It’s another world - Interview with Joke Quaghebeur

Once I step into the theatre, all the rest is gone

Board member of the Central European Committee (CEC). 

What does theater mean to you?

Well, I'm going to start at the beginning, when I was a child, I grew up in a family who was playing theatre. My father was a play writer. So I grew up in theatre. For me, it was like daily business. And I've grown up with art and culture all the time. I'm a dancer and I have a dance school, so I work in culture. That has been my daily life. But for me, the theatre is the place where I can escape from the world. Because once I step into the theatre, all the rest is gone. My job, my family. I'm just focussing on what is happening on stage. It's another world. And when you come out, then you can still enjoy what you've seen. But it's reality again. Then you open your phone and there are the messages, there are the emails. And there is the dreadful news that is happening in the world with the wars going on. But when you go into a theatre, and it's really a very good play, and it's something nice, they draw you in there to their world. And this is the fantasy, and I love it. 

What are the primary goals of the mission of the Central European Committee (CEC)?

I am a board member of CEC. That's a Central European Committee, which is a part of IATA/AITA. What we are trying to do now is to establish a network, to get people in from all over the world. Because in IATA, it says we are CEC, but we want to broaden our network.

We don't want to talk about the land, the frontiers, the borders. It doesn't stop there. We would like to open up our network so that people get inspired, that they exchange, that you talk about what you're doing in your country, and then people can learn from others, that they open up workshops in English, so that people can join in. When they have a festival, they open it up for other countries. Not like a festival in one country, but if you make a promotion, and you do an open call, then you can get other people coming. The mobility of theatre groups all over the world is very important. 

What brings you here to this festival?

Well, with Opendoek Flanders, I intend to organize the World Children's Theatre and Youth Festival in 2026. There's a festival in Lingen in Germany in 2025. So because I'm organizing this, I want to see what is happening in other youth festivals. I would like to get to know other youth groups, youth companies, and people from other countries. And I know here in Brixen, there is a large tradition in organizing these festivals, and Heidi is in our CEC, and Heidi is on the Council of AITA, and I met her there. She became a friend of mine, so it was like, I can't go. I have to be there to support her, to support her work, and to learn from it.