Marianne Cornil

Artistic Director TheatreFragile, Sound Collage & Mask Play

Marianne Cornil is co-founder of TheatreFragile and, together with Luzie Ackers, artistic director of the company. In addition to mask acting and conception, she develops the vocal collages for TheatreFragile's projects. She conducts interviews with people who are affected by the respective themes of the plays and edits them into virtual dialogues that accompany the productions. For the composition of the sound collages, she works hand in hand with the musician and feature author Janko Hanushevsky.
She studied German language and culture (Langues, littératures et civilisations étrangères et régionales) at the Sorbonne Université Paris IV 1996-2000, before moving from her native Paris to Berlin in 2000. In addition to her degree in mime at the Etage - Schule der Darstellenden Künste Berlin, she played with Familie Flöz in "Ristorante Immortale" and toured worldwide until the beginning of 2007. She is also active in independent theatre in Berlin.
In 2004 she came into contact with bodywork using the Talmi Method©. She completed her training in 2017 under the direction of Prof. Martin Gruber and has been practising in her studio in Berlin Kreuzberg and at the Ernst Busch University of Applied Sciences ever since.
In 2013, Marianne Cornil deepened her artistic research as part of the master's programme "experimentation politic & art" (SPEAP) at Sciences Po in Paris. Under the guidance of the anthropologist and philosopher Bruno Latour, she focussed intensively on the question of the artist's involvement in society.
In street theatre, she finds what is closest to her heart in her art: an intense and sensitive human exchange.

Email: marianne.cornil@theatre-fragile.com

Luzie Ackers

Artistic Director TheatreFragile, Mask Making & Mask Play

Luzie Ackers, born in Darmstadt in 1978, grew up surrounded by puppeteers and urban planners. As a child and teenager, she learned forms of classical pantomime at school and at home, specialised in the visual arts and developed a particular fascination for public spaces. In 1998 she moved to Berlin. After two years of studying cultural studies and Spanish and Italian philology at the Humboldt University in Berlin, she followed her passion and switched to studying mime at the Etage School of Performing Arts Berlin.
After graduating from there, she founded the company TheatreFragile with Marianne Cornil in 2007, where she is still co-artistic director of the ensemble. Ackers and Cornil share an interest in public space as a place where social developments are negotiated. In their artistic practice, TheatreFragile combine documentary elements with the art of masquerade. The productions have a strong socio-spatial reference and the company performs exclusively outdoors.
Ackers developed the need to deal with the "speaking body" in an expanded form during his intensive study of non-verbal communication in the theatre context. This led to the creation of the studio "HANDS ON - Studio for Body.Conscious.Being" in 2015, where she practises according to the Grinberg Method and the Pantarei Approach.
Luzie Ackers creates contemporary masks that sensitively convey the artistic message of the productions. Since 2007, she has created over 100 masks that have been used in projects by TheatreFragile and other companies.
From the very beginning, Ackers has focussed on sharing her knowledge in the field of mask making and mask play and regularly offers workshops in an international context for different target groups.

Most recently, in 2021, she led a workshop entitled "poetic mask in public space" for professional performers in the field of theatre in public space as part of the "Street Performing Arts Summer Programme (S.P.A.S.A)" in Tarrega (Catalonia, ES). Other trainers were Cia Kamchatka (ES), Cie Willi Dorner (AU) and Giro Osojnik (SI).
Ackers is also involved in the field of cultural education with TheatreFragile and develops child- and youth-friendly workshop formats that introduce participants to mask making and mask play.
She also works as a mentor for students on the Gestural Theatre course (Estudis interpretacio gestual) at the Institut de Teatre Ramon Llull in Barcelona
Luzie Ackers is part of the jury for project funding from the Landesbüro Freie Darstellende Künste NRW and the Fonds Darstellende Künste in 2021/ 2022/ 2023 due to her many years of artistic expertise
She lives in Berlin with her two sons.

Email: luzie.ackers@theatre-fragile.com

Dana Schmidt

Play & Cultural Education

At TheatreFragile she plays in SKY IN SIGHT, HOME, OUT OF BOUNDS, ARE YOU READY?, as well as ANTON, LUKA & BENJAMIN and AHOI!. She was born in Frankfurt/Oder in 1975. She graduated from the Berlin School of Drama. As a mask player for Familie Flöz, she has toured the world in 4 different productions (Ristorante Immortale, Teatro Delusio, Hotel Paradiso and Infinita). At Teatro Delusio and Infinita she worked as a production assistant and in make-up. Under the direction of Michael Vogel, she can be seen at Theater Strahl in the productions Klasse Klasse and Klasse Tour. She now works there as a make-up coach and recently co-directed the new play Klasse Glück, which premiered in Berlin in 2020. She works as a lecturer for movement and mask play at the Berlin School of Drama and at the Ernst Busch Academy of Dramatic Arts. She also taught clowning with Paco Gonzales, viewpoints with Ilka Metzner, suzuki with Martin Gruber and mask making with Frans Krom.

Ilka Vierkant

Play

Actress, musician, film maker, movement pedagogue. Founded the company VASISTDAS, Toulouse/France and produced a theatre play about her grandfather "OPA!" (play, puppet construction, co-author) and co-directed a film "Ma rencontre avec Jean et Marie" with the French director Francis Fourcou.
In France, she wrote and performed the play "I love you, moi non plus" with Marc Fauroux and worked closely with the director and playwright Dominique Pompougnac. For 17 years, she toured the world with the Flöz family as a musician, mask player and author. She has worked in Germany at the Volksbühne, in Poland with Lechek Radchak and in England with the Company of Strangers.
She has taught at the Humboldt University, Berlin, the Alice-Salomon University of Applied Sciences, Berlin, the Felix-Mendelson-Bartholdy Academy of Dramatic Arts, Leipzig and the Freie Theaterschule Berlin She trained at the Folkwang Hochschule Essen, the Hochschule für Schauspielkunst, Berlin and the Ecole Philippe Gaulier et Monika Pagneux, Paris and is currently completing her Alexander Technique training (ATI) in Toulouse.

Francesco Matejcek

Play

Francesco Matejcek is a physical theatre creator and performer. He graduated in physical theatre from the Folkwang University of the Arts in 2023 and has since worked as a guest performer for various directors. His work revolves around movement and physical challenges such as restrictions, the integration of new technical skills or the accumulation of performative actions. His movement style is a mixture of dance, acrobatics, mime and mask play. He is fascinated by illusions and by making the seemingly impossible possible. The fact that our imagination knows no bounds is a recurring message in most of his pieces.
He portrays people in their everyday lives, which are then disrupted by unusual events until they end up in completely absurd situations. As a performer, he uncovers their hidden emotions, provokes unreflected actions and explores their motivations. As a director, he wants to take the audience on a journey, make them empathise with the characters and give them room to think, secretly hoping for a wow-effect.
At TheatreFragile he plays in close.r.

Lisette Schürer

Play and mask making

At TheatreFragile she plays in AHOI and Heaven in sight. She is not only at home on stage, but also backstage. She studied acting at the HfS Ernst Busch Berlin, during which time she appeared in "Death of a Salesman", directed by D. Gottscheff, at the Deutsches Theater. In various workshops, including with the Flöz family, she learned mask making and mask acting and developed the play "Ahoy" together with the group Theatre Fragile. During her stage design studies at the Kunsthochschule Berlin-Weißensee, she worked as an assistant set designer at the Deutsches Theater Berlin and the Staatsschauspiel Dresden. As a set designer and puppet maker, she has worked with the Theater des Lachens Frankfurt/Oder, TPT Thüringen, Bat Berlin, Semperoper Dresden and Theater Mücke.

Lucy Flournoy

Performer & Deviser

Born in 1989 in Georgia, USA, Lucy has called Germany home since 2009. She holds an Artist Diploma in Physical Theatre from the Folkwang University of the Arts and a Bachelor of Arts from Davidson College. Additional theatre training at Accademia dell’Arte (Arezzo, IT) in clowning and Commedia and 11 years at the Springer Theatre Academy (Columbus, GA). Lucy serves on the board of the Physical Theatre Netzwerk, e.V. and co-organises the Full Spin Physical Theatre Festival in Essen, NRW. Next to physical theatre Lucy has a passion for jazz, swing dance and all things “vintage” and has performed with Bodo Wartke and The Capital Dance Orchestra, Die Junge Deutsche Philharmonie of Frankfurt, and Lou’s The Cool Cats and taught for Lindy Pott. Since 2022 Lucy teaches physical acting, devising, and animal work for the Physical Theatre Department at Folkwang UdK. She joined the TheatreFragile Team in 2022 and performs in ARE YOU READY? and ANTON, LUKA & BENJAMIN.

www.LucyFlournoy.com

Janko Hanushevsky

Composer of the music for WE MEET IN PARADISE, SKY IN SIGHT, HOME, OUT OF BOUNDS, ARE YOU READY?, close.r as well as As you call into the forest...

Born 1978 in Linz/Austria. 1997-2002 studied jazz bass at the Conservatory of the City of Vienna, master classes with Peter Herbert and Skúli Sverrisson. Numerous concerts throughout Europe, mainly in the field of contemporary jazz music, new and freely improvised music, including with Gianluigi Trovesi, Peter Herbert, Lucas Niggli, Holger Falk, Marco Lobo, Max Andrzejewski.

Sound research trips to India, South East Asia, North Africa, Brazil and Greenland.

In the duo Merzouga, he produces electro-acoustic music, radio art, features and radio plays as well as film, radio play and theatre music with computer musician Eva Pöpplein. World premieres in the Elbphilharmonie, in the chamber music hall of Deutschlandfunk and at the Deutsche Oper am Rhein. Sound installations at the Museum Schnütgen in Cologne and the Humboldt Forum in Berlin, among others.

Radio work for Deutschlandfunk Kultur, Deutschlandfunk, WDR, HR, RBB, ZDF/arte, the Finnish radio station YLE, Hebbel am Ufer Theatre Berlin, schauspielfrankfurt, Münchner Volkstheater, Schauspielhaus Graz, among others. The duo has released several CDs with GRUENREKORDER, which have been reviewed internationally. Pieces have appeared on international compilations, including the renowned "WIRE Tapper".

His radio works and manuscripts have received numerous national and international awards and nominations (including Grand Prix Nova/Gold, Prix Europa, Prix Marulić, n-ost Reportagepreis, Deutsche Akademie der Darstellenden Künste/Hörspiel des Monats, Opus Klassik and Classic Music Awards) and have been broadcast by all ARD stations, Austrian, Swiss, Finnish, Irish and Croatian radio stations. He lives in Cologne.

Lilli Döscher

Dramaturgy Design & Cultural Education

She has been involved with TheatreFragile since 2009 in various positions and intensities, from directing to developing stage elements and masks. After completing the BGK (Fine Arts Basic Course) at Sønderjyllands Kunstskole, Denmark, she studied Fine Arts at the Muthesius Academy of Fine Arts Kiel from 2011 to 2013. She continued her art studies at the Dresden University of Fine Arts and graduated in 2017. From 2017 to 2019 she completed the FAI-AR (Formation superieur d'art en espace public/Professionalisation for Art in Public Space) in Marseille. In 2019, she graduated from the FAI AR and the Université Aix Marseille with a Master's degree in Arts et Scènes d'aujourd'hui (contemporary art and contemporary scenic art). She works in various artistic collectives: patterned collective and Collectif Grossir Ensemble. In 2020 she founded her own company MAYBEFOREVER.
Body-related works, the combination of elements from different disciplines, transversal approaches to artistic work in public space and the organisation of cultural workers are important components of her practice.

Sahra Huby

Play & Dance

Sahra Huby works as a freelance dancer. She studied dance and theatre in her home city of Brussels. There she studied physical theatre at the "Ecole Internationale de Theatre Lassaad".  She also studied contemporary dance at Die Etage-Berlin.

She has been working with many choreographers in Europe since 2006. Her artistic path is closely linked to the German choreographer Anna Konjetzky in Munich. With her she has created many dance pieces, including a series of solos (such as chipping, über die wut, move more morph it...), but she also collaborates on many other levels, as a member of the Nomadic Academy and in various research and exchange formats, where dance is not only on stage, but is used as a language to communicate with others, to explore topics and to enter into dialogue with other artists and the audience.

Her own hybrid format is her long-standing performance project "Dance Kitchen" in private flats (since 2016), as well as the project Katographien.

Not only dance, but also drawings are an important part of her artistic work. Recently, she has made many stop-motion films and started the research project "Cartographies", in which she uses drawings and mappings to question the representation and perception of the human body.

At TheatreFragile she plays in ARE YOU READY?

more on www.sahrahuby.com

Showreel: https://vimeo.com/630130757

Marlène Colle

Play & Music

Marlène Colle works as a freelance songwriter in Berlin and teaches dance and movement at the Rostock University of Music and Theatre. She studied music and movement at the Berlin University of the Arts, majoring in piano, as well as somatic research and participatory arts at the Moving On Centre in Oakland, California, and choreography at the SNDO Amsterdam. Since 2018, she has been touring Germany, Austria and Switzerland in various band formations and has already been invited to open for Agnes Obel and Gisbert zu Knyphausen. In 2021, she was commissioned for the "Mediterranean Monologues" under Michael Ruf at Heimathafen Neukölln and completed the Fluentbody© training with Florencia Lamarca. Her debut album will be released in early 2023 under her new name PAULA PAULA.

At TheatreFragile she plays in ARE YOU READY?

www.marlenecolle.com

Nicole Ratjen

Play

Since 2016 she has been performing with TheatreFragile in We meet in paradise. She was born in 1985 in Vancouver/Canada. After completing her Bachelor's degree in Devised Theatre and Directing in Toronto, she studied at the École Internationale de Theatre Jacque Lecoq in Paris in 2009. In 2010, she studied mask making in Italy with Donato Satori at the Centro Maschere e Strutture Gestuali and Museo Internazionale della Maschera. This was followed by courses in modern commedia dell'arte at the Teatro Punto in Amsterdam and clown with Philippe Gaulier. She has worked as an actress, clown, improviser, director and make-up artist in various productions in Canada and Europe.

www.nicoleratjen.com

Anna-Maria Nacke

Filmmaker

Since 2008, she has been working independently in the field of film documentaries, image films and trailers and as a film workshop lecturer at the "Kulturfabrik Hangar 21" in Detmold. During her current master's degree in media production at the Ostwestfalen-Lippe University of Applied Sciences in Lemgo, she filmed a documentary about the creation process of TheatreFragile's current production called "Out of Bounds". Her passion for youth and cultural work was awakened by the Kultur&Art Initiative Detmold, where she was co-organiser of the International Short Film Festival Detmold and the youth exchanges with Turkey and Spain from 2008 to 2011. She then went on to organise cultural projects in collaboration with the City of Detmold's culture team and freelance artists. Since 2008, she has been producing music clips and short films with inmates at Herford Prison.

www.schneider-mp.de

Zeljko Marovic

Play

For TheatreFragile he plays in We meet in paradise. He was born in 1985 in Bečej/Serbia. After graduating from high school in 2004, he came to Germany for the first time. In addition to the language course, he plays at the Duisburg and Münster youth theatres and decides to study acting at the Folkwang University of the Arts in Essen. After graduating, he performed as a guest at various theatres before being hired permanently by the Stadttheater Konstanz for three years in 2011. During this time, he also tried his hand in front of the camera and acted in several short films. In 2015, he moved to Berlin to gain more experience in the independent theatre scene as well as in film and television.

Janna Schaar

Production Design & Cultural Education

Born in Aachen in 1984 and grew up there. During school, one-year internship at Aachen City Theatre in the laminating workshop and the painting room. After school, orientation internship in carpentry and with an architect. 2004-2008 architecture studies at Münster University of Applied Sciences, graduating with a Bachelor's degree. 2008 Bachelor of Arts degree. 2008 Studies of Stage Design for Scenic Space at the TU Berlin (Master's degree). 2009 Master of Arts degree. Assistantships with She She Pop, Ayat Najafi and Matthaei und Konsorten. Works as a stage designer or for production for TheatreFragile in the productions HOME, We meet in paradise, ARE YOU READY?, As you call into the forest..., close.r and STILL

JANKO HANUSHEVSKY

Komponist der Musik für Wir treffen uns im Paradies, Himmel in Sicht, HOME und OUT OF BOUNDS. Er ist 1978 in Linz (Österreich) geboren. 1997-2002 Jazzbassstudium am Konservatorium der Stadt Wien. Zahlreiche Konzerte in unterschiedlichen Formationen in Deutschland, Österreich, Italien, Polen und der Schweiz, vorwiegend im Bereich zeitgenössischer Jazzmusik und frei improvisierter Musik. Seit 2002 Duo Merzouga mit Computermusikerin Eva Pöpplein. Komposition von elektroakustischer Musik und Klangkunst u.a. im Auftrag von Deutschlandradio Kultur,  Radio_Copernicus, Akademie Musiktheater heute. Komposition von Theater- und Hörspielmusik u.a. für Deutschlandradio Kultur, Deutschlandfunk, Hebbel am Ufer Theater Berlin, schauspielfrankfurt, Münchner Volkstheater, Staatstheater Kassel, Schauspielhaus Graz. Janko Hanushevsky lebt in Köln.
www.merzougamusic.com

JANKO HANUSHEVSKY

Komponist der Musik für Wir treffen uns im Paradies, Himmel in Sicht, HOME und OUT OF BOUNDS. Er ist 1978 in Linz (Österreich) geboren. 1997-2002 Jazzbassstudium am Konservatorium der Stadt Wien. Zahlreiche Konzerte in unterschiedlichen Formationen in Deutschland, Österreich, Italien, Polen und der Schweiz, vorwiegend im Bereich zeitgenössischer Jazzmusik und frei improvisierter Musik. Seit 2002 Duo Merzouga mit Computermusikerin Eva Pöpplein. Komposition von elektroakustischer Musik und Klangkunst u.a. im Auftrag von Deutschlandradio Kultur,  Radio_Copernicus, Akademie Musiktheater heute. Komposition von Theater- und Hörspielmusik u.a. für Deutschlandradio Kultur, Deutschlandfunk, Hebbel am Ufer Theater Berlin, schauspielfrankfurt, Münchner Volkstheater, Staatstheater Kassel, Schauspielhaus Graz. Janko Hanushevsky lebt in Köln.
www.merzougamusic.com

Dirk Schröder

Composer, sound designer and webmaster

At TheatreFragile he composed the music for ANTON, LUKA & BENJAMIN. He developed the mobile website for HOME and the app for OUT OF BOUNDS and was able to experiment with the connection between new media and theatre in public space. He was born in Düsseldorf. He devoted himself extensively to the study of saxophone and piano playing. He studied at the School of Audio Engineering in Berlin. From 1991 to 1996 he was musical director of the Tempodrom Children's Circus. Since 1992 Dirk Schröder has been responsible for compositions, arrangements and sound designs for film, TV, radio, variety shows, theatre and media installations. He has been composing music and creating sound design for the Flöz family since 2003. Driven by his interest in computers and new media, he is webmaster for numerous artists, including TheatreFragile.

Florian Mönks

Sound designer & musician

Born in Aachen in 1976. He graduated from the University of Cologne in 2007 with a degree in Latin American regional studies. Since 1999 he has been working as a sound designer, composer and producer of primarily film-related music and sound.
In the last productions of TheatreFragile - HOME and OUT OF BOUNDS - he was responsible for the audio installations as well as for the processing of the sound material. What he particularly likes about working in street theatre is the need to improvise in an open space and the proximity to the audience.

Marianne Döller

Creative Producer

Marianne Döller studied acting at the Rostock University of Music and Drama from 2005 to 2009. This was followed by permanent engagements at theaters in Detmold and Paderborn before she established herself as a freelance actress from 2013. Her artistic journey has taken her to the Staatstheater Schwerin, the Heimathafen Neukölln, the Theater der Jugend Wien, the neue Bühne Senftenberg, the Volkstheater Rostock and the Burgfestspiele Bad Vilbel, among others.

In collaboration with artists such as Charlotte Alten and Simon Köslich, Marianne has been conceiving and realizing interdisciplinary productions in Berlin's independent scene since 2018. From 2020 to 2023 Marianne studied in the Master's program in Cultural and Media Management at the Hamburg University of Music and Theater. She has several years of experience in production management, including for ACT e.V. and the theater collective ralleballe. Marianne has been part of the TheatreFragile team as Creative Producer since 2023. She is responsible for the production of close.r and STILL

JANKO HANUSHEVSKY

Komponist der Musik für Wir treffen uns im Paradies, Himmel in Sicht, HOME und OUT OF BOUNDS. Er ist 1978 in Linz (Österreich) geboren. 1997-2002 Jazzbassstudium am Konservatorium der Stadt Wien. Zahlreiche Konzerte in unterschiedlichen Formationen in Deutschland, Österreich, Italien, Polen und der Schweiz, vorwiegend im Bereich zeitgenössischer Jazzmusik und frei improvisierter Musik. Seit 2002 Duo Merzouga mit Computermusikerin Eva Pöpplein. Komposition von elektroakustischer Musik und Klangkunst u.a. im Auftrag von Deutschlandradio Kultur,  Radio_Copernicus, Akademie Musiktheater heute. Komposition von Theater- und Hörspielmusik u.a. für Deutschlandradio Kultur, Deutschlandfunk, Hebbel am Ufer Theater Berlin, schauspielfrankfurt, Münchner Volkstheater, Staatstheater Kassel, Schauspielhaus Graz. Janko Hanushevsky lebt in Köln.
www.merzougamusic.com

Max Klör

Musician & Technician

Max Klör was born in Bad Neustadt in 1989. He studied percussion at the HfM Detmold and plays in kcr-project.com. In addition to his work as a freelance musician, he also works as a teacher at various music schools.
He was responsible for the technical realisation of "Wie du in den Wald hineinrufst...". What he finds particularly exciting in his work as a technician - in addition to the warm-hearted interaction in the team - is dealing with a wide variety of spaces and improvising with technology.

JANKO HANUSHEVSKY

Komponist der Musik für Wir treffen uns im Paradies, Himmel in Sicht, HOME und OUT OF BOUNDS. Er ist 1978 in Linz (Österreich) geboren. 1997-2002 Jazzbassstudium am Konservatorium der Stadt Wien. Zahlreiche Konzerte in unterschiedlichen Formationen in Deutschland, Österreich, Italien, Polen und der Schweiz, vorwiegend im Bereich zeitgenössischer Jazzmusik und frei improvisierter Musik. Seit 2002 Duo Merzouga mit Computermusikerin Eva Pöpplein. Komposition von elektroakustischer Musik und Klangkunst u.a. im Auftrag von Deutschlandradio Kultur,  Radio_Copernicus, Akademie Musiktheater heute. Komposition von Theater- und Hörspielmusik u.a. für Deutschlandradio Kultur, Deutschlandfunk, Hebbel am Ufer Theater Berlin, schauspielfrankfurt, Münchner Volkstheater, Staatstheater Kassel, Schauspielhaus Graz. Janko Hanushevsky lebt in Köln.
www.merzougamusic.com

Silke Meyer

Art director, illustrator and bee charmer

Lives in Berlin. She designs at the interface of art and visual communication and, in the theatre context, within the development of plays from stage design to visual appearance. At TheatreFragile she has been designing the graphic media, some installations and workshops since the production HOME 2012. Studied design at the Berlin University of the Arts and Willem de Kooning Academy Rotterdam. Projects and collaborations: Traumprojekt Nachtcollagen, theatre company Familie Flöz - visual identity design & animated videos; Triad Berlin - illustrations & exhibition projects; Futurzwei & Mellifera Berlin - illustration and graphic media; SUMM - BieneKunstKultur - workshop management.

www.salzundhonig.de

Corinne Douarre

Music & Lyrics

Chanson author, composer and performer, lives in Berlin, gives concerts, has been producing CDs since 1997, writes song lyrics and leads workshops (poetry & speech melody) for TheatreFragile. The former architect also creates art installations ("thought labyrinths"). Since 2005, she has also been working to remember the Second World War in various artistic forms: a music theatre piece about the story of her father, who was a French forced labourer in Saxony (1943-45); chanson projects with young Europeans, based on interviews with contemporary witnesses
www.corinnedouarre.com

Photo: © Pidji Photography / Pierre-Jérôme Adjedj

Doren Gräfendorf

Accounting