THEATREFRAGILE, MASK THEATRe IN PUBLIC SPACES, BERLIN
TheatreFragile is researching new theatrical forms. The company's productions intertwine dramatic and fine arts with documentary theatre through a combination of mask performance, walk-through art installations, documentary research and fictional narrative.
The Berlin-based company seeks a new vocabulary that can unite the magic of mask play with the direct audience contact of street theatre. They are fascinated by the various levels of play between distance and proximity, everyday life and the poetic universe of theatre.
A playfulness with the audience and an invitation to come closer to see and listen to the installation give the performers opportunities to share and interact with individuals as well as the group at large. The audience goes from being passive onlookers to active visitors and even participants in the installation. The shows are adapted in each city where they are played according to a research and rehearsal period in that area.
TheatreFragile creates its art of mask theatre through keen observation – listening with an agile alertness and reacting with moments of suspension and empathy. The audience is thus witness to an inner and outer examination of the inevitable, the human.
Bringing theatre directly to people instead of waiting for the public to come to the theatre is the common goal of the artists of TheatreFragile.
Luzie Ackers
born in 1978 in Darmstadt, Germany. In 2004, Luzie completed her training in Mime at the Etage School of Performing and Visual Arts in Berlin. She co-founded TheatreFragile in 2006 and has since worked as Artistic Director, Mask Maker, Performer and Company Manager, hand in hand with Marianne Cornil.
Luzie performs in all three TheatreFragile productions and will be seen again in the fourth. Her first son was born in 2009 and her second son in 2011.
e-mail: luzie.ackers@theatre-fragile.com
Marianne Cornil
born in 1977 in a suburb of Paris. She studied German Language and Culture at Paris Sorbonne University before moving to Berlin in 2000. While studying Mime at the Etage School of Performing and Visual Arts, Marianne performed in the Familie Flöz production of „Ristorante Immortale“. She toured internationally with Familie Flöz until 2007. In 2004, she founded the Compagnie corAkor and performed with the puppet theatre company, Kaufmann & CO and Material Theater. Marianne also tours with her accordeon and French chanson program. She is co-founder of TheatreFragile and, along with Luzie Ackers, the Artistic Director of the company.
In Street Theatre, Marianne experiences what lies at the heart of her art: an intensive and senstive human exchange.
Kristi Hughes
born in Lexington, Kentucky, U.S.A. After receiving her diploma in French Language and Dramatic Arts, Kristi ventured to Europe in 2000, where she studied at the Ecole Internationale de Théatre Jacques Lecoq in Paris. Upon finishing the 2-year program, she co-founded the international theatre company, Attic People. From 2004 to 2008, Kristi joined the circus and regularly toured with Cirque du Soleil as a clown. She is based in Berlin and travels the world as a theatre maker, actress, clown and workshop instructor.
It is her goal to perceive the world around her – its organic movements and transformations, its tragedies and its beauty – and to incorporate these observations in telling human stories in theatrical ways.
Justin Beard
was born in 1980 in the United States. Justin is an actor, theatre maker and educator. He works for numerous educationalinstitutions as a teacher, program organizer and guest artist.
He has performed in various film and television productions, such as Valkyrie (United Artists),Finding Future (Bertelsmann media worldwide), Der Domschatz von Quedlinburg (StoryHouse Productions) and Guides (Purple Thread Productions). He has also co-created andperformed with renownedtre companies: Cirque du Soleil, Familie Flöz, TheatreFragile, Book-it-Repertory Theater and the Seattle Repertory. For Justin, theatre is defining and relevant.He has collected his most important stage experiences from theatre productions all over theworld as well as from his own company, This Foreign Concept. Justin has a BFA (Honors)from Cornish College of the Arts in Seattle, Washington.
He plays in “Ahoi!” with TheatreFragile.
Lilli Döscher
was born in 1989 in Kiel, Germany. After finishing high school at the Waldorf School Kiel,she came across TheatreFragile in France. She then became an intern for TheatreFragilefor one year. Lilli is now most notably a stage manager for Himmel in Sicht (Sky in Sight),and she also plays an essential role in the development of stage elements and masks. InSummer 2011, she graduated from the Fine Arts Basic Course at Sønderjyllands Kunstskolein Denmark. Lilli is currently living in Kiel where she is studying fine arts at the MuthesuisSchool of Fine Arts Kiel.
Janko Hanushevsy
was born in Linz, Austria. From 1997-2002, Janko studied Jazz Bass at the KonservatoriumWien University in Vienna. He has since performed countless concerts in Germany, Austria,Italy, Poland and Switzerland, playing predominantly contemporary jazz music and freeimprovisation. In 2002, he co-founded Duo Merzouga with computer musician Eva Pöpplein.Eva and Janko compose electroacoustic music and sound art for Deutschlandradio Kultur,Radio_Copernicus, Akademie Musiktheater, as well as for Deutschlandfunk, Hebbel amUfer Theater Berlin, Schauspielfrankfurt, Münchner Volkstheater, Staatstheater Kassel andSchauspielhaus Graz. Janko lives in Cologne, Germany.
Michael Osterhoff
was born in 1972 in Westfalen, Germany.After finishing high school, Michael studied several years abroad. He graduated in Bremen and founded Biographica Filmproduktion, which produces personal biography films et al.Michael has lived and worked in Berlin since 2005.
Dana Schmidt
was born in 1975 in Frankfurt (Oder), Germany. She graduated from the Berlin School of Acting. Dana has performed with Familie Flöz all over the world in 4 different productions: “Ristorante Immortale”, “Teatro Delusio”, “Hotel Paradiso” and “Infinita”. She also worked as Production Assistant and Mask Making assistant for “Teatro Delusio” and “Infinita”. She currently performs and tours with Theater Strahl in “Klasse Klasse” and “Klasse Tour” directed by Michael Vogel. Dana teaches Movement and Mask Work at the Berlin School of Acting and has continued her studies in Clown with Paco Gonzales, Viewpoints with Ilka Metzner, Suzuki with Martin Gruber and Mask Making with Frans Krom. Dana performs in “Sky in Sight” with TheatreFragile.
Lisette Schürer
feels at home not only on stage but also behind the scenes. Lisette studied Acting at the Ernst Busch Academy of Dramatic Arts in Berlin. During this time, she participateddd in such productions as “Death of a Salesman” directed by Dimiter Gotscheff at the Deutsches Theater Berlin. She has also studied mask making at various workshops with mask theatre companies such as Familie Flöz. During her studies in Set Design at the Berlin-Weißensee School of Fine Arts, she worked as Scenery and Costume Design Assistant at Deutsches Theater Berlin and the Staatsschauspiel Dresden Theater. Lisette has worked as Set Designer and Puppet Maker for Theater des Lachens in Frankfurt (Oder), TPT Thüringen, Bat Berlin, Semperoper Dresden and Theater Mücke. She co-created “Ahoi!” with TheatreFragile and performs in “Ahoi!” and “Sky in Sight”.
Fanny Perrier
was born in 1990 in Paris. Fanny discovered her passion for theatre during high school. She is currently finishing her Master's at the Paris Institute of Political Studies and is especially interested in environmental issues relating to urbanism in the 21st century. How can public space be created anew today?
In order to expand her exploration on possible uses of public spaces, Fanny lived one year in Berlin working for TheatreFragile. Her jobs varied from sociological research on the subject of “home” to rewarding experiences on the road during the Summer tour.
Marie-Constance Descout
was born in the suburbs of Paris in 1988. Marie-Constance studied Literature and History at university preparatory classes at the Ecole normale supérieure de Cachan in France. She is currently finishing her final year in the Business Studies Master's program at ESSEC Business School in Paris. Theatre is her passion. This is why she decided to do an internship with TheatreFragile and delve into the administrative operations of a professional theatre company. During her internship, Marie-Constance has assisted Luzie Ackers and Marianne Cornil in daily organizational tasks as well as long-term projects.
Werner Wallner
was born in 1967 in Schladming, Austria. After finishing his studies in Photography and working several years in the arts in Graz, Austria, Werner came into contact with TAO! Theater on Ortweinplatz and his desire to do theatre was born. He has worked as a freelancing Set and Lighting Designer since 1995. From 1998 – 2006, Werner was the Technical Director for La Strada - International Festival of Street Art and Puppet Theatre in Graz. Since 2000, he has lived in Berlin and has worked as a Technician, Set Designer and/or Lighting Designer for numerous theatre companies, including Familie Flöz (“Ristorante Immortale”), Cie. Bodecker & Neander, Kaufmann & Co, Theater Strahl (“Klasse Klasse” and “Klasse Tour”) and the youth theatre company Departure (“Seifenoper”, “Balladentisch”, “Anatomie Woyzeck“).
Werner designed and built the sets for “Ahoi!”, “We meet in paradise” and “Sky in Sight” for TheatreFragile.
