The NTMxISOQUANT SciArt Residency is a six-month residency program offered by the drama department of the Nationaltheater Mannheim (NTM) in cooperation with the Collaborative Research Centre (CRC) ISOQUANT at Heidelberg University. From June to December 2025, the program offers the unique opportunity to work on an interdisciplinary project addressing the question of how quantum physics can be represented theatrically and translated into creative processes. The aim is to develop a text in German that will be publicly presented at the NTM at the end of the residency.
The jury consisting of Dr. Lisa Ringena (ISOQUANT), Leonie Lorena Wyss (playwright and director), Wilke Weermann (playwright and director) and Franziska Betz (dramaturge at NTM) selected Sarah Calörtscher for the upcoming residency. She was awarded the Kleist Prize for young playwrights in 2024 for her play “Herz aus Polyester”.
The residency program offers a monthly stipend of 1,500 euros and accommodation in Heidelberg for up to three months. It promotes interdisciplinary collaboration between artists, scientists and social connectors and supports the exchange of knowledge. A central component is the cooperation with the scientists of the CRC ISOQUANT. The artists-in-residence can develop their project in close collaboration with ISOQUANT and NTM. The approach of the program should be understood as an open perspective: The form, process and outcome of the residency are completely free and determined by the artists themselves.
Background
ISOQUANT is a Collaborative Research Center (CRC) funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG) at Heidelberg University. It investigates isolated quantum systems and universality under extreme conditions. CRCs are institutions in which scientists work on innovative, challenging and complex questions as part of an interdisciplinary research program. The scientific goal of ISOQUANT is to better understand why many physical quantum systems have characteristic common properties, although they differ greatly in important parameters such as temperature, density or field strength. ISOQUANT brings together theoretical and experimental physicists from different fields and enables a wide range of experimental and theoretical methods to solve this overarching question.
The traditional Nationaltheater Mannheim is a four-section theater (opera, drama, dance, young NTM). Outstanding artistic achievements, premieres and first performances as well as exemplary work with children and young people make the Nationaltheater one of the most important theaters in Germany. This is demonstrated by the 1,300 performances for around 330,000 yearly visitors and its nation-wide media-coverage. Its highly popular festivals further underline the international impact of the NTM. Thanks to the position of the in-house playwright, which is reassigned each year, as well as numerous premieres and first performances, The Nationaltheater enjoys a supra-regional reputation as a world premiere theater.