Marc Maris here, a curly Dutchie living between The Hague and Paris, and I like to think of Europe as my home. I work with artists and cultural organisations as a dramaturg and artistic advisor. Woven through my professional life is a generous chunk of curiosity about people and awkward situations, a mild tea fanaticism, a constant longing to escape into the worlds of theatre and literature, and a relatively new passion for ceramics.

For the past decade, I’ve spent most of my professional life working in and around cultural organisations, from festivals such as De Nederlandse Dansdagen and Jonge Harten to theatres like Korzo. Alongside my freelance dramaturgical work, I’ve mainly worked as a curator and artistic programmer in theatre and dance.

Now, I’m taking the next step and focusing my practice on collaborating with independent artists, companies and cultural organisations. I help people untangle, sharpen and develop their wishes and ideas, and sometimes figure out what those wishes and ideas actually are in the first place.

As a dramaturg and artistic advisor, I bring the experience of working in many different contexts to think, move and dream alongside my creative partners. I have a sharp wit (although I prefer to pretend I have no sense of humour), a trained talent for reading the room, an ability to navigate social structures, a medium-fast brain and a particular joy in finding the right words.

I stand beside my partners in the process of making. Every collaboration is a new search for how we can work together. Sometimes it starts with awkwardness, tension or not quite knowing what to say. That’s fine. I’m not easily scared off by things being weird.

I bring energy, curiosity and clear opinions, but I also want to create a space where ideas can be borrowed, challenged, shared and thrown around without shame. A space where you can propose the thing you thought you weren’t allowed to propose. Where we can look at what you’re making from a slightly different angle. And where not knowing yet is considered a perfectly good place to start.

I like exploring things I don’t know yet. Probably more than is entirely sensible.