Tine Van Aerschot - I have no thoughts and this is one of them
Tine Van Aerschot (Mechelen, 1961) started working in the theatre field in 1987. Her work took various forms as a playwright, designer, producer and writer. There were collaborations with dozens of companies and artists including Meg Stuart and Damaged Goods, Dennis O'Conner, Sarah Chase, Christine Desmedt and Simon Aughterlony.
Her first performance I have no thoughts and this is one of them, played by Claire Marshall, premiered in 2006. Following that, she worked with Canadian actress Tracy Wright and Dutch actress Carly Wijs on Tripple Trooper Trevor Trumpet girl. Unfortunately, shortly after the premiere, Tracy became incurably ill and all performances were cancelled. Tracy's death led to the performance We are not afraid of the dark. Later on, she created a booklet and a pop-up cabinet of curiosities entitled A Partial Exposure of a Half Decent Elephant, which evolved into the When in Doubt Duck. Then came Het betreft Liefde en De Gemiddelde God of het megalomaan minderwaardigheidscomplex. Ik maak me geen illusies en dit is er een van, the translation of her very first theatre text played by Sara Deroo, premiered in May 2023 and is, for now, her last performance. Tine Van Aerschot is a guest lecturer at the Royal Conservatoire Antwerp and at LUCA School of Arts Leuven.
ABOUT I HAVE NO THOUGHTS AND THIS IS ONE OF THEM
I have no thoughts and this is one of them is a long stream of almost thoughts, of almost comments and of almost questions.You were born into a modal, middle-class family somewhere in the western world. You are in the middle of your life, or so you think. You have a reasonable education and you have a plethora of information and opportunities or so it feels. You are a sensible woman with a bright past and a bright future or so it seems. You are incredibly happy or so it should be. I have no thoughts and this is one of them is about taking personal stock at a certain point in a life. This monologue examines the extent to which one has a grip on one's own life and how much one has to be subjected to. And if there is any subjecting, how much more or less would you be subjected to if that life took place elsewhere. Although I have no thoughts and this is one of them starts from the small, the insignificant of personal experiences and frustrations, this performance attempts to confront the universal, the general and the larger. This text is a story of experiences and reflections, of empathy and trying to understand, of ordering and rearranging, of constant change.
