Erna Schmidt-Oehm

Erna Schmidt-Oehm (she/her) has been a theater educator and project coordinator for the JuKi (Youth Culture Initiative) grant and the resulting production “aus|flug” at the GRIPS Theater since September 2026.
She gained her first experience working with children and young people as a children’s and youth trainer at Circus Helene P. in Stuttgart. At the same time, she performed in “Zimt und Zauber” at the Friedrichsbau Varieté. After spending a year as a freelance cultural worker at Theater Rampe, she studied theater education at the Berlin University of the Arts and philosophy/ethics at Freie Universität Berlin.
In her bachelor’s thesis, she examined the portrayal and representation of people with disabilities in theater. Since then, she has focused in particular on issues of representation, inclusion, and diversity in theater.
After completing her studies, she worked as an educator at a bilingual daycare center while also gaining experience in theater production, including as a production assistant at the RambaZamba Theater on “FRISCH gefragt!” —which received an award at the 2026 Theatertreffen der Jugend—as well as at the GRIPS Theater in Banda Agita’s “SPURLos.”
As a theater educator, she is interested in how theater can create spaces that accommodate diverse perspectives, experiences, and forms of expression. She aims to create opportunities that allow as many people as possible not only to experience theater but also to help shape it themselves. In this context, she views theater as a shared space for experimentation, inquiry, and connection.