Stefan Aleksic, The East Complex

master drama
Mentoren / Mentors:
Thomas Bellinck
Sébastien Hendrickx
Links:
aleksic.st

If only there was a complex
geometrical shape
to fit you into so you don’t leak,
something to hide your face enough, enough
that you are safe but still
beautiful.

The East Complex is a three-act dramatic work consisting of an opera within a drama. This is a master project of both Riles Walsh
(Mmus Composition, Royal Conservatory Ghent) and Stefan Aleksić (MA Drama, KASK School of Art). They are closely collaborating with scenographer & theatremaker Yannick Verweij and an international group of artists, students and young professionals from various conservatoires and art schools.

This work is Riles Walsh’s alunissage – a fractal synecdoche of inhabitation. It is a tribute to a lost family member, a reflection on identity and the struggles of existence. Aleksić’s text pays homage to the female members of his family who migrated from Bosnia to Switzerland and spent their lives cleaning, ending up exhausted, ill, and disfigured. He merges his own position as an immigrant in Belgium with his mother’s experience of working illegally as a cleaner in the West.

The East Complex delves into the complex and interrelated systems that govern our lives.

What becomes of the people, heavily utilized by a system, that are often overlooked by a majority?

Artistic Team
Composition, Sound Design, Libretto Adaptation Riles Walsh
Libretto & Dramaturgy Stefan Aleksić
Stage Direction, Scenography, Video Design Yannick Verweij
Conductor Ronan Whittern
Film Director Liv de Coninck
Associate Video Design Joske Commandeur
Costume Design Leonidas Kanavetsados
Production- & Stage Management Gijs de Jonge
Sound Technician Daan Vanreybrouck

Soloists
Katherine Koester
Moa Karlsson
Noriko Yakushiji
Thomas Vandenabeele
Anne-Laure Dollie
Florencia Molinero
Vahe Harutyunyan

Instrumentalists
Flute Yan Rui
Clarinet Ostap Bachynskyy
Violin Jose Usma
Double Bass Daniel Aztatzi
Accordion Louis De Backere
Percussion Wouter Willems

Special Thanks: Opera Ballet Vlaanderen, Wim Van Brussel, Peter Roosendans, Lise Thomas, Frederik Le Roy, Bardia Mohammad, Valerie Desmet, Isabel Pronk, Velimir Vojinović, Farida Zarouali

The project is realised with the support of OperaBalletVlaanderen, deAuteurs and HoGent.