... three artists participating in the residence program of the festival, LAB:
International and national artists were nominated by the local artists to join the LAB residency. As a result, twelve creators from all over the world have the opportunity to network and exchange artistically within the time of the festival. Among these artists are:
Nina Mariel Kohler (actress, based in Bern/ Switzerland), Manon Krüttli (director, based in Lausanne and Geneva/ Switzerland), Matthew Rogers (dancer & choreographer, based in Žilina/Slovakia and Hamburg/ Germany
How did you end up participating in the LAB?
Nina Mariel Kohler:
I have visited the festival for more than 14 years - since I was in acting school in Bern. We were always encouraged to re-open ourselves for new forms and formats. I still come here to learn and get new impulses. And also reflect on the commercial side of my work. For instance, how I can bring new impulses to something which is maybe more mainstream.
Manon Krüttli:
I was nominated by Daniela Ruocco, who is another actress from Bern. But I also have a connection with aua, because I have studied Theatre Studies in Bern and visited the festival a lot of times.
Matthew Rogers:
This is my first time in aua. I was nominated by Christoph Leuenberger, who is a choreographer, living in Bern. I heard about the festival from him.
What does the topic Representation & Appropriation mean to you?
Matthew Rogers:
I immediately associate appropriation with cultural appropriation, i.e. who has access to what material and in what context it is delivered on stage. As for representation, it is often inherent in the body. As a dancer, I rather perceive what my body naturally does. But as a choreographer, I engage with the topic, though still from a body perspective.
Manon Krüttli:
It is a huge and complex topic, in which we should always define our own perspective. For me as a director, the power of theatre means being able to use materials and things that do not belong to me. At the same time, you must be delicate and careful with your freedom as an artist, e.g. while picking up a racial debate as a white person. Still, you should be able to say: “I don’t understand it but I want to talk about it.”
Representation for me is related to the semiotics of theatre - how can I put some signs together and hope to turn the stage into a place where people can read them.
Nina Mariel Kohler:
For me, this topic is extremely connected to the shifts in society, such as making space for those that do not get to occupy it, being aware of the mechanisms that we consider normal or appropriate, but also taking action. Sometimes it means collaborating with others, other times it means taking myself as a white body out of a certain context, or raising awareness, or being an ally.
The topic of the festival is “We need to talk”. What are you talking about during your sessions? What seems to be an urgent topic?
Nina Mariel Kohler:
The LAB is self-organised. First, we have worked on figuring out how we could function as a group and make decisions together. Now we try to share working methods in our discussions.
Matthew Rogers:
Of course, we talk and listen a lot in the LAB. But there is a kind of being together that I find quite important. This kind of being open, available and present with the others in a mental way.
Manon Krüttli:
There are two parts in the LAB. The visible part is our scribbles and our discussions. We talk a lot about languages and our cultural background. It is urgent to get to know how different people work in their own country and what their topics are. The other part is collaboration, as Matthew mentioned already. In this case, the LAB is really a theatre lab. In theatre you should think about the question of collaboration, collective working processes and simply being together as individuals.
(Yana Prinsloo und Alina Aleshchenko, 17.5.19)
