Zürcher Theater Spektakel

On behalf of the Zürcher Kantonalbank, our long-standing main partner, the Zürcher Theater Spektakel nominates productions from its current programme for the 16th ZKB Patronage Prize. The Festival Board is more than happy to take on the task of choosing five to seven young, innovative companies or artists from the areas of theatre, dance and performance as contenders for the prize of 30 000 Swiss Francs. In addition, the tag «nominated for the ZKB Patronage Prize» indicates that we are dealing with fresh young talent and original productions and helps to direct attention to the works of hitherto littleknown artists worthy of promotion.

The ZKB Patronage Prize is explicitly designed as a considerable contribution towards a future production by a young artist or company. This corresponds in an ideal way to the festival’s artistic guidelines but also substantiates the concrete engagement of the ZKB in the area of cultural promotion of new talent, which it consolidated with the creation of a jazz prize (2002) and an art prize (2007). This is a commitment that is not necessarily self-evident. It is certainly easier and less risky to bank on «safe assets» and to endow lifeachievement awards to established artists. The promotion of young talent implies a willingness to move away from well-trodden paths and to get involved with the unknown – and maybe initially the irritating – in order to discover hidden potential.

The festival board is confident of the quality of the 2011 programme, which makes the choosing of nominations all the more challenging. Almost all the productions meet the criteria: Most of them are as yet unheard-of or unseen; many of them demonstrate unimagined ingenuity; thirteen productions were created by artists under the age of forty. Six have finally made it onto the list. It is now up to the jury, a panel of internationally renowned experts in the performing arts, to discover the most promising potential amongst the nominees and to «invest» the prize money in a sustainable way.

The prize-winners of the past fifteen years are living proof that this potential has been accurately identified in the past. Stefan Pucher, 400asa, Gilles Jobin, Sarah Michelson, Young Jean Lee or Richard Maxwell have all demonstrated their artistic fantasy and innovative power with their subsequent productions. Another fine example is to be found in this year’s programme: The very first winner of the ZKB Patronage Prize in 1996, Compagnie Alias from Lausanne, present their latest, captivating production «Sideways Rain» at the Werft. (esc)

ZKB Patronage Prize CHF 30,000
The Patronage Prize of the Zürcher Kantonalbank is awarded annually to an artist or a company working in independent theatre, dance theatre or performance art, who have distinguished themselves and shown innovation in the creation of new work. The aim of this prize is to support the chosen recipient in their future projects. The criteria for candidates is that the significant work for which the award is actually given has had its premiere within the past two years. The festival board nominates five to seven productions from the festival’s current programme. Precedence is given to artists who the board feel have yet to receive a level of public recognition that is commensurate with their achievements. Former winners of the prize are excluded from nomination.

ZKB Acknowledgement Prize CHF 5,000
The Acknowledgment Prize allows for additional recognition and support of a nominee whose work is considered to be outstanding. It is awarded to a company or an artist for extraordinary achievement in such areas as choreography, dramaturgy, audience participation or acting.

Anja Dirks, Hannover
Dramaturge and festival director, born 1970 in Frankfurt am Main. She studied stage direction at the Hochschule für Schauspielkunst Ernst Busch in Berlin, was assistant to Matthias Lilienthal for the Festival Theater der Welt 2002 and has since worked as programme dramaturge, first at the FFT Düsseldorf and from 2004–2007 at the Theaterhaus Gessnerallee in Zurich. For the Wiener Festwochen 2008, she curated the the «forum festwochen» section of the programme. Since 2009, she has been artistic director of the festival Theaterformen in Braunschweig and Hannover. Additionally, she is a member of the Zurich company Far A Day Cage.

Panaïbra Gabriel, Maputo
Choreographer and dancer, born in Maputo. In 1993, he moved to traditional African dance and subsequently studied contemporary dance with Vera Mantero, Frans Poelstra, Meg Stuart and Reggie Wilson. In 1998, he founded the company CulturArte in Maputo. Besides their own work, they organise showcases and promote creative exchange between African artists. From 2003–2005, CulturArte brought to fruition a choreographic project for the promotion of dance in Mozambique in collaboration with Danças na cidade (Lisbon) and P.A.R.T.S. (Brussels). In 2008, Panaïbra Gabriel won the ZKB Acknowledgment Prize at the Theater Spektakel with «Mafalala 2».

Phil Hayes, Zurich
Performer, actor and director, born 1966 in the South of England. Since 1998, he has lived in Zurich as an independent artist in theatre, performance and music and has collaborated with Simone Aughterlony, Mass & Fieber, CAMPO/ Victoria Gent, Thom Luz and Salome Schneebeli amongst others. Since 2005, he has been directing his own productions and has been regularly engaged as dramaturge and artistic advisor to various Swiss projects. This year he premiered his solo «Awkward Human» at the Theaterhaus Gessnerallee in February and tours with «The Thrill Of It All» by Forced Entertainment.

Andrea Schwieter, Zurich
Dramaturge, born 1973 in Basel. Studied German language and literature. She was assistant and dramaturge at the Volksbühne am Rosa-Luxemburg- Platz in Berlin and a member of the artistic team of the 1st Internationale Theaterakademie Ruhr in Bochum. Subsequently, she worked as a dramaturge with Christoph Marthaler at the Theater Basel as well as the Schauspielhaus Düsseldorf. She has collaborated with Barbara Frey, Stefan Bachmann, Rimini Protokoll, René Pollesch, Rafael Sanchez, Jan Bosse, Karin Henkel and others. Since the 2009/10 season, she has been principal dramaturge and assistant artistic director at the Schauspielhaus Zürich.

Selma Spahić, Sarajevo
Theatre and festival director, born 1986 in Foča. Studied stage direction at the Academy of Performing Arts in Sarajevo. Subsequently she directed productions in Bosnia and Herzegovina for which she received various awards. Her last work, «Hyperthymesia», is based on the biographies of eight actors from Sarajevo, Belgrade and Pristina. She is the artistic director of «Future mess», the programme section for young and innovative theatre projects at the international theatre festival MESS in Sarajevo.