Private theater

A private theater is in contrast to the public theater wholly or mainly in private hands.

Private theaters owe their founding to a private initiative and are privately owned. They usually do not form a permanent ensemble , but rather prefer en-suite performance with piece contracts for their own productions, often mixed with guest performances. Well-known stars are often hired.

Early examples of private theaters are the theaters on Paris' Boulevard du Temple , the Viennese suburban theaters or the Königsstädtische Theater Berlin. Most theaters in London's West End or New York's Broadway are originally private theaters.

In Germany private theaters are often operated as GmbH or e. V. organized. Some of them receive state subsidies. In the Deutsches Bühnenverein , private theater entrepreneurs form their own group. Theater groups without a permanent venue are also of a private nature, but do not belong to the German Stage Association. A well-known private theater in Germany is the Millowitsch Theater .

Unlike in Germany, where theaters can be built without special permission, the establishment of a theater in Austria requires a license and is only possible after a needs assessment by the state or city government. In Switzerland, where, unlike in Germany and Austria, theater life does not have its origins in the feudal court theater, private theaters are still dominant today. They are organized in the form of joint-stock companies, cooperatives, foundations and associations.

literature

• Manfred Brauneck , Gérard Schneilin (Ed.): Theater Lexicon 1. Terms and epochs, stages and ensembles. 5th completely revised new edition August 2007, Rowohlt Verlag GmbH, Reinbek near Hamburg, ISBN 978-3-499-55673-9 .