Irène Howald and Daphne Oberholzer
Photo: Alex Spichale
Irène Howald (*1963) studied cultural management at the University of Lausanne after working as a production manager and actress in a bilingual theatre company for 20 years. Among other things, she was a member of the management team of the Bern theatre festival AUAWIRLEBEN and held various positions in many other cultural projects and companies; during one season she was interim director of the Schlachthaus Theater Bern. As Managing Director of ASSITEJ Switzerland, she got to know national and international children's and youth theatre at close quarters. Her focus has always been on theatre policy, her commitment to raising the profile and status of the independent theatre scene and the promotion of young talent; for many years, she was a member of the board of t. Theaterschaffende (then VTS) for many years. Her years as President of the Commission for Theatre and Dance of the Canton of Berne were an instructive change of sides. In all her activities, she loves connecting creative people. Among other things, she likes creating project dossiers, fundraising, collective creative processes and sustainable action, and she swears by non-hierarchical and inclusive teamwork. Irène Howald has been co-director of the Figura theatre festival in Baden since 2015. She has a national, cross-linguistic and cross-genre network in both the Swiss and international cultural scene, with a focus on object and puppet theatre
Photo: David Scholl
DA Phne (1996) is a clown, songwriter and theatre maker. Growing up in a small conservative Swiss village, the question of fitting (and especially not fitting) into traditional social values became a central point of her/his interest early on. With a passion for tragicomic storytelling, DA's works are a mixture of entertainment and unbearably touching moments. The interest in addressing heavy topics such as climate change, dogma and death, as well as the theatrical approach of creating situations to address these issues from shifting perspectives, make the shows not a walk in the park. They are more like an earthquake walk.
Project
Earth, 2052: an extraterrestrial spaceship has landed. At last. Hopefully the aliens have a solution to our hopeless situation. The "Flexi" project, directed by Daphne Oberholzer, is an interactive science fiction tragicomedy with live music, shadow theatre, magical elements and an open-air fire show. An ambitious project with a lot of generated material and many participating artists. Too much of a good thing.
This is where Irène Howald comes in: she dares to support Daphne Oberholzer in breaking down this force, crystallising the essentials and finding realisable dimensions. Daphne Oberholzer perfected the character Flexi with Philippe Gaulier in Paris, among others. During the six-month residency in Paris, the double met at the Cité des Arts and worked artistically on the project. Last but not least, Daphne Oberholzer also benefits from Irène Howald's experience as a project manager. Supporting the various stages of the artistic project therefore also includes bureaucratic aspects. Thanks to the mentoring, the project is now under a lucky star and gives the project participants, the "Spacehands" group, confidence.
