Funding

(Theater Handgemenge)
freelance actor with diploma . puppeteer . director

1986-90
Studied at the "Ernst Busch" Academy of Dramatic Arts Berlin

July 1990
Graduation with diploma, foundation of the Theater Handgemenge Berlin

Peter Müller (Theater Handgemenge)

Since 1990 I have been working independently, mainly as a player and manager of the ‘Theater Handgemenge’.
In 1993 I moved to Mecklenburg. From 1993 to the year 2000 I was employed as an actor at the Kammertheater Neubrandenburg (this theatre was merged in 2000, which made it impossible to continue the original concept. Since then, the Kammertheater has been run by the Neustrelitz Theatre (Theater und Orchester GmbH). Independent artists could possibly rent the theatre hall - but this would not be financially viable).
Since 2001 I have worked exclusively as a freelance artist in Germany, Europe - and worldwide.

How are projects financed?
I/we finance our projects, including technology and equipment, largely ourselves, with the possible involvement of other theatres.
In rare cases, I have received project funding, such as in 2019 from the city of Potsdam. These project grants usually cover around 5-10% of the production costs.
For projects that received one-off funding from the German Federal Cultural Foundation, this percentage was higher.
In 2020, I received project funding from the Performing Arts Fund for the first and only time, which covered approx. 80% of the project costs and enabled me to work for 3 months. Another 4 project applications, which were intended to mitigate the consequences of the coronavirus pandemic, such as research funding, were all rejected without justification.

From 2022, funding was only available on the basis of co-financing from public funds (federal states or municipalities). The amount of co-financing had to be 50%-75% of the application amount. Even if there were public funds, they would not be anywhere near 50%-75%. In this respect, there is no longer any funding for projects in our region. In addition, some of the bridging funds from the coronavirus pandemic have had to be repaid. Since then, all expenses have increased to such an extent that they are just about covered by income. While around 50% of self-employed artists had to give up during the pandemic, this figure is set to increase significantly in the future. Since 2024, spending on culture has been drastically cut once again. While there was already a 50% shortfall in support, these cuts will make projects almost unfeasible. Only commerce (small and fun) can still generate income in some cases.

Funding by the state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern
Since 2007, all applications for project funding have been rejected without giving reasons.
The city of Neubrandenburg has not provided any financial support to date.
Throughout the corona pandemic, the city of Neubrandenburg has provided €1000 per independent artist.
However, the artists were expected to develop a project and organise performances. So nothing. I couldn't ‘enjoy’ this funding because I live 11 kilometres away from this city. In addition, renting a hall alone costs around €700 plus advertising. So such a subsidy was completely superfluous.

Performance opportunities in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern
These have largely ceased to exist for around 15 years. Due to mergers of theatres and the cancellation of funding, there is hardly any money left for guest performances. What was once one of the best-known federal states for high-quality art has seen a rapid decline over the last 10 years. Mecklenburg is increasingly subsidising projects that could largely pay for themselves, so-called lighthouses. (Large-scale projects and major events such as the Mecklenburg Festival, Störtebecker etc.) Funding for experiments or socially relevant themes by independent artists is therefore only possible on a supra-regional basis.

For these reasons, I endeavoured to stage performances and projects in other federal states, in Europe and worldwide. However, the new political situation and cutbacks are increasingly restricting this.

During the corona pandemic, self-employed artists were able to apply for so-called ‘bridging money’ as they were no longer allowed to perform and therefore, unlike many other trades, no longer earned any income. The bridging allowance was a fraction of the compensation for cancelled performances. Now most artists often have to pay this money back. A disgrace and more than shameful for this country. Officially, around 50% of self-employed artists had to give up their profession during or after the pandemic. The number of unreported cases is probably higher.

The cultural and creative industries (CCIs), the profit-orientated part of the cultural and creative sector, have suffered disproportionately high economic damage as a result of the coronavirus measures compared to other sectors. The performing arts (-53%), music industry (-33%) and film industry (-21%) submarkets recorded a particularly pronounced decline in turnover.

The Bundesrechnungshof (BRH) considers a permanent dismantling of established structures to be possible because cultural professionals could turn to more crisis-proof sectors with more reliable career prospects. Due to the sluggish outflow of funds, the BRH doubts that ‘NEUSTART KULTUR’ has alleviated acute economic hardship for cultural institutions worthy of preservation, as intended. (Instead of supporting Eventim, for example, these funds could have noticeably helped the performing arts, painters, sculptors and art associations). Now the already insufficient funds for NEUSTART KULTUR are to be cut by a further 50%. With price increases of 30-100% and funding cuts of 50%, any school leaver can work out where the journey will take them. In the long term, only those who pursue pure commerce will survive.

Therefore, I generally aim for performances and projects in Germany - Europe - and worldwide.

Performances in:
several times in France, Spain, several times in Belgium, Italy, Hungary, several times in Poland, several times in the Czech Republic, Denmark, several times in Switzerland, several times in Austria, several times in Serbia, Scotland, several times in England, several times in Iran, Canada, Japan, Ireland, several times in Greece, several times in India, Sri Lanka, Honduras, several times in Slovakia, Nicaragua, several times in Mexico, Panama, El Salvador, several times in the USA, several times in Liechtenstein, several times in Turkmenistan, Turkey, several times in Thailand, Cambodia, Myanmar, several times in Croatia, Algeria, several times in Colombia