Name: PULS & PEILUNG – Festival of Berlin Puppetry Students 2026
Start: 2026-05-14T00:00:00+00:00
End: 2026-05-17T00:00:00+00:00
Location: Schaubude Berlin

PULS & PEILUNG

About PULS & PEILUNG

In May 2026, a new festival format launches at Schaubude Berlin: PULS & PEILUNG will showcase works by students of the Contemporary Puppetry program at the Ernst Busch University of Performing Arts for four days. Diploma premieres, preliminary works, workshop performances, co-productions with international partners, and puppet karaoke. An exclusive insight into an exceptional course of study.

Dates 14 May — 17 May 2026

Venue Berlin (11000)

Prices —

Status Confirmed

Edition 2026

PULS & PEILUNG — edition 2026

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Premiere Edition: From May 14 to 17, 2026, PULS & PEILUNG runs for the first time at Schaubude Berlin—a four-day festival for students of the Contemporary Puppetry program at HfS Ernst Busch. Diploma premieres, workshop performances, co-productions, puppet karaoke. Spread across all Schaubude venues.

PULS & PEILUNG brings together student works in a festival framework for the first time. Over four days, twenty or more works will be shown—diploma pieces, preliminary works, international co-productions. Schaubude will simultaneously use all its performance spaces on Greifswalder Straße: the Great Hall, the Cabinet, the Courtyard Stage, and the Studio.

Advance ticket sales will open about a month before the festival begins at schaubude.berlin. A detailed program and accompanying events (artist talks, lectures) will be published in April.

Highlights PULS & PEILUNG 2026

Premiere festival at Schaubude Berlin
Four days, all venues on Greifswalder Straße utilized
Diploma premieres by HfS students of Contemporary Puppetry
International co-productions (including La Grinta)
Puppet Karaoke as an experimental format

Programme PULS & PEILUNG 2026

The festival program has already been announced. Selection of performances per day:

Thursday, May 14 — Opening with three productions: including Holly Wood and Karaluchy/Cockroaches
Friday, May 15 — Several creations and workshop performances, focusing on hybrid forms of object theatre, material, and physical theatre
Saturday, May 16 — Eight performances, from children's plays (Ein Bauch voller Mut) to experimental adult pieces
Sunday, May 17 — Four final productions, including La Grinta as an international co-production

The performance program will be accompanied by:

Diploma Premieres: Final works by students in the Contemporary Puppetry program
Work-in-Progress Presentations: Ongoing works with audience discussions
Puppet Karaoke: An experimental crossover format late in the evening
International Guest Performances: Including La Grinta as a co-production

Daily schedules and performance times will be published by April 15 on schaubude.berlin/de/news/puls-peilung/ and on hfs-berlin.de.

Prices PULS & PEILUNG 2026

Single tickets and festival passes are planned. Specific prices will be published with the detailed program in April 2026. Tickets available via schaubude.berlin.

Practical information

Practical information — PULS & PEILUNG

Getting There

Tram M4 Greifswalder Straße / Husemannstraße. S-Bahn S8, S41, S42 Greifswalder Straße. District Prenzlauer Berg, Borough Pankow.

Tickets

Advance sales open from mid-April 2026 on the Schaubude website. Single tickets and festival passes are planned.

Tip

Many pieces last under an hour—making it easy to catch two or three shows in one evening.

A New Festival in Prenzlauer Berg

For decades, Schaubude Berlin on Greifswalder Straße in the Pankow district has been Berlin's home for puppet theatre, object theatre, and puppetry. In 2026, PULS & PEILUNG launches a new festival format, consolidating Schaubude's close ties to the Ernst Busch University of Performing Arts into a compact festival week for the first time: students and graduates of the Contemporary Puppetry program will present their work over four days.

What to See

The Contemporary Puppetry program at HfS Ernst Busch is one of the most renowned of its kind in Europe. Students work with marionettes, hand puppets, rod puppets, shadow play, object theatre, and material performance—often using hybrid forms that combine puppetry with video art, live music, or physical theatre. PULS & PEILUNG showcases the full spectrum: diploma premieres (final pieces by entire year groups), preliminary works and work-in-progress presentations, international co-productions, and the experimental format of puppet karaoke.

Festival Stages

Over four days, performances, lecture-performances, workshops, and discussion formats will take place. More than twenty works are announced, including pieces for adults and children. The training itself will also be addressed—how is contemporary puppetry taught at a state university? What international connections shape the program? PULS & PEILUNG positions itself as a discourse festival, not just a showcase.

The HfS Ernst Busch

Founded in 1951, HfS Ernst Busch is, alongside Munich (Otto Falckenberg School) and Hamburg, one of Germany's most important state drama schools. The Contemporary Puppetry program was established in 1983—one of the first university-level puppetry programs in Germany. Schaubude Berlin has been a partner and venue for student productions for years.