Egon Schoelynck Huh, why didn't I know this?
Practical guide for aspiring performing artists, subjective travelogue in the field, and a touch of self-help book.
“Sometimes I find myself explaining to someone at 2 a.m. what a subsidy is. Or how train tickets become cheaper if you have the increased allowance – and what that is exactly. Or in which months you should email a cultural centre if you want to sell a performance. Then those people often say: “Huh, why didn’t I know this?” And: ‘Why isn’t all this just explained somewhere in simple words?’
So I started writing it myself. Because I had to figure these things out myself as a new creator, I can speak from experience. I know better than Kunstenpunt or Cultuurloket what a starting creator struggles with, because I’ve only been doing this for a few years myself. I can explain it better because some things in practice are quite different from the theory.”
about
Egon Schoelynck (he/him, 1996) is a Sunday child and theatre maker. His work is political-ish and can be found in black boxes, on paving stones and in collective collaborations. His artistic practice was supported by detheatermaker (’22-’25), where he explored, among other things, how to run a soap opera in a café without actors. Together with Runa Robbroeckx and Lennert De Vroey, he created KAK, an ecological shitshow (2025). He also solves global problems with punk songs and children’s instruments, under the name Middle Class Babypunk.
Author: Egon Schoelynck
Editors: Karolien Derwael/Klein Verzet
Feedback: Barbara Revalk, Louai Hashem
Design: Marie Sledsens, Sander Van de Vijver
Translation: Miles Fischler
Producer: detheatermaker
Co-production: workspacebrussels, wpZimmer, Beursschouwburg
With thanks to: Antwerp cultural centres and meeting places, BUDA, De Grote Post, C-Mine, fABULEUS, Good Company, Kunstenwerkplaats, LUCA School of Arts, Monty, het nieuwstedelijk, RADAR, Viernulvier