Theater Total

What Theater Total does

TheaterTotal is a non-profit performing arts organization headquartered in Bochum, Germany, founded in 1996 by Barbara Wollrath-Kramer and operated as a gemeinnützige GmbH (gGmbH). It runs "TheaterTotal intensiv," a nine-month intensive program for approximately 30 young people aged 16-26 each year, delivering multidisciplinary training in acting, dance, vocals, costume design, stage design, sound and technology, dramaturgy, management, fundraising, and public relations. The program culminates each year in two main productions — a Shakespeare staging and a dance performance — that are toured across Germany and Switzerland; the administrative HQ is at Am Eickhoffpark 7 and the performance venue is the converted St.-Albertus-Magnus-Kirche at Königsallee 171.

The organization's revenue model is a hybrid stack. Participants pay €130 for an introductory workshop and €1,400 for the nine-month intensiv, and are required to fundraise at least that amount from their own supporter network, which mechanically expands the donor base each cohort. Ticket sales self-generate approximately one-third of operating costs, and a commemorative book is sold at €15.80 per copy through the venue and the German bookstore trade. The remainder, and the majority of the budget, comes from private donors, foundation grants and public-sector transfers — most centrally the City of Bochum, the State of North Rhine-Westphalia, Eickhoff, Stadtwerke Bochum, Sparkasse Bochum, MAHLE, the Kulturstiftung des Bundes, and the GLS Bank.

Operationally, the professional core team is small (approximately five dedicated administrative and artistic staff) and is supplemented by a wider ensemble of discipline specialists (music/composition, photography, vocals, dramaturgy, language, costume design, dance/choreography, fencing/fight choreography, Tai Chi, safety technology). TheaterTotal is described in its own materials as unique in Germany and has accumulated a long award track record (five Robert Jungk Sonderpreze between 1999 and 2007, Berliner Jugendfestspiele nominations, a 2016 Big Beautiful Building Award) and recurring collaborations with Théâtre du Soleil, Ruhrtriennale and Bochumer Symphoniker.

Name

Theater Total

Legal name

TheaterTotal gGmbH

Website

https://theatertotal.de

Company type

Private

Founded year

1996

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

TheaterTotal is a Bochum, Germany-based non-profit running a nine-month intensive theater and dance training program for roughly 30 people aged 16-26 each year, producing two annual touring performances across Germany and Switzerland and funded primarily by donations, foundation grants and public-sector partners.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Performing Arts Education

NAICS

Theater Companies and Dinner Theaters (71111), Dance Companies (711120), Fine Arts Schools (61161)

SIC

Services-Amusement & Recreation Services (7900)

akta.pro primary industry

Classical & Contemporary Theatre (Plays/Drama) (MPAGABAH)

akta.pro secondary industries

Touring Theatre Productions (MPAGABAC), Dance Theatre (Narrative/Experimental) (MPAGADAC), Theater & Drama Education (Acting, Improvisation, Musical Theater) (EDAMAAAG), Musical Theatre (Non-Broadway/Fringe) (MPAGABAG)

Keywords

• Youth theater education
• Performing arts training
• Community theater programs
• Theater productions
• Dance performances

Headquarters

HQ city

Bochum

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Participant fees: Participants pay a one-time fee of €130 for introductory workshops and €1,400 for the 9-month intensive program (TheaterTotal intensiv). Participants are expected to build a supporter network and raise donations for TheaterTotal of at least this amount.
2. Ticket sales: Revenue from ticket sales for performances and productions. The organization estimates approximately one-third of costs are self-generated through ticket sales.
3. Private donations and grants: Funding from private donors, foundations (Stiftungen), and corporate sponsors. This is the primary revenue stream, supplemented by public funding from the City of Bochum and the State of NRW.
4. Sponsorships and institutional funding: Corporate sponsors including Eickhoff, Stadtwerke Bochum, MAHLE, Sparkasse Bochum, and ministry-level funding from NRW. Also includes foundation grants and special project funding.
5. Book sales: Sale of the commemorative book '25 Jahre Theater Total' about the organization's history, productions, and artistic processes. Available at the theater and in bookstores for €15.80.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

TheaterTotal is a non-profit youth theater project that runs a nine-month intensive program for young people aged 16-26 combining training in acting, dance, vocals, costume design, stage design, sound/technology, directing, fundraising, and production management. The program culminates annually in a Shakespeare-based theater production and a dance performance, both of which tour across Germany and Switzerland. The organization also sells commemorative books documenting its artistic work and operates a converted church venue in Bochum.

Product overview

TheaterTotal is a non-profit youth theater project that offers a single unified program called 'TheaterTotal intensiv' — a nine-month intensive experience for young people aged 16-26. The program combines comprehensive theater arts training (acting, dance, singing, costume design, stage design, technical work, and production management) with professional mentorship, culminating in annual theater productions and dance performances that tour throughout Germany. The organization also publishes commemorative books documenting its artistic work.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• TheaterTotal intensiv A nine-month intensive theater program for young people aged 16-26, offering training in acting, dance, singing, costume design, stage design, sound and technology, directing assistance, management, fundraising, graphics, and press work, culminating in a theater production and dance performance toured across Germany and Switzerland.
• Theaterproduktionen (Shakespeare and Other Productions) Annual theater productions featuring works by Shakespeare and other classical and contemporary playwrights, performed as part of the TheaterTotal intensiv program and toured throughout Germany.
• Tanzperformances Dance performances created as part of the TheaterTotal intensiv program, with premieres typically held in November/December alongside the main theater production and toured across Germany.
• Theater. Macht. Mut. - 25 Jahre Theater Total (Commemorative Book) A commemorative book celebrating 25 years of TheaterTotal, offering exclusive photos, insider texts, and workshop reports documenting the artistic processes of the organization, sold at €15.80 per copy at the theater and in bookstores.

Quantifiable outcome

• Hundreds of young people have used TheaterTotal as a springboard to professional careers in theater and other fields
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered major and minor.

• RuhrtriennalemajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCommissioned TheaterTotal to create multiple works including: 'Gautama im Glück' (2009, based on Siddhartha), 'Die Konferenz der Vögel' (2010, dance theater with 110 youth), and co-produced 'Irrfahrten über Tage' (2004, with 150 students from 6 NRW cities).
• Bochumer SymphonikermajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerMultiple collaborations including: 'Schulstunde Klassik: Die Winterreise' workshop with 27 students from Pestalozzi Realschule Wattenscheid; 'Talking about' project with refugee children from Willy-Brandt-Gesamtschule; performances at Anneliese Brost Musikforum Ruhr.
• Alfred-Herrhausen-Schule DüsseldorfminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCooperation project 'Wer will schon gern normal sein?' with performances at Tanzhaus NRW in Düsseldorf. Also collaborated on 'Über die Sehnsucht nach dem Einzigartigen' project.
• Théâtre du Soleil (Paris)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerWorkshop opportunity at the renowned Paris theater company led by Ariane Mnouchkine. Carolina Pecheny, actress from Théâtre du Soleil, conducted workshops at TheaterTotal.
• Bochum Marketing GmbHminorGTM or Marketing PartnerMario Schiefelbein of Bochum Marketing GmbH is quoted as a supporter, describing TheaterTotal as 'Botschafter' (ambassadors) for the city.
• tanzhaus NRWmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerVenue partner for dance performances and co-productions. Hosted 'Über die Sehnsucht nach dem Einzigartigen' and 'Wer will schon gern normal sein?' performances.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• Münchner Volkstheater: Munich-based theater producing mainstage and youth productions, including contemporary German-language and Shakespeare-style works. Comparable as a producing theater with youth programming.
• Schaubühne Berlin (Junges Schauspiel): Larger prestigious Berlin theater with education and youth programs featuring original productions and participatory formats. Significantly larger institution but with overlapping youth theater educational mission.

Direct peers

• Junges Schauspielhaus Hamburg: Dedicated youth theater at Thalia Theater Hamburg producing plays for and with young people. Most directly comparable to TheaterTotal as a German youth theater producing original and adapted works with young participants.
• National Youth Theatre (UK): UK charity producing theater with young people aged 14–25 through intensive projects and touring productions. Closest international analog to TheaterTotal's intensiv cohort and touring format.
• Deutsches Theater Berlin (Junges DT): Berlin's historic theater operates a dedicated young audience and youth ensemble program staging productions with young adults, comparable to TheaterTotal's intensiv cohort model.

Emerging players

• Stagecoach Performing Arts: International franchise network of youth performing arts schools with weekend/part-time classes in drama, dance, and singing. Operates with a more distributed, lower-intensity model than TheaterTotal's intensiv approach.
• Kampnagel Hamburg: Hamburg performing arts center commissioning youth theater, dance, and cross-disciplinary projects. Comparable as a producing platform for contemporary youth performance work.

Others

• Ruhrtriennale: Major triennial festival in NRW that has commissioned co-productions with TheaterTotal. Acts as a commissioning/curatorial partner rather than direct competitor, but shares regional cultural ecosystem.
• Bundesverband Theaterpädagogik (BuT): German federal association for theater education representing practitioners and programs across Germany. Useful ecosystem node and indirect comparable for TheaterTotal's educational/personal-development mission.

Regional players

• Staatsschauspiel Dresden (Junges Schauspiel): State theater in Eastern Germany with a youth ensemble producing its own works. Comparable mission but different regional and funding context than TheaterTotal.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/TheaterTotalYT
• Facebookfacebook.com/TheaterTotal
• Instagraminstagram.com/theatertotal
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/theater-total

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Theater Total