Festival of Independent Performing Arts
of the City of Stuttgart and the State of Baden-Württemberg
13–18 April 2026
From 6 TAGE FREI to 3 TAGE FREI
The Festival of Independent Performing Arts in Stuttgart and Baden-Württemberg
From April 15 to 18, 2026, the independent scene is going all in: 3 TAGE FREI, the Festival of Independent Performing Arts, presents artistic works from Stuttgart and Baden-Württemberg that celebrate uncertainty, push boundaries, and dare to explore new ground. Due to severe budget cuts by the City of Stuttgart, the festival will take place in a reduced format this year. What changes is the scope – what remains is the ambition: to give the independent performing arts a stage in all their diversity, boldness, and social relevance.
With O-Team (Stuttgart), SoBo Productions (Mannheim), Nana Hülsewig (Stuttgart), Eva Krause (Freiburg), River Roux (Berlin/Heilbronn), Laura Oppenhäuser (Stuttgart), Cia Nadine Gerspacher (Teningen), Tyler Cunningham & Emilia Dorr (Stuttgart), Lina Determann & Jette Schwabe (Karlsruhe) und Shibui Collective (Freiburg) and more.
Open Call: 3 TAGE FREI — The Art of Protest
As part of the shortened festival edition 3 TAGE FREI, the festival “6 TAGE FREI – Festival of the Independent Performing Arts” invites artists from the independent dance and theatre scene in Baden-Württemberg to contribute performative works to the festival opening. The call is for short artistic interventions that engage with protest, resistance, utopias, and cuts to cultural funding, coming together to form an opening revue in the spirit of a “protest gala.”
Apply here online
All information about the call can be found at ftts-stuttgart.de.
For questions regarding the open call, please contact us exclusively by email at produktion@ftts-stuttgart.de
6 TAGE FREI is the festival of the independent performing arts in Stuttgart and Baden-Württemberg.
Since 2015, it has brought outstanding productions and artistic positions from Baden-Württemberg’s independent scene to the stage every two years – with a focus on diversity, dialogue, and networking.
In addition to a curated showcase program, the festival’s Residency provides space for new ideas and daring artistic processes. 3 TAGE FREI is a platform, a laboratory, and a meeting place – for art, exchange, and collaborative working structures within the independent performing arts.
3 TAGE FREI is funded by the City of Stuttgart and the State Association of Independent Dance and Theatre Professionals Baden-Württemberg (LaFT BW) e.V. with funds from the Ministry of Science, Research and the Arts Baden-Württemberg, Lotto Baden-Württemberg, and the Ritter Sport Arts Foundation. In cooperation with the Free Dance and Theatre Scene Stuttgart gUG (FTTS). 3 TAGE FREI is also part of FESTIVALFRIENDS, a network of regional festivals of the independent performing arts. The format THE ART OF PROTEST is made possible by the Free Dance and Theatre Scene Stuttgart gUG (FTTS), LaFT BW e.V., and the Péter Horváth Foundation.