Education – Otto Falckenberg Schule

Application

We value diversity and therefore welcome all applications – regardless of gender, nationality, ethnic and social background, religion/belief, disability, sexual orientation and identity.

Prerequisites for the training course are:

– exceptional artistic talent
– sufficient command of the German language
– graduation from secondary education
– at the beginning of the school year, applicants should be between 17 and 24 years old (for acting) or between 21 and 28 years old (for directing).

All applicants must take an entrance exam. Passing the exam is a prerequisite for admission to the school. Candidates who fail the entrance exam twice will not be admitted.
ACTING

It is currently NOT possible to apply.

Registration for the Exams

This year, there are two ways to apply:

1. Application with Videos

Register on the application portal for “Application with Videos” and upload your passport photo, a tabular CV, a letter of motivation, your role sheet, and three videos (2 roles, 1 self-interview).

A committee will review your videos, and you will either receive an invitation to the preliminary audition in Munich or a rejection.

Advantages of applying with videos:

-You can apply in three different time slots and will receive feedback promptly.
– If applicable, the committee will provide feedback for the live preliminary audition.
– You attend the in-person audition knowing that your videos have sparked interest.
– If you are not invited to the preliminary audition, you save on travel expenses.

2. Application without Videos

Register on the application portal for “Application without Videos” and upload your passport photo, a tabular CV, a letter of motivation, and your role sheet. You will then be invited to the preliminary audition.

Registration for the Audition

The following applies to both options: Please first register at https://bewerbung.ofs-muenchen.de/registration. Select either “Application with Videos” or “Application without Videos,” depending on the option you have chosen.

Then log in at https://bewerbung.ofs-muenchen.de/login, complete the online application form, and upload your passport photo, tabular CV, letter of motivation, and role sheet to the portal. If you are applying with videos, you will also need to upload your three videos.

Your registration is only considered complete once all documents have been successfully uploaded, after which you will receive an automatic confirmation of your registration.

Deadlines and Dates
The application portal opens on January 1, 2025.

“Applications with Videos” can be submitted until January 31, February 28, or March 31, 2025. Invitations to the preliminary audition or rejections will be sent by the 15th of the following month.

“Applications without Videos” are possible until April 15, 2025. Invitations to the preliminary audition will be sent at the end of April 2025.

Preliminary Audition
May 19 to May 27, 2025, in the morning

Entrance Exam 1
May 19 to May 27, 2025, in the afternoon (on the same day as your preliminary audition)

Entrance Exam 2
June 10 to June 13, 2025, all day (for all applicants across all four days)

Preparation for the Exam

Independent preparation of:

1. Three excerpts from plays of your choice (including one classic)
2. A self-written scene
3. A song of your choice

Each role should last approximately 3 minutes.

For the Application with Videos
For the videos required for Preliminary Audition 1, please select two roles from your role sheet and add a self-interview (approximately 3 minutes) in which you introduce yourself to the audition committee. For example, you could explain why you want to become an actor or share an event that you believe describes you well. You can creatively design the “interview” format. You should be the only person visible in the video, shown in a full-body view. The videos must be uploaded to the application portal.

Please ensure that your video filenames do not contain special characters or umlauts!

Upload three separate videos.

The videos do not need to be high-quality films—a webcam or smartphone camera is sufficient. Editing, additional lighting, titles, etc., are not required.

Audition Process
If you pass the preliminary audition, you will participate in Entrance Exam 1 in the afternoon of the same day, where you will present your prepared roles again in front of an extended audition committee. The results of Entrance Exam 1 will be communicated by phone on May 28, 2025.

Passing Entrance Exam 1 is a prerequisite for participation in Entrance Exam 2. Entrance Exam 2 lasts four days for all applicants.

During these four days, you will attend trial classes in improvisation, bodywork, speech, singing, and theory. There will also be a joint theater visit, discussions, and a monologue performance.

At all stages of the audition, the committee may assign tasks related to your prepared roles or present new tasks that you will need to perform spontaneously.

Additional Documents

We require the following documents for inspection. Please bring the originals with you to the second round of the preliminary exam:

1. Birth certificate (in the original or an officially certified copy or transcript).

2. School graduation certificate and/or most recent school or qualification certificate (in the original or an officially certified copy or transcript).
3. Medical certificate confirming health and suitability for physical training (the form is available for download on our website).
4. Police clearance certificate (not older than 3 months. It takes around 14 days for this form to be issued so please apply in good time!).
5. For applicants under the age of 18: a declaration of consent from a parent/legal guardian.

Data Protection

Your personal data will be stored by us until the application process is complete. Following the application process, we will only retain the personal data that we require in order to check for multiple applications.

If you are admitted to the Otto Falckenberg School, we will not request your personal data anew but we will send the data we already have on you to the school administration for further use.

Start of Training

After passing the entrance exam, the training will begin on September 16, 2025.

→ 25-26_Acting Application_Information

For questions about the application process, please contact: bewerbung[at]ofs-muenchen.de.
DIRECTING

It is currently NOT possible to apply.
The training course lasts four years. Participation in classes is compulsory.

→ directing training course
In the fourth year of the training course, students take a final examination which consists of a practical and a theoretical part. Upon successful completion of this examination, students receive a certificate of professional qualification. The degree from the Otto Falckenberg School’s acting department is equivalent to a university degree.
Training at the Otto Falckenberg School is free of charge. No fees are charged for the training, examinations or admission.
Frequently asked questions and answers about our acting or directing training:

→ Acting
→ Directing

Acting

WHAT YOU WILL – or: acting training at the OFS.

The professional profile of an actor is constantly evolving due to the diverse and various styles and methods deployed in contemporary productions in theatres as well as on the independent scene, in the visual arts and digital media. This diversity – alongside a focus on international networking – forms a key part of today’s actor training.

The training at the Otto Falckenberg School instructs in and reflects on acting and production techniques, teaches solid craftsmanship and promotes in its students the development of an independent artistic personality whose ability to perform is shaped by the desire to deal with complex socio-political contexts.

The basic training in the first year of the programme teaches dramatic, technical and theoretical skills which enable the students to recognise the means of expression at their disposal, reproduce them and individually utilise them. Improvisation, dramatic exercises and the engagement with theatrical texts are the focus of acting lessons and serve to help the students think about the body and language as important means of expression, to experience them with all the senses and to utilise them.

Body work, speech training, voice training and singing become the foundations of the students’ basic technical skills. A third essential component is the theoretical instruction during the training which is intended to mentally and conceptually enrich and support the students’ access to practical dramatic work and to support their political education.

In order to push the students into developing an independent artistic practice, after the basic training in the first year, study at the Otto Falckenberg School is characterised by a self-organised approach to learning and to the implementation the curriculum. The modular structure of the course gives students the chance to design their curriculum largely by themselves. The variety of opportunities ranging from cross-year stage work and independently developed projects to workshops by acclaimed guest lecturers and numerous cooperations with the Münchner Kammerspiele and other theatres and cultural institutions, present the ideal framework for this.

Directing

The work of a director is grounded in the desire to tell a story. An individual perspective on people and the world should be conveyed to the audience via the director’s personal aesthetics of expression. The school therefore sees itself as a source of inspiration and a trainer, as a field for experimentation and a free space in which the directing students can undertake the search for their individual style.

The four-year course is based on the following corresponding key concepts: individuality, engagement, skilled crafts and support.

In addition to having a creative personality, we expect prospective directing students to have had several years of professional and/or training experience. A special feature of the directing training at the academy is the close link to the Münchner Kammerspiele. Students can gain practical experience during internships, assistant directorships and work placements in the various theatre crafts (set design, costume design, lighting et al). In the second year of training, directing students are expected to undertake two assistant directorships at the Münchner Kammerspiele. These are coordinated between the academy and the theatre in accordance with the wishes and availability of the directing students.

At the beginning of their training, the directing students participate in the classes of the acting students, becoming familiar with the actors’ means of expression and learning how to describe them. The theoretical and practical development of concepts, dramatic exercises with actors and drama students and closely supported themed projects are the focus of the first two years of training. In addition, by staging their own productions from the second year onwards and with their graduation project in the fourth year, the directing students have the opportunity to develop their individual and independent style of storytelling.