Theater, Crisis, and Reform provides an overview of the current situation of German theaters, their crises, and development options. It describes the transition from the hierarchically organized artistic director model to an ensemble model with a modernized corporate culture and a firm integration of the ensembles in all important decisions. The first part examines the publicly funded theater system with its chronic imbalances: overproduction, funding crisis, declining legitimacy, and hierarchical structures, with the artistic director as an emblem of an outdated organizational principle. Based on potential for change, reforms in management, organization, and production and performance operations are developed and proposed.