Jellie Schippers is a theatre-maker and teacher. After studying as a theatre teacher at Hogeschool voor de Kunsten ArtEZ, and a master's degree in dramaturgy at Utrecht University, she began her career as a directing assistant at RoTheater, where she worked with directors such as Alize Zandwijk and Guy Cassiers. This experience led to her collaboration with designer and scenographer Myriam Van Gucht, which resulted in the creation of the Schippers&VanGucht foundation in 2013.
Schippers&VanGucht creates immersive work in installations at the intersection of performance, visual art and theatre with lots of video, music, smoke, live performance and vibrations. Jellie and Myriam have developed innovative theatre and video installations such as The Full Dirt Cart, ODE, and BetweenTimeCapsule. This work, which explores the boundaries between theatre and other art forms, was awarded the Wim Bary Stipendium for promising oeuvre in 2013. In 2015, Schippers&VanGucht won the Golden Cricket for Best Stage Performance for the performance House. In addition, Janne DeSmet won the Golden Cricket for Best Actress under Jellie's direction in What Happened While The Sparrows Danced The Polka. The Between Time Capsule was also named the Best Youth Theatre Performance of that Year by NRC in 2020.
Besides her artistic work, she is a passionate theatre teacher. She has taught several workshops to both young people and higher art education students. She shares her knowledge with young theatre makers at Rebels Art Platform Man Overboard (formerly Theatre Workshop NEST) in Antwerp, of which she is the artistic director together with Soraya Rademaker. There, the focus is on developing creative talent and fostering the individual voices of young people and young creators. Her role as theatre teacher/coach is characterised by her focus on personal growth and strengthening artistic autonomy.
REPEAT. is her first collaboration with choreographer Helder Seabra. Within this production, they seek to integrate movement, physical exhaustion, acting and text in close collaboration with the five young and talented performers.