The Fachverband Schultheater - Darstellendes Spiel Niedersachsen e. V. has been organizing the Niedersächsische Schülertheatertreffen (NiST) every two years since 1978. The state-wide competition is held under the patronage of the Minister of Culture and is sponsored by the Ministry of Culture. It is aimed at all theater groups in Lower Saxony in which mainly children and young people take part.

The aims of the Lower Saxony School Theater Meeting (NiST) are to present the diversity and quality of theater in all types and levels of schools and in youth groups in Lower Saxony to the public, to strengthen the exchange of experiences and ideas among theater groups and theater teachers and thus to provide impetus, to encourage and support the promotion of school theater in all regions of the state.

The regional meetings

Initially, meetings will take place in the individual regions of Lower Saxony in February / March 2024, in which up to five playgroups will participate in each case - without pre-selection. Each group will have approximately 20 minutes to play. Finished parts of productions that are not yet ready for performance as a whole can also be shown.
One focus of the meetings is the feedback rounds, in which both the participating pupils and the teachers discuss the performances. These regional meetings are accompanied by members of an advisory committee. The advisory committee is made up of experienced theater teachers who are organized in the Fachverband Schultheater - Darstellendes Spiel. Their task is to moderate the event, advise the drama groups and select the groups to be invited to the final meeting.

The central final meeting (June 3 - 7, 2024 in Osnabrück)

After all regional meetings have taken place, the advisory committee will put together a program of around ten productions for the central final meeting. If possible, the different play approaches, the different age groups, school and organizational forms as well as the regions of Lower Saxony should be represented.
Productions that meet the selection criteria and are appropriate in form and content to the age group, the problem situation and the special conditions of the players and are interesting for their audience are eligible.
Selection criteria include the overall impression (enjoyment/tension), the use of body, language and space as means of expression, the use of time (sense of time/dynamics/tempo), the appropriate use of stage design, lighting and sound,
The call for entries and the description of the conditions of participation will be published in the school administration journal (November or December 2023) and on the homepage of the professional association(www.schultheater-nds.de).