Marie Schmidt

Actress, Instructor Girls on Ice Austria

(stage name: Marie Sophie von Reibnitz)

Pronouns: she / her / hers

After seven years of acting experience, various roles in film and television and an engagement at the theater, I felt the need to use my skills acquired there in a socially relevant and social context. I developed a women's empowerment program, which helps women or girls gain greater self-confidence through specific voice, body and mindfulness exercises, as well as sharing experiences.At nineteen, I moved to the North West Territories in Canada and lived with the Dene First Nations in a village of one hundred and fifty people. Between the mountains of snow and extreme sub-zero temperatures, I felt at home, learned traditional Dene tools to survive in the wild, worked as a teaching assistant and as an art and physical education teacher. Back in Europe, I moved to Zurich and studied acting at the Zurich University of the Arts in a Bachelor of Arts degree, followed by a Master of Arts degree in acting at the Theaterakademie August Everding in Munich. Besides acting, I pursued my desire to be outdoors and in the mountains a lot, whether on glacier tours, ice climbing, alpine climbing, ski touring or kite surfing. One of the most formative experiences for me was a trek in the Himalayas around Dhaulagiri. We were a two person expedition, without a local guide and circumnavigated Dhaulagiri in fourteen days. Along the way, we crossed a glacier and traversed a 5400m pass.In addition to my acting engagements, I teach acting classes and work as a tree climber and arborist.I am very happy to be a part of Girls on Ice. This wonderful program combines three of my greatest needs and passions and has an indispensable mission. My wish is that through this unique expedition, the girls will learn to become more aware of their own needs, to challenge obstructive beliefs, and to trust their strengths. The program offers them the chance to develop an awareness of the stereotypical gender role understanding so that they can develop their full potential.A quote from Laurie Penny, of whom I am a big fan: "Men grow up expecting to be the hero of their own story. Women grow up expecting to be the supporting actress in somebody else's. As a kid growing up with books and movies and stories, I felt it sometimes like a sharp pain, a feeling that hit when I understood how few girls got to go on adventures. Lady hobbits didn't bring the ring to Mordor. They stayed at home in the shire."