Catherine Claessen

Experience

Lir Academy Training

• MFA in Theatre Directing - 2027

Other Experience

Catherine Claessen was born and raised in Switzerland. Her work centers on the craftsmanship of creating theatre, particularly through close collaboration with designers to develop a distinctive visual language that accompanies storytelling. Through the characters and stage images she creates, she seeks to explore forms of resistance and the countervailing power of oppressive systems, with sustainable working practices and responsible directing forming the core of her approach.

Her foundational interest in these principles led her to study the BA Process Design at the Basel Academy of Art and Design (HGK), which included an exchange semester in Theatre Directing at the Zurich University of the Arts (ZHdK). Prior to her degree, she gained extensive practical experience working as an assistant director and production assistant across Switzerland’s independent theatre scene, as well as at established institutions including Luzerner Theater, Bühnen Bern, and Schauspielhaus Zürich.

Since 2020, she has been a member of the Lucerne-based theatre collective Kollektiv Dionysos, co-creating and developing a wide range of theatrical works.

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Skills

rne-based theatre collective Kollektiv Dionysos, co-creating and developing a wide range of theatrical works.

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