Alongside projects by artistic director Yves Degryse, BERLIN is creating space for new makers working from a documentary perspective. In 2024, Fien Leysen launched this initiative as the first associate artist with ALABAMA. In the fall of 2026, Emma Lesuis will follow with a new project. Sophie Anna Veelenturf is working as a young artist in residence during 2024/25 on her first production, Swiping Right (working title), which will premiere in the summer festival season of 2025.
Bio Yves Degryse °1977 is the artistic director of BERLIN, the company he founded in 2003 with Bart Baele and Caroline Rochlitz. Alongside Barbara Raes and Melih Gençboyacı, he was also recently appointed artistic director of NTGent. Since 2022 he has been the sole artistic director of BERLIN, with The making of Berlin as his first creation. From 2000 to 2009 Degryse was also part of the theatre collective SKaGeN. He trained as an actor with Dora van der Groen and performed with several companies (De Queeste, De Onderneming, De Maan, Comp. Marius). Besides his work in theatre, he can also regularly be seen on television and on the big screen (Chantal, Callboys, De Helaasheid der Dingen, The Broken Circle Breakdown, etc).
Bio / Associate artist Fien Leysen °1989 first studied language and literature, followed by literature studies and drama/word art at the Royal Conservatory of Antwerp. Her graduation performance Wat (Niet) Weg Is (What’s (Not) Gone) has been performed more than 400 times and can still be seen. In 2019, she created the theater performance Wie We Zijn (Who We Are) as a Young Maker with Het nieuwstedelijk. In February 2021, she premiered the theater installation Numi Yaldati (at KVS and DE SINGEL), which she created with scenographer Manu Siebens. Fien is further involved in a number of BERLIN productions and podcast creations. Besides theater and audio work, she writes columns (including for De Standaard) and poetry. Fien’s work balances between the personal and the poetic and touches upon universal themes. As an associate artist with BERLIN, she created ALABAMA, currently on tour following its premiere on February 1, 2024, at theater arsenaal (Mechelen).
Bio / Young artist in residence Sophie Anna Veelenturf °1999 , a native of Amsterdam, graduated from KASK Drama (Ghent) as an actress and theatre-maker in 2024. For her master’s thesis, she created the documentary-theatre-performance-meets-stand-up, Linkse Gaatjes. In addition to her work in theatre, she is an avid singer, a skill she uses as one of the actors in Ontroerend Goed’s Funeral. For the 2024/25 season, she will join BERLIN as an associate artist, working on her first creation: Swiping Right (working title). Premiere in the summer of 2025.