2024 European Theatre Academy

Cláudia Belchior

Cláudia Belchior was the President of the Executive Board of the D. Maria II National Theatre in Lisbon, Portugal, a position she held from July 2015 to June 2022. Cláudia has been involved with the performing arts for all of her career, at the foremost cultural institutions in Portugal, having served as Director, Coordinator for the Performing Arts, and Deputy Director for Planning and Budget at the Belém Cultural Centre and as Director of Production at the Gulbenkian Foundation. She has taught courses in Production Management, Stage Management, and Technical Direction in several institutions. In November 2024, she was elected President of the Board of ETC.

Herman Croux

Herman Croux has been active for more than 20 years in the field of creative industries, media, arts, entertainment, and web-driven industries. He was chair of the Copyright and Entertainment Law Committee of the International Bar Association and is a regular speaker at international conferences and recommended by the Legal 500. He was also chair of the board of directors of the Flemish Theatre Institute. Herman obtained his law degree and philosophy degree at Leuven University. Personal interests include photography and architecture.

András Dömötör

András Dömötör, born in Hungary in 1978, lives and works as a freelance director in Budapest and Berlin. He graduated from the SZFE (University of Theatre and Film Arts in Budapest) first with a degree in acting (2003) and then with a degree in directing (2007). He subsequently held a chair in acting at the SZFE. From 2003-2010 he was part of the ensemble at the Örkény Theatre in Budapest. He has been a freelance theatre director since 2011 and has been working mainly in German-speaking countries since 2014 (Deutsches Theater Berlin, Maxim Gorki Theater Berlin, Residenztheater Munich, Schauspiel Hannover, Schauspielhaus Graz, Burgtheater Vienna, Theater Basel). He primarily works with contemporary drama and directs world premieres, often in close collaboration with authors such as Sasha Marianna Salzmann, Sivan Ben Yishai, Thomas Perle, Ferdinand Schmalz and Lukas Bärfuss.

As an author, he has written and directed his own works such as Mephistoland at the Maxim Gorki Theatre and Solaris, Die Pest at the Deutsches Theater Berlin. He regularly directs new drama for the Berlin Autor:innenTheaterTage. In 2023, his first opera production Figaro3 premiered at the Hungarian State Opera in Budapest.

András Dömötör has received numerous awards in Hungary: For his production of Káli holtak (Katona József Theatre Budapest), he received the Best Director of the Season, Best Performance and Best New Stage Text awards in the annual critics' poll. He has previously been honoured as a young talent of the theatre. Dömötör is the winner of the Hevesi Sándor Prize and the Contemporary Hungarian Drama Prize.

Laura Gardes

Laura is a cultural project manager, specialising in initiatives funded by Creative Europe. With a strong track record, she has successfully managed Voices of Culture - the structured Dialogue between the European Commission and the Cultural Sector as part of the Goethe-Institut Brussels team. She has provided crucial support to the European Composer and Songwriter Alliance in implementing their international cultural programme. Notably, Laura has led JUMP, a groundbreaking music market accelerator initiated by MaMA Festival and Convention Paris, where she empowered music business professionals to cultivate and execute innovative ideas. Drawing on her rich multicultural background developed through studies and work experiences in Germany, France, Belgium and Sweden, Laura holds a Masters in Euroculture.

Paulien Geerlings

Paulien Geerlings is a dramaturge, translator and yogi. After her high school education, she studied Philosophy and Theatre studies at the University of Amsterdam. In 2004 she graduated from DasArts, an international, multidisciplinary Master of Theatre, based in Amsterdam and founded by Ritsaert ten Cate. Between 2004 and 2006, she has been working with Theatre Company Dood Paard. In 2006 she became dramaturge of Ad de Bont, playwright and artistic director of the youth theatre company Wederzijds. This company merged with Liesbeth Coltof’s Huis aan de Amstel in 2009 and became De Toneelmakerij, the Amsterdam theatre company for young audiences.

Since its establishment, Paulien Geerlings has been the in-house dramaturge of De Toneelmakerij. As dramaturge, she has a strong focus on new writing, coaching of playwrights and supporting writers initiatives. She translated several plays for De Toneelmakerij. Her latest work entitled "2022 Witnessing U: Testimonials from the Frontline" was created together with Bogdana Orleanova and Iana Gudzenko based on testimonials from the war.

Tom Leick-Burns

Tom Leick-Burns was born in Luxembourg and initially trained as an actor at the Drama Centre, London. Since then, he has appeared in over 20 professional theatre productions, starred in numerous films and was awarded the prestigious Studio Hamburg Shooting Star Award at the Berlin Film Festival in 2004. His career took a different turn when he was approached to work as a freelance production manager for the Grand Théâtre in Luxembourg. Using his knowledge of British theatre and excellent language skills, he was hired to facilitate and look after international projects. Since then, he has been able to work on an eclectic range of theatre, dance and opera productions, using his organisational skills and gaining invaluable experience in project management. With his hands-on approach and indomitable spirit, Tom quickly adjusted to his new role while at the same time taking on new challenges. In 2008, he facilitated the first professional English-language production in Luxembourg and programmed parts of the Grand Théâtre English-language season.

Serge Rangoni

Serge Rangoni studied at the Conservatoire of Brussels. After working in various theatre institutions and at the Ministry of Culture, he was designated in 2004 as General Manager of Théâtre de Liège. Under his leadership, the theatre received the titles of “European center of theatrical creation and choreography” and “Centres for Drama” in the French-speaking area of Belgium, affirming its role in theatrical and dance productions and their dissemination to local and international audiences. Since his arrival at its head, the institution has developed considerably, with now an audience of 65,000 and more than 180 performances a season. Théâtre de Liège is today the leading stage in Wallonia.

Dubravka Vrgoč

Dubravka Vrgoč has a M.A. in Comparative Literature, Faculty of Philosophy, University of Zagreb, 1996 and a B.A. in Dramaturgy and World Literature, Academy of Theatre, Film and TV, Zagreb and Faculty of Philosophy, University of Zagreb, 1984. She worked as Artistic Director and General Manager of the Zagreb Youth Theatre (2004-2014) and Artistic Director of World Theatre Festival (since 2003). From 2014 to 2022, she was the General Manager and Artistic Director of Croatian National Theatre Zagreb. From 2011 till 2017, she was the President of European Theatre Convention. She has a large professional experience, worked as theatre critic and later she was working as general editor in daily newspaper Vjesnik. She won two scholarships: Fulbright scholarship - Research in American Theatre and Culture, New York, 1995 and British Council scholarship – participation in the project Theatre for the 21st century, London, 1997. She has lots of international theatre experiences in many national and international co-productions and collaboration with different cultural partners.

Heidi Wiley

Heidi Wiley has been Executive Director of the European Theatre Convention (ETC) since 2009. Under her leadership, ETC has become an established European cultural network with an international programme of artistic collaboration, professional development and advocacy for Europe’s public theatres, spanning over 30 countries. She led ETC to become a strategic partner of the European Commission and the recipient of several prestigious prizes, including the 2022 Art Explora – Académie des Beaux-Arts European Award for innovation in access to culture; and European prizes for outstanding achievement in the fields of audience development and cultural heritage.

Heidi is a sought-after moderator and speaker at European events and conferences. In 2022, Speaker at the 8th Culture & RTBF Meeting; 2021, Consultant for European cultural policy agencies KEA (Brussels) and PPMI (Vilnius); 2020, Co-initiator of the 1st European Theatre Forum of the European Commission and the German EU Council Presidency; 2019, Author for the European Expert Network on Culture and Audiovisual (EENCA).

Heidi started her career as an international producer and touring manager for artists Victoria Chaplin and the Tiger Lillies, touring around Europe and Asia at major festivals and theatre venues. A studied cultural manager with degrees from La Sorbonne and Leuphana University, she lived and worked over the last 25 years in the UK, US, France and Germany.