Janina Benduski develops and leads the projects of LAFT Berlin – Landesverband freie darstellende Künste Berlin (Berlin State Association for Independent Performing Arts) – as the Program Director. These include initiatives such as the Performing Arts Program, the Performing Arts Festival Berlin, and the pilot project Fairstage. She is a co-opted board member of the association and actively engaged in numerous cultural policy committees and initiatives, including serving as a board member of the Berliner Kulturkonferenz (Berlin Cultural Conference) and the Initiative für die Archive der Freien Darstellenden Künste (Initiative for the Archives of Independent Performing Arts). From 2016 to 2021, she was Chair of the Bundesverband Freie Darstellende Künste (Federal Association of Independent Performing Arts), where she initiated projects such as Background, Systemcheck, and the funding program Verbindungen fördern (Strengthening Connections), as well as the establishment of the Allianz der Freien Künste (Alliance of Independent Arts).

Janina Benduski studied Theater Studies, Japanese Studies, and Cultural Studies. As a dramaturge and production manager, she was a member of the music theater group Oper Dynamo West and is a co-founder and partner of ehrliche arbeit – freies Kulturbüro (a production collective for independent performing arts). She is also regularly active as a moderator and consultant for cultural organizations.

Hannah Pelny studied Modern German Literature and Political Science and completed advanced training in Cultural Management at the University of Applied Sciences Potsdam (Fachhochschule Potsdam). Since 1998, she has worked as a freelancer in management, production management, and dramaturgy for various groups, festivals, and individual artists. Since 2013, she has been responsible for project management at LAFT Berlin and its projects.

Catrin Lichy is a trained medical assistant and studied Healthcare Management in Freiburg. She has been living in Berlin since 2017 and has been volunteering for the contemporary circus scene in Berlin and nationwide since 2020. Since 2022, she has been the Office Manager of the Performing Arts Program.

Christin Eckart studied Theater Studies, Art History, Critical Psychology, and Linguistics in Berlin and Orléans. She works as a producer, curator, director, and dramaturg in the independent performing arts scene in Berlin.

Since 2019, she has been responsible for coordinating the Information Center and the Mentoring Program within the Performing Arts Program. From 2020/21, she supported production venues in Berlin as part of the project #performingsafety in addressing pandemic-related challenges. She is currently the contact person for the pilot project ACCESS – Improving Access to Berlin's Cultural Funding.

Christiane Kretschmer studied Applied Theatre Studies in Gießen and Cultural Studies in Leipzig. She worked as a dramaturg at Sophiensæle Berlin, where she conceptualized numerous festivals, series, and focus areas, with a particular emphasis on nurturing emerging talent. Most recently, she worked in adult education and provided consulting services for associations seeking funding.

Catherine Launay has been working as a cultural manager and production manager in the fields of performance, theater, dance, and sound art in Berlin and France for 24 years. From 2008 to 2013, she co-organized the poetry festival Poesiefestival „Poesiefrühling“ with poetry facilitator Nicola Caroli. In 2010, they co-founded the project Poem Space Mobil. Since January 2022, she has been co-leading the International & National Department for the Performing Arts Program Berlin.

Belén Marinato studied Literature and Linguistics at the University of Mar del Plata in Argentina and Musicology at Humboldt University in Berlin (M.A.). She works primarily as a freelance producer and music curator. In 2022, she founded Ardea Berlin, a platform aimed at promoting the work of artists with a migration background, focusing on Latin America, in Berlin. Since February 2022, she has been part of the Performing Arts Program Berlin.

Sarah Stührenberg studied in Paris, Berlin, and Dublin. She works as a dramaturg and production manager, among other roles. She has worked at the Staatstheater Karlsruhe in the local Bürger*innenbühne (a community-based theater program), created her own stage and video works, and has been active in Berlin since 2019. Here, she collaborates with Ian Kaler, matthaei & konsorten, at the Haus der Statistik, and with KJTZ. Since May 2021, she has also worked for the Performing Arts Program Berlin in the area of professional events and partnerships.

Insun Jung studied German Studies and Gender Studies in Seoul and Cultural Studies with a focus on Theater in Berlin. In Seoul, she worked in the independent film sector, including for the Seoul Independent Film Festival. From April 2022 to June 2023, she co-led the Cultural Secretariat and Touring Office. Since January 2023, she has worked in the area of Audience Engagement for the Performing Arts Program Berlin.

Juliane Wieland is a dance scholar and has worked in the field of audience development and engagement for the Performing Arts Program Berlin since 2019. She studied Cultural Studies and has a background in contemporary stage dance. Additionally, she works as a freelance dramaturg in the fields of dance/performance and as a dance critic.

Florian Hohnhorst studied Cultural Studies in Hildesheim and Porto and works as a creative cultural manager and sound artist. He has worked for organizations such as Gare du Nord – Bahnhof für Neue Musik Basel, ROXY Birsfelden, Verein Zuhören Schweiz, Frauen und Fiktion, KANSAS Medientheater, Kagels Zwei-Mann-Orchester, OH! Darling, and Drescher-Papion Productions. His artistic works include participatory sound walk formats, audio pieces, and theater music. Additionally, he is involved with soundmarker – a laboratory for location-based audio works. Since 2018, he has been working for the Performing Arts Program Berlin.

Linus Lutz studied Philosophy and German Studies (B.A.) in Tübingen and Philosophy (M.A.) in Berlin. He worked at Flugwerk e.V., as Assistant to the Managing Director of the Fonds Darstellende Künste, as a dramaturg for music theater at the Mecklenburg State Theater, and as a research assistant in corporate communications at Prognos AG. As a freelance dramaturg and author, he has been involved in several play developments. Linus has been working for the Performing Arts Program since 2024.

Kris Bernhardt is a freelance cultural manager and production manager. They studied Theater Studies and Communication and Media Studies (B.A.) as well as Media and Cultural Management (M.A.) at the Free University of Berlin. Since 2022, Kris has been working in project management for the Performing Arts Program Berlin.

Franziska Janke studied Cultural Studies and Aesthetic Practices with a focus on Art, Theater, and Cultural Management at the University of Hildesheim. Since completing her diploma, she has worked freelance in production, press, and organization, including with institutions such as Ballhaus Ost, Sophiensaele, Theaterdiscounter, and HAU Hebbel am Ufer. From 2016 to 2021, she worked in the areas of Networking, Knowledge Transfer & Cooperation. Since 2021, Franziska Janke has been working in project management for the Performing Arts Program Berlin.

Tereza Yakovyna is an artist and set designer. She studied at the National Academy of Arts and Architecture in Kyiv and at the Weißensee Academy of Art in Berlin. She has created artworks and performative pieces in Berlin, Düsseldorf, Venice, Kyiv, and other European cities. Since 2022, she has been living and working again in Berlin and, since October 2023, has also been working in project management and coordination for the Performing Arts Program Berlin.

Antonia Deckert is an editor, proofreader, and project coordinator. She studied Philosophy, Art History, and Film and Cultural Studies, and has worked for, among others, the Venice Biennale, as a translator, as a freelance literary agent, and at the artist residency of the Academy of Arts. Since 2023, she has been working in the editorial team of the Performing Arts Program Berlin and also works as an accountant at the Studio Christoph Niemann.

Léonie Jeismann studied Literature and Cultural Studies (B.A.) in Bonn and Applied Literary Studies (M.A.) in Berlin. From 2014 to 2019, she worked as a project and directing assistant for the documentary theater pieces Die Asyl-Monologe, Die Asyl-Dialoge, and Die NSU-Monologe at the Bühne für Menschenrechte e.V. Since 2022, she has been working in the editorial team of the Performing Arts Program Berlin.

Marlene Kolatschny is a dramaturg and author. She studied Cultural Studies, German Literature, Visual Cultures, and Philosophy in Berlin, London, and Rome. She has created her own artistic works, including at the Volksbühne am Rosa-Luxemburg-Platz, as part of the group LEIEN DES ALLTAGS at the Ruhrtriennale, at Gare du Nord Basel, and at Ballhaus Ost. Since 2021, she has been working in the editorial team of the Performing Arts Program Berlin.

Daniel Brunet is a director, performer, producer and translator. He was born in Syracuse, New York in 1979 and received a BA in theater arts and film studies from Boston College. Brunet became Producing Artistic Director of English Theatre Berlin | International Performing Arts Center in 2012 and established an artistic concept. Daniel Brunet has received multiple awards for his over thirty play translations. He was a guest director and instruction for German drama at the New School University in New York City in 2017. Brunet has served as the speaker for the performing arts within the Speakers’ Circle of the Coalition of the Independent Arts and as a co-opted board member of LAFT – Landesverband freie darstellende Künste Berlin e.V. since the end of 2018.