The theatre is a living organism. It has a beating heart that can energize whole communities. A brain that can train and thrill both spectators and makers. The stage has a soul that can soothe the players upon it, and tickle all their senses.

 

As American stage director Margo Jones put it, “Everything in life is theater“. And the other way around. Because every aspect of the theatre can be brought to bear on life and its challenges. That is the thinking behind Brasart: to find different ways to wield the power of the theatre.

Brasart is the theatre project run by me, Leen Braspenning. Over the past couple of decades I have been using theatre both as a way of personal and professional artistic expression and as a vehicle for socio-artistic community building. I teach the performing arts and Brasart is a partner in a number of international projects.

 

I believe in the power of theatre to affect change. It sheds its skin only to reemerge with new power. Like a living body does.

Blinkende Binken

At the start of 2025, Brasart brought together
four youths and as many adult artists for a unique project.

 

They worked in pairs and followed four distinct artistic paths
that resulted in on-stage presentations of the journey they undertook together.

 

This ten-week project proved unforgettable for the participants and the audience.
Blinkende Binken is a perfect example of the power of the theatre to emancipate and connect.

Read more about Blinkende Binken

Open calls

Brasart is a partner in various international projects
that explore the theatre as a means to reinforce and create communities.

 

For those projects, I am regularly looking for participants
who want to join me on this artistic search.

 

Keep an eye on this page if this sounds like something you’re interested in!

Find open calls here

The theatre is an art that can appeal to all the senses. That is an ambition all the plays and performances I directed and produced over the years had in common. Discover my professional artistic work here.

Theatre and heart are anagrams. (Well, almost). That heart is prominent in the applied theatre or socio-artistic performances I create. These are my projects that use the theatre to repair communities or build new ones.

Brasart is a partner in several international projects that explore and develop the applied and socio-artistic powers of the stage. Read more about these border-crossing projects and workshops here.

A (theatre) brain needs training. I was lucky to have inspirational teachers, and I now want to pass on the experience I’ve gathered throughout the years. Because thinking about the theatre only makes experiencing it stronger.

If the theatre is a living organism, that also means it grows and evolves. My theatre certainly did. You can browse my curriculum vitae here.

Synapses are where cells make connections and send messages. Do you want to send a message as well or get in touch? Then consult my contact details here.

Brasart vzw • Menegemlei 57 • 2100 Antwerpen • Belgium