaining the upper hand, it is less about how we can save the trees and more about how we can learn from them to grow together again.
With the contributions to Sommerwerft 2025, we want to explore other ways of dealing with the experiences of loss of our time. A way of dealing that is collective, inclusive and based on solidarity and remembers the rich cultural heritage of our region and all those who live here. After all, scientific knowledge alone is often not enough to initiate real transformation. Only culture, and theatre in particular, has the ability to arouse emotions and create a profound and lasting change.
If you would like to contribute to this, we look forward to receiving your application!
As part of the festival community, you will live together with many other artists on the grounds of protagon – international performing arts.It is important to us to share the collective flair of the Sommerwerft and to live the participatory idea of solidarity.
We look forward to your proposal in order to make a diverse and high-quality selection of performances. We are accepting applications up to and including 18 April 2025. We want to give feedback to all applicants by 7 May at the latest. You will then find the possible stage formats for your performance.
We look forward to a lively summer of culture with you!
From classical street theater to experimental dance under FREE SKY, large-scale for audiences of up to 1000 seats, for 360-degree productions and special formats, the Sommerwerft has traditionally offered these performance spaces for 20 years, where large international productions with up to 3500 spectators have taken place over the past 20 years.
This format is aimed at performing arts productions in public space and those that can be adapted. Two stage areas are available on level ground:
Theaterplatz West: open space 20 x 30 meters / cobblestone surface
Theaterplatz Ost: Stage area 12 x 13 meters / flat open-air area with fixed background (backdrop) and truss for light & sound
Time slot: always Wednesday to Saturday: 21.45 – max. 23.00 Contact: Bernhard Bub – office@protagon.net
With its 10 x 6 meters and 4 m interior height (rear edge 3.6 m), the covered open-air stage offers a classic black box with a dance floor. A production from the various fields of the performing arts will be shown here daily from around 20:00: poetic, diverse and innovative! Please include an adapted lighting concept in your application, as the sunset during the festival only takes place after 21:00!
Contact person: Maximilian Friedel – freilichtbuehne@sommerwerft.de
Independent professional theatre groups can present their plays for children of all ages on our covered open-air stage: Every Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Each theatre can show two performances in one afternoon (16:00 + 18:00). The plays should be open air and suitable for a diverse audience: For as many age groups as possible, easily accessible for all people. The performance should not last longer than 60 minutes. The playing area is 5 metres wide and 6 metres deep and has a clear height of 2.20 to 2.80 metres. Microports and a backlight are available. We are also happy to welcome groups who can also offer a children’s workshop! The children’s stage is curated in co-operation with Protagon e.V. and the THEATERHAUS ENSEMBLE. We look forward to receiving your applications! Contact: Julia Pohlmann juliapohlmann@theaterhaus-frankfurt.de
Dear musicians and bands – From July 21 to August 6, 2023, we are looking for singer & songwriters and small bands for the music stage (4m x 3m) who would like to play a concert in the wonderful ambience of our Bedouin tent without a drum set, only with acoustic instruments and percussion.
Contact person: Seppl Niemeyer – radio@virusmusik.de
The Kulturfreiraum is the place for everything that doesn’t need a stage. The Sommerwerft lives from its unique location on the banks of the Main. Between green spaces and old harbor machinery, it offers space in various corners that can be used and enlivened by art, performance and theater. We are looking for spontaneous, imaginative and adaptable (site-specific) performances / walk-acts etc. to transform the Sommerwerft site into an integrative theater experience alongside the large stages.
Contact person: Max Büttner – buettner@protagon.net
Ansprechperson: Max Büttner – buettner@protagon.net
Several open spaces are available at the Sommerwerft, which can be used for workshops in the fields of theater, dance & performance, as well as any body work, but also for other participatory formats – discussion rounds, information events, etc.
Please send a short note on accessibility; if possible on the language of the instructions, type of movement, previous experience, any necessary physical requirements, use of touch.
Contact: Patsch Katrin Hailer – hailer@protagon.net
Dear dancers and performers from the independent scene!
For the NIGHT OF DANCE 2025 Vol. I / II we are looking for pieces from the fields of dance, dance performance or dance theater on two different program evenings – hybrid or multidisciplinary language is welcome, but body and movement should still be in the foreground!
WHEN: Vol. I: 29.07. Vol. II: 05.08.
DURATION OF THE PLAY: between 10-30 minutes
STAGE: 10 x 6 meters
Lighting and technology should be as flexible and simple as possible, as the Night of Dance will be shared with other artists.
Contact person: Barbara Luci Carvalho – office@protagon.net
To all artists in the queer scene! We are looking for dance or theatre performances for our Queer Night 2025 at the Sommerwerft.The performance should be based on body and movement and relate to queer and LGTBQIA+ topics.
What you need to know:
– Date: 07.08.2025, from 20h, possibly also 31.08.2025
Duration of the play: between 15 and 70 minutes
Stage: 10 x 6 metres (performances usually take place before nightfall)
The fact that queer is completely normal in nature has long been scientifically confirmed.Unfortunately, this has not yet been recognised in our society.That’s why we are looking for your suggestions for the ‘Queer Nature’ project, with which we will use queer art and culture in the Sommerwerft programme (theatre and open-air stage, music programme, cultural open space and workshops) in public space and show how we live diversity and variety together and thus grow as a society.
Contact persons:Lucas Tanajura and Benedikt Müller mueller@protagon.net
Please send applications for other event formats such as installation work, discussion panels or similar directly to: office@protagon.net
