Hello reader, I, Elien Hanselaer, work as an actor, story-teller and theatre-maker in the United Kingdom and Belgium. I have collaborated with internationally acclaimed companies such as Dash Arts, Odin Teatret, KVS and NTGent. In September 2018, I started a PaR project on actor-actor performance connection at Queen's University Belfast. My research looks at how performers connect, how they can connect better and what kind of different theatre can be made from a radically changing methodology that puts interconnectedness to a co-performer at the heart of the creative process. I am involved in butoh dance and Argentine Tango. Both dance styles have a strong influence on my practice and the work I make. I have an interest in the ritual roots of theatre and its function as catalyst in the community. This portfolio was a first endeavour at documenting my practice which was asked from me when I started my research into empathy and connection. Subsequently everything was moved to ResearchCatalogue, an official platform for artistic research. At this moment this portfolio is not yet available to the public. When I was repeatedly asked for my portfolio, I recycled this temporarily. It is a rough compilation with the only purpose of giving you, reader, a taste of the work I make at this moment in time. I apologise in advance for the links to ResearchCatalogue that will be password protected. Sincerely, Elien |
SHARING THEATREI trained as an actress in KASK in Ghent, de theaterschool in Amsterdam and East 15 in London.
In 2010 I obtained my BA and in 2012, I graduated from the MA at East 15. Dedicated to make an International career as an actress, I started working in the UK, performing on stage and screen. But Hollywood did not happen... Instead of the billion-dollar-industry, life lead me to a variety of acting work in the theatre. Today, I have performed in fringe shows as well as international productions. |
MAKING THEATREI consider theatre to be an ecological system, a living process of inputs and outputs. My passion for making theatre is about creating a third space meeting place par excellence: a place between effort and relaxation, between home and elsewhere, between fiction and reality. I believe it is in this place that awareness processes are most likely to get triggered. I do not want to merely create entertainment but a ritual space that ideally holds up a mirror to the world we live in.
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SHARING THEATRE MAKINGThrough pursuing the creation of theatre that is involved in the world, I got involved in teaching and leading participation and community theatre projects. I believe the experience of theatre from the inside can be a big catalyst for people. I feel great satisfaction from this type of work because I can see how it feeds directly into the society. One of the creative responses I use often is story-telling: letting people tune into the stories and strands of myth coursing through their veins, opening them up that what seeks expression.
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