Interview: Theater Mummpitz

As one of the oldest independent children's theaters in Germany, you have been an integral part of Nuremberg's cultural scene for over 40 years. You delight your (young) audience with your plays, musical offerings and workshops - and not just in Nuremberg. What motivated you to complete the assessment?

For us, completing the assessment was a good opportunity to assess the sustainability of our theater. Our participation was also linked to the hope of receiving further helpful impulses.

Did you have specific questions when you started the assessment?

Our specific questions were: What is the status of our theater in terms of sustainability? Where are the shortcomings? How can we achieve more sustainability in our theater in different areas?

On a scale of 1 to 5, where would you place yourselves in terms of sustainability and why? (1= we are still at the beginning; 5= we have already implemented many measures)

1: We are still at the beginning with this topic.
2: Sustainability is important to us, but we are still at the beginning of our efforts.
3: We are aware of the importance of sustainability and have taken the first steps.
4: Sustainability is an important part of our work and we have already implemented many measures.
5: Sustainability is very important to us. The topic is part of our strategy.

We would place ourselves between points 3 and 4, as we are aware of the importance of sustainability and have already implemented some measures.

Was there an "aha" moment while completing the assessment? Did you come across something that you hadn't expected?

The fact that sustainability not only concerns ecological aspects, but also social and economic aspects, was an aha moment for us.

Have you already implemented your first ideas based on the findings of the assessment?

Yes, we have already implemented initial ideas in various areas. The findings from the assessment have given us valuable ideas that we are integrating into our processes.

Were you surprised at how you performed compared to your benchmark group?

Unfortunately, our benchmark group was still too small for a meaningful comparison.

You have to deal with special challenges: as an independent theater, you have your home in the listed Kachelbau building, for example, and you also organize the international theater festival "panoptikum" and take your plays on tour - also internationally. It might be difficult to implement "sustainable" measures. What can you recommend to other theaters in terms of sustainability?

Many other theaters with similar profiles are currently working on this topic, and we are in a lively exchange with them. This exchange in particular helps us in our work, both in our daily production work and in the area of festivals and building management.

How do you integrate sustainability into your (creative) processes?

Sustainability awareness influences our work in almost all areas, for example material procurement, switching to energy-saving technology, reducing printed materials, travel behavior, teamwork, etc.

More about the assessment