Marijs Boulogne

 

PERSONAL DATA

Marijs Boulogne, 1978, born in the town of Hasselt, Belgium, currently residing in Brussels, Belgium

Education

RITS (School for audio visual and performing arts), Brussels, Belgium - director of theatre (Master in Dramatic Arts, 2002) with an extra year of interdisciplinary studies and new media

Languages

  • Dutch (mother tongue)
  • French (fluent, written & spoken)
  • English (fluent, written & spoken)
  • German (good notions)
  • Italian (notions)
  • Romanian (notions)

Professional Experience

status: Free lance artist (Self-employed artist)

Art forms: theatre, live-art, installations, embroidery and crochet art objects & puppets, playing accordion, singing....

From 2001: director, writer, performer, teacher, producer
From 2011: presenter, coordinator, organiser and wrestler of Lucha Libre wrestling events of the 'Spelers van de Ring', Brussels Catch Club
From 2014: singing and directing in musical theatre company IZA, also known as 'Ik zeg Adieu' vocal ensemble, with conductor Lucy Grauman
From 2018: Wrestling under the name ‘Peggy’ for the Belgian wrestling club Lady-Man-Catch

Other studies / workshop attendances

  • Participated in the seminar by Silvia Federici and in the Dreamlab project by Mala Kline - City of Women Festival, Ljubljana, Slovenia, 2014
  • Performative workshop by La Pocha Nostra, City of Women Festival, Ljubljana, Slovenia, 2013
  • Plank Breaking workshop by Catherine Lallonde, Montréal, Canada, 2013
  • Meta Family workshop and public presentation by Julia Bardsley, City of Women Festival, Ljubljana, Slovenia, 2012
  • Tiny Little Buttons workshop and public presentation by Antonia Baehr and Karen Ida Nathan, Ljubljana, Slovenia, 2011
  • The 1000 Tiny Sexes workshop by Tea Hvala, Red Dawns Festival, Ljubljana, Slovenia, 2007
  • Labyrinth intern by Enrique Vargas for Time Festival Ghent, Belgium, 2002
  • Assistant to directors Sam Bogaerts (BE) and Boris Kelly (AUS) – Brussels, Belgium, 1998, 1999
  • David Hernandez modern dance workshop in Stuk, Belgium, 1996

Awards & selections

  • Alumni Award for Marijs Boulogne - RITS School of Arts, Belgium, 2010
  • V(j)ečna medikacija performance adaptation of Endless Medication won first award as the bravest and the most innovative project of International Festival PATOSOFIRANJE in Smederevo, Serbia, 2009
  • The play Picknick! by Marijs Boulogne nominated for the Taalunie Toneelschrijfprijs (best Dutch language play), Belgium, 2004
  • Endless Medication selected among 8 best Dutch language performances of the year by Theaterfestival in Amsterdam and Antwerp, 2003
  • SACD award for best Dutch text of the year for Endless Medication, Belgium, 2003
  • Theater Aan Zee prize for young theatre work for Endless Medication performance and four years artistic residence in the art centre STUK in Leuven, Belgium, 2002

 

DESCRIPTIVE BIOGRAPHY

Marijs Boulogne wrote her first plays at the age of 10, mainly about punk girls and cleaning ladies with green snot and differently coloured eyes. At the age of 11-12 she performed in the musical Het Nijlpaard (Jan Coeck). Then she took 4 years of theatre classes with Jo Huylebroeck at youth theatre Jonna/Fabuleus in Leuven. Here she performed ao. in Schemer en Kopzorg by Ad De Bont and 'T Barre Land by Tankred Dorst.  She finished secondary school at the Vrije  Steinerschool  Leuven, starring as Electra in Sartre’s Les Mouches.

Over the next 6 years she studied as a theatre director at the Rits theatre school (Brussels). She did her apprenticeship as the personal assistant of Sam Bogaerts and Boris Kelly. Thanks to this practical experience she wrote and directed Voulez-vous poeper avec moa (1998) and Herzschmerz (1999), the first part of a trilogy about resistance during war. With her company Buelens Paulina she created the Belgian theatre show Endless Medication in 2002 (Theater aan Zee award for young theatre work, SACD award for Dutch-language creations), selected for Kunstenfestivaldesarts 2003. Her second work Love me dead (and later Excavations), mainly focus on female ecstasy (embroidery, performance, video). Spanning 2000-2007 she continued to elaborate Excavations work and have now performed it for over 70 times. The English version The Anatomy Lesson premiered in Oslo’s Black Box Theatre (2007) and the French version in theatre Arsenic in Lausanne (2006).

As an amateur radio producer she hosted Aangezicht tot Aangezicht on fm Brussel (2000-2003), a Sunday afternoon radio play, accompanied live by Australian composer Jim Denley on wind instruments and Manah Depauw. The same kind of storytelling was also performed for KLARA/Mixtuur, Radio 1 and kc nOna’s  Porn ar(t)ound the world festival (2002). The same trio inhabited the living hotel with the theatre play and performance Love zero control, and later on they created the fairy-like burlesque Good Habits.

Picknick! (2004) was written and directed by Marijs Boulogne as a radical philosophical-cannibalistic variation and continuation of F. Arrabals war fable from 1952.

In 2009 she finished a music theatre show about the royal family, Marzipan or Plexi  in coproduction Kaaitheater Brussels, and Tanzquartier Vienna, and Emanat Ljubljana, as a part of SIEMENS ARTS PROGRAM.

In 2012 she directed Who wants to be holy? in co-production with deSingel Antwerp/BIT Norway, a prestigious music theatre inspired by Hildegard of Bingen and Saint Ursula.

In 2013 she is involved in various Lucha Libre projects in Belgium. In spring she directed Edgy Lucha event at the Edgy Women Festival in Canada. Later on she was teaching drama at American University of Kosovo in Prishtina and directed A Midsummer Night's Dream with the students.

In 2014 she wrote and codirected Waanvlucht!, a musical theatre project with 160 singers about desertion, composed by Frederic  Rzewski.

In 2015 Marijs continues her research about the female nervous system, and crochets her stories in the project The Swelf.

In the last years she wrestles as the character Peggy from Paris, for the wrestling shows of Lady Man Catch, and is general manager of the BYWS, Brussels Young Wrestling style,  as well as playing, singing and writing new shows for cie IZA, with Ruben Diwantessa always returning in the lead role.

 

LIST OF WORKS

Theatre productions (concept, text, direction)

  • Midsummer daydream - direction of a capella musical-theatre production by Ik Zeg Adieu vocal ensemble, 2016
  • FleeTheFrenzy! / WaanVlucht! - co-direction, text and dramaturgy of a musical theatre project, composed by Frederic Rzewski - Brussels, Ghent, Liege, 2014
  • A Midsummer Night's Dream by Shakespeare (English language) - American University of Kosovo, Prishtina, Kosovo, 2013
  • Who wants to be holy? (Music theatre without words), 2012
  • Marzipan or Plexi (English language version), 2008/2009
  • Excavations: The Anatomy Lesson - A Forensic Fairytale (English language version), 2007
  • Excavations: La lecon d’anatomie (French language version of “Pas maar al gerot”), 2007
  • Endless Medication / V(j)ečna medikacija (in collaboration with Simona Semenič, Croatian/Bosnian/Serbian language version), 2007
  • Endless Medicaton / Večna medikacija (in collaboration with Simona Semenič, Slovenian version), 2006
  • Excavations: Pas, 2006
  • Excavations: Report, 2005
  • Excavations: Fresh but rotten / Pas maar al gerot (Dutch language version), 2005
  • Excavations: Episcopia, 2005
  • Excavations: In Memories, 2005
  • Excavations: Excavation (Interactive), 2005
  • Endless Medication (English language version), 2005
  • Endless Medication (in collaboration with Manah Depaw, Italian language version), 2004
  • Excavations: Pregnancy, 2004
  • Good Habits (in collaboration with Manah Depauw, Dutch language version), 2004
  • Picknick! (Dutch language version), 2004    
  • Hotel Zero Control / Love Zero Control (in collaboration with Manah Depauw, Dutch language version), 2003
  • Endless Medication (in collaboration with Manah Depauw, French language version), 2003

Student productions

  • Endless Medication (in collaboration with Manah Depauw, Dutch language version), 2001
  • Herzschmerz (RITS premiere), 1999
  • Voulez-vous poeper avec moa? (RITS premiere), 1998

Adaptations, translations and directing

  • Hooglied van de liefde (shadow piece, variation of the Song of Songs from the Bible), 2005
  • Anticlimax (Werner Schwab) - adaptation and direction, 2000
  • Groot en klein (Botho Strauss) – adaptation and direction, 1999
  • De verkrachting / Una Donna Sola (Dario Fo and Franca Rame), 1999

Plays

  • Who wants to be holy? - 2012
  • Marzipan or Plexi - 2008/2009
  • The Anatomy Lesson - 2006
  • Good Habits (with Manah Depauw) – 2004
  • Picknick! - 2004
  • Love Zero Control (with Manah Depauw) - 2002/2003
  • Endless Medication (with Manah Depauw) - 2001
  • Herzschmerz - 1998
  • Voulez-vous poeper avec moi? - 1997

Various works

Live art performance, embroidery, installations, video, songs, radio shows: 

  • The Swelf - ongoing cycle (crochet works)
  • Betty Atari Robot Saves the World (Marijs Boulogne & Lize Blauw Verlooy), exhibition, Syndicate, Ljubljana, Slovenia, 2019
  • My Nature - improvised performance by Sophia Rodriguez, The Swelf big sculpture by Marijs Boulogne, 2016-2019 
  • Big Smile - crochet work exhibtion by Marijs Boulogne & Fadoma Osmane - Bleek, St. Niklaas, Belgium, 2016
  • The Origin of Things / 11000 Virgins / The Swelf (crochet sculpture installation), various locations, 2012-2019         
  • My Wife is Missing (site specific live art performance, embroidery), Brussels, Belgium, 2008
  • Orgasmic Faces (Video installation), Mechelen, Leuven, Belgium, 2002, 2005
  • That Dog is A God! (Live art performance) - Amsterdam, Netherlands, 2003
  • Fuck me dead / Love me dead (Performance, video, photo slides, embroidery installation) - Brussels, Ghent, Leuven, Belgium; Roubaix, France - 2002, 2004, 2005 
  • We Are Not Whores (Live art performance) - Antwerp, Belgium, 2002
  • Van aangezicht tot aangezicht / (Face to Face) – radio programme - FM Brussels - a Sunday afternoon radio play - Brussels, Belgium, 2000-2004
  • Mond op mond / (Mouth to Mouth) – radio programme - Radio Klara, Brussels - cross over programme Mixtuur - Brussels, Belgium, 2003

Selected collaborations       

  • the art ensemble of brussels, longdurational performative concert - Marijs Boulogne author of mutant crochet costumes and stage interventions - Kanal, Centre Pompidou, Brussels, 2019
  • Party crashing - Micha Goldberg, Amateur Theater Group (for professionals) site specific performance -  Marijs Boulogne performing - various locations in Brussels, 2018
  • Joke van Leeuwen: Een wereld tussen twee oren, documentary by Hedy Honigmann - Dutch Mountain Film, NTR - with Marijs Boulogne on Joke Van Leeuwen and creating stories, NPO- Dutch National Televison 2017/2018 
  • ENED3I (part 1 and 2), Valentine Kempynck in dialog with Sylvie Janssens, Katrien Baetslé and Marijs Boulogne - Bleek, St. Niklaas, 2016
  • Vrouwenkwartet by Godfried-Willem Raes with Marijs Boulogne, Emilie De Vlam, Dominica Eyckmans - short performance - Oorsprong, Logos Tetrahedron, Gent, 2016
  • An Ecology of the Dead, with Vinciane Despret, video by Hannah Hurtzig - Night Lessons No.2 / Mobily Academy Berlin (guests at the dinner table: Marijs Boulogne, Bojana Cvejic, Hannah Hurtzig, Kobe Mathys, Berno Odo Polzer) - video installation, Lyon Museum of Contemporary Art, Bienniale du Lyon, France, 2015/2016
  • Moonwalkers - feature film by Antoine Bardou-Jacquet (France) - USA and European premiere of the film in 2015 - Marijs Boulogne is playing small comical role of La Mommia and she crocheted the Mummy costume used in the movie. This costume was exhibited before in the comix festival in Aix en Provence, and was extensively used by different wrestlers in the cultural wrestling shows, that Marijs organised in Canada, France, Netherlands and Belgium. 
  • Greatest Bits by Donquièstar - Marijs Boulogne (Mayonaise aka Zombiegirl The Wrestler) collaborated as singer and author of lyrics of three songs: Without a Bra (Some Girls), Golden Butterflies and So Typical. Donquiestar aka Doggy Dave played with Lords Of Acid & several other bands from Belgium. Nowadays he's producing all kinds of electrixxx... Digital album release by BandCamp, 2014
  • Literaire schurft #1 - collective story slam with instruments and found objects of the day (Marijs Boulogne, Salomé Mooij, Marie Pien and Christiaan Mariman) - White Cat, Gent, Belgium, 2014
  • Member of the jury for for the young theatre work, TAZ - Theater Aan Zee, Oostend, Belgium, 2014
  • Image Snatchers guest appearance in technoburlesque as Shiva, the God of Ganja in collaboration with Rebellious KITCH Controversy and Tristan Bargeld - Gromka, Metelkova, Ljubljana, Slovenia, 2013
  • Video presentations of the performance The Anatomy Lesson in the framework of a performing archive re.act.feminism #2 in Germany, Spain, Estonia, Denmark, Croatia, Poland - 2012, 2013
  • Director of the "The grand opening" International music theatre commissioned by WRAP/BIT/ Teatergarasjen, Bergen, Norway, 2012
  • Pirates Songs solo programme on accordion - Songs for the 4 years anniversary of Kuenstlerhaus Brut in Vienna, Austria, 2011  
  • Junior art director for Paradigma (Belgian Television Production house), Brussels, Belgium, 2010
  • Songbook of Inspired clouds – guest appearance on the concert at the 20th anniversary of Les Reines Prochaines, Reithalle, Kaserne, Basel, Switzerland, 2007
  • Approximations/contradictions (collaboration in web project with Ana Torfs) (2004)
  • The sound of 100 snails made for an installation called ‘Ecstatic Voices’ in collaboration with Jim Denley (2002)

Workshops and teaching experiences

  • Crochet Your Own Swelf, knitting and crochet workshop - Syndicate of Outlandish Entities, Ljubljana, Slovenia, 2019
  • When Something Really Happens, theatre workshop - Studio 303, Montreal, Canada, 2017
  • Workplace of the Orgasm (W.o.t.O.), BIG SMILE - knitting workshop - Ladyfest Brussels, Le Brass, centre culturel de Forest, 2016
  • Workplace of the Orgasm (Werkplaats van het orgasme) - public crochet workshop by Marijs Boulogne in collaboration with Wilfrieda Stroobants and Ester Joris - De Warande (ground floor) with the public showing of performance - Le Village des Rêves Perdus (Theater Froefroe) - Opening of the theatre season of the Cultural Center De Warande, Turnhout, Belgium, 2015
  • Atelier performance to the masterclass of Ceramics & Performance - National High School of Visual Arts La Cambre, Brussels, Belgium, 2015
  • Teaching theatre to the first year directors - RITS School of Arts, Brussels, Belgium, 2015
  • A Tiny Sex Change workshop, inspired by A Thousand Tiny Sexes project - WoWmen! -Kaaitheater & Kaaistudio's, Brussels, Belgium, 2014
  • Performing Gender Workshop by Marijs Boulogne - Dutch Dance Festival in collaboration with Bonnefantenmuseum and Jan Van Eyck Academie, Maastricht, Netherlands, 2014
  • Associate professor (docent) teaching theatre to 3rd atelier students of the first bachelor year -RITS School of Arts, Brussels, Belgium, 2014
  • Teaching theatre at the American University of Kosovo, 2013
  • Theatre/scenography workshop When Something Really Happens – Edgy Women Festival, Studio 303, Canada, 2012
  • Teaching youth theatre - Villa Basta, Hasselt, Belgium, 2011
  • Teaching first and second year of directors - RITS School of Arts, Brussels, Belgium, 2011
  • Theatre/dance workshop If Fishes could Talk - for dancers, actors and performers to developed elements for performance Marzipan or Plexi, co-produced by Emanat Institute, Ljubljana, Slovenia, 2009
  • Workshop on language activism Word games - Verbindingen/Jonctions 9 Arts festival, Constant vzw, Brussels, Belgium, 2005