Before joining a cross-border theatre project, ask what kind of project it is, who leads and decides, how money and rights are handled, which languages govern the work, and who is responsible for visas, insurance, translation and documentation. Ask for the answers in writing before you commit money, travel or unpaid time. A cross-border project may be a co-production, a tour, a festival presentation, a residency, an exchange or a translation-led collaboration; each carries different expectations, and the label alone does not settle them.
The questions below are a practical pre-commitment checklist for theatre students, directors, dramaturgs, translators, independent producers and researchers. They do not replace legal, immigration or tax advice in the relevant jurisdictions. They are intended to make assumptions visible early, when they are still negotiable.
What kind of project am I joining?
Start with the institutional shape. A project described as a co-production may in practice be a host venue presenting a finished show, or a buy-out with limited shared decision-making. A residency may include presentation, research or neither. A translation-led collaboration may involve a new version, a literal translation, surtitles or a bilingual production. The scope of IETM’s International Co-Production Manual includes partners, contracts, venues, festivals and touring; that is a useful reminder that the creative questions are entangled with production and distribution questions.
- What is the project type? Is it a co-production, tour, festival presentation, residency, exchange, translation or adaptation?
- Who initiated it? Who is the lead producer or contracting organisation? Who holds the budget?
- What exactly am I being asked to do? Which role, how many days, what availability, and whether exclusivity is expected.
- Who decides? Which choices require consensus, and who has final say over text, casting, design, schedule and cancellation?
- Is there a written brief, schedule and letter of intent? Which parts are binding?
If the answers are vague, do not treat that as a minor administrative gap. Vagueness usually moves risk onto the person with the least power and the least information.
Who pays, who owns, and who is liable?
Money questions are creative questions because they determine who can work, who can say no and who controls the finished production. Ask for a budget line relevant to your role, not just a fee figure. Contracts should identify the parties, scope, fee, payment schedule, currency, expenses, rights, credits, cancellation, termination, dispute resolution and governing law; the IETM manual’s attention to contract partners and touring is a reminder that these are production documents, not paperwork after the event.
- What is the fee? Is it gross or net, when is it paid, in which currency, and who bears bank charges?
- Who pays travel, accommodation, per diems, visas, insurance, freight and local transport? What standard of accommodation is assumed?
- Who owns the production, text, translation, design, images and recordings? What licence is granted, for which territories, durations and platforms?
- What happens if funding fails, a partner withdraws or dates are cancelled? Is there a cancellation clause and insurance?
- Who is responsible for work permits, tax and social security? Confirm this with official authorities and qualified advisers in each jurisdiction.
PAP Berlin’s workshop description for How To: Work Internationally names financing, visas, bureaucracy, communication and structural differences between partners as planning challenges. Those are not side issues; they belong in the first conversation.
Which languages govern the work?
Language is often treated as a rehearsal problem, but it runs through contracts, emails, schedules, audience materials, surtitles and documentation. Ask which language is the working language, which language governs the contract, and which languages the audience will receive. For a translation-led project, ask who holds the rights to the source text, who approves the translation, and how credit will appear. The answers affect time and money: interpretation, translation, surtitle preparation and bilingual rehearsal all require scheduled labour.
- What is the working language for rehearsals, production meetings and notes?
- Will there be interpretation? For which sessions, and who pays?
- Who drafts, approves and credits translations and surtitles? Are surtitles live or pre-prepared, and who operates them?
- How will access be planned? Consider D/deaf and disabled audiences, multilingual audiences, captioning, audio description and relaxed performances where relevant.
Do not assume that a shared professional vocabulary in one language carries the same meanings in another. Terms such as ‘dramaturg’, ‘producer’, ‘workshop’ and ‘premiere’ can describe different roles and stages in different theatre ecologies.
What is the rehearsal culture, and who carries the risk?
Cross-border projects bring different conventions around scheduling, hierarchy, note-giving, punctuality, physical contact, intimacy, understudies, overtime and days off. A PAP Berlin workshop description on transnational theatre productions stresses avoiding misunderstandings and conflicts in communication with international partners, and reflecting on one’s own positioning, privileges and responsibility within the global cultural sector. Those reflections are practical: they shape who speaks in the room and whose working norms become the default.
- What are the daily and weekly schedules? Are long days, six-day weeks or overtime expected? Are breaks and days off protected?
- Who gives notes, and how are disagreements handled? Is there a stage manager, producer or outside mediator?
- What are the expectations around hierarchy, directness and physical work? Are consent and intimacy protocols in place?
- Which local labour rules or union agreements apply? Verify them rather than assuming that home-country norms travel.
- What is the welfare plan? Consider travel stress, mental health, access needs, care responsibilities and insurance.
Ask for these answers before the first rehearsal, not after a conflict. A short written protocol on communication, consent and scheduling can be more useful than a long statement of artistic values.
Whose project is it, and who benefits?
IETM’s Beyond Curiosity and Desire: Towards Fairer International Collaborations in the Arts, published in March 2018, is explicitly concerned with fairness in international collaborations. Fairness questions are not an accusation; they are a way to test whether the partnership is reciprocal or extractive. Ask who initiated the project, who can decline without losing future work, which partners are paid at local rates, whose aesthetic and linguistic norms set the standard, and who will speak publicly for the project.
- Who is at the table when budgets and schedules are decided?
- Are local partners paid, credited and consulted as partners rather than service providers?
- Whose audience, language and dramaturgy are treated as the default?
- How will disagreements about cultural representation be handled?
Different budgets and different access to mobility are not automatically unjust, but they should be made visible and negotiated. A project that cannot answer these questions may still be worthwhile; a project that refuses to discuss them is asking you to carry unspoken risk.
What happens when the project moves?
If the work tours or travels, ask for the confirmed itinerary, not an aspiration. PAP Berlin’s FAQ Touring, aimed at independent artists and groups in Berlin who want to tour nationally and internationally, begins with the problem of starting when existing connections are lacking; it is a reminder that mobility is a skill and a resource, not a natural by-product of a good show.
- Which dates are confirmed, and when are they guaranteed?
- Who books travel and accommodation? What standard, and what happens if a cheaper option fails?
- Who writes invitation letters and who applies for visas? What is the fallback if a visa is refused or delayed?
- Who insures equipment, public liability, health and cancellation?
- How are freight, customs and local transport handled?
- What is the contingency plan for illness, border delays, strikes or extreme weather?
Visa and work-permit rules depend on the passport, destination, activity and length of stay. Check them with official immigration authorities for the specific case; a festival invitation is not itself a work permit, and advice from a colleague in another country may not apply.
What will be documented, credited and left behind?
Documentation is part of the collaboration. Ask who will photograph, film or record rehearsals and performances, under what consent and licensing terms, and how the material will be used after the project. Ask how credits will appear in programmes, websites, press and future tours. Ask what happens to the archive, who can access it, and whether partners can use recordings for funding applications or research.
- Who owns documentation, and what permissions are needed from performers and collaborators?
- How are credits worded and where do they appear?
- Will recordings be shared with partners? Under what licence and for how long?
- What is the exit plan? Are there future rights, first refusal, or terms for dissolving the partnership?
A short documentation and credit schedule agreed at the start can prevent disputes later, when memories differ and the project has moved on.
A checklist before you commit
- Name the project type and the lead producer in one sentence.
- Get your role, dates, availability and decision rights in writing.
- See a budget line for your fee, travel, accommodation, per diems, insurance and any translation work.
- Confirm who owns rights in the text, translation, design, images and recordings.
- Agree the working language, contract language and audience-language plan.
- Assign responsibility for visas, work permits, tax and insurance, and verify the rules officially.
- Ask how scheduling, notes, consent, access and welfare will be handled.
- Agree a cancellation, withdrawal and dispute route.
- Agree credits, documentation and archiving.
- Identify one thing you will not assume.
If a project cannot answer these questions yet, ask when it will. A credible partner will welcome the questions or say plainly that the answers are not ready. A partner who treats basic questions as distrust is asking you to substitute goodwill for due diligence. In cross-border theatre, goodwill matters, but it works best when the terms are clear.
FAQ
What should I ask first before joining a cross-border theatre project?
Clarify the project type, the lead producer, your role, who decides, how you will be paid and what is in writing. If those points are vague, pause before committing money, travel or unpaid time.
Is a co-production the same as a tour?
No. A co-production normally involves shared creation, resources or decisions, while a tour is usually a presentation of an existing production. Usage varies, so ask the partners to define the term and set out the practical consequences in writing.
Who is responsible for visas and work permits?
Responsibility should be assigned in writing, but the legal requirements depend on the passport, destination, activity and length of stay. Verify them with official immigration authorities for the specific case rather than relying only on the host organisation.
How should translation and surtitles be budgeted?
Treat them as production costs, not extras. Agree who commissions, pays, approves and credits translation, interpretation and surtitles, and include rehearsal time for timing, checking and access.
What if there is no written agreement yet?
Ask for one before committing money or travel. Even a short letter of intent can clarify scope, fee, schedule, rights, credits and cancellation, though its legal effect depends on its wording and jurisdiction. Take advice appropriate to the countries involved.
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