Mbene Mwambene
Mbene Mwambene is a Switzerland based Zambia-Malawian and the first African to be granted the privilege by white people, to study for Masters in Expanded Theatre at Bern University of Arts. His work is mainly focused on postcolonial themes within and outside theatrical settings. Since 2015 he has been directing and acting in pieces like Animal Farm, Black Gravity Black Healing, Foot und Chocola , Die Fürchterlichen Fünf, The Story of the Tiger, Zuflucht, Enjoy Racism, Tavuka, Der Prophet Ngunza, and many more across Germany, Switzerland, Zambia, South Africa, Luxembourg, Japan, Austria, Malawi, Liechtenstein and Hong Kong.
He recently authored, directed and performed The Whispers (Schlachthaus Theater) which has been performed in Switzerland, Germany and Canada. In 2022, Mbene featured The Swamps (Gessnerallee) and also directed Why are you here (Warum bist du hier) at Maxim Theatre (2022, Zurich).
For the recent project Mawazo (Bern, Locarno and Basel in CH), Mwambene collaborated with Ivana Di Salvo who is a Swiss-based Italian author, director and performer. He is currently showing Bern Book piece (Bühnen Bern, Bern) and also co-directed a youth club theatre piece, S`Labe (2023) at Schauspielhaus in Zurich.
Divine Harrison
Divine Harrison is an African Movie Academy Award nominated filmmaker, singer/songwriter and actor born to Ghanaian parents in London, England. He is a Manchester University Economics graduate and holds a master's degree in Documentary Filmmaking from Goldsmiths, University of London. For many years he enjoyed success as a theatre actor and singer in the West End in London and in Paris, most notably playing Simba in the Lion King. He has extensive filmmaking knowledge and over 10 years' experience as a Language Coach in Switzerland, where he has lived since 2010.
Nello Novela
Nello became familiar with traditional music and dance from an early age, playing guitar, percussion and Balafons in ceremonies. He performed in the Beijing International Dance Festival in 2017 and did an Asian tour with Die Zeitsprung in Taiwan, Hong Kong, China and Philippines in 2001. From 2004 Nello studied music at the Rotterdam Conservatory of Music and Dance where he took guitar and vocal lessons to develop his musical knowledge. He joined his family band called NecoNovellas in Rotterdam. in 2008. With this band Nello played in several famous venues and festivals like North Sea Jazz Festival, Ancienne Belgique, le Trianon, Mundial Festival, Mexico Ollinkan Festival, Sofia World Music Festival and many more.
Robert Magasa
Robert Magasa is a freelancer, an experienced actor in physical theatre performance, film and Radio acting, a choreographer in Afro-contemporary dance and trained with the Dance trust of Zimbabwe. An experienced facilitator in Theatre for Change and Theatre for Development. Currently based in Blantyre, Malawi. Robert is a founding member of UjeNi Theatre Dance Ensemble. An Ensemble that works with school children, street kids, traditional drummers, dancers, prisoners and upcoming actors to enhance their skills through professional training.
Meloe Gennai
Meloe holds a BA in History and German Literature and a BA&MA in Swiss Law.
As a dramaturge, they have supported the following artists: Newkid (Schauspielhaus, 2021, Tanzhaus 2024); Pretty Lodenyi; Tristan Siodlak (Ugly Duck London, 2023) and Mbene Mwabene (Gessnerallee, Maxim Theater, 2023).
Self taught through a rhetoric and spoken word practice of 20 years, their journey as a playwright started in 2017 in Geneva ('its the Era of the margins' TU). Their writing portfolio also includes two published books of poetry, and numerous other publications. As a member of X Collective X - transgender Black led publishing - they recently co-curated the book Blackity Black Black Black with Luma Westbau and Cassandra Press (Zurich/New York, 2021). Meloe was invited to Tedx Lausanne and was awarded the Biennal Goffin price (Belgium) for their poetry.
Tamara Maier
As a social worker Tamara worked with diverse groups of unemployed people on theatre projects. Awareness, wellbeing and individual growth fromed the base of her work. She has experience both in the work with groups and in individual coachings. In addition to graduating from the Catholic University of Freiburg in social studies, she is a certified Vinyasa Yoga instructor. Since July 2023 she is based in Zuerich and works on different theatre and perfomance projects at the Maxim Theater Zuerich and with the Ubuntu Theater Performance.
Oliver Rico (Production Management)
Oliver Rico studied law in Zurich and Lucerne, completed a master's degree in communication sociology in Lucerne, and obtained a Ph.D. in sociology. In the 2011/12 semester, he was a guest lecturer at ZHdK in the Department of Design/Cast/Audiovisual Media. In the 2017/18 academic year, he also completed the CAS Curating program at ZHdK. Oliver has worked as a production manager and script consultant in short films in Switzerland and Spain. He is also a theater producer and dramaturge at Actaeon Production, the theater association Hengst &
Hitzkopf, and Kursk. Additionally, he is a member of the curatorial team and the Material Zurich collective.
Lukas Sander (Scenography)
studied scenography and exhibition design at the State Academy of Fine Arts Karlsruhe and stage design at the Zurich University of the Arts. Before and during his studies, he worked in various departments such as camera, set design, and editing for fiction and documentary films, as well as an assistant stage designer at the Schauspiel Frankfurt and the Zurich Opera House. Since 2008, he has been working as a scenographer, ini7ally in Germany and since 2012 in Switzerland. In independent scenographic projects, he creates site-specific installations in urban and peripheral outdoor spaces. Lukas Sander is a founding member of several artist groups in the field of contemporary art and theater in Switzerland, participated in the Arsenic Fellowship Programme for research and teaching at the Zurich University of the Arts.
