11 November 2017 − Armistice Day − but not if you’re working for MeetMarcel! That Saturday, on a fresh autumn morning, I drove to Heysel for a unique project. On my passenger seat, there was a 24-page script. The night before, I had needed quite a lot of time to read every detail in this piece of non-fiction. MeetMarcel invests a lot of time in the detailed preparation of its shows. For me as a stage manager, such an agency is a true luxury. And yet, I’m always overwhelmed when MeetMarcel gets going.

They won’t tolerate any deviation from the script, and you are supposed to know every detail of it as if it were your student club’s songfest. The project at the Heysel was a prime example of top production: 42 technicians, 12 cameramen with a reportage car and robotic arms, 1200 light points, 20 dancers, 15 national and international artists, 4.5 km of cabling, gigantic LED screens, a 20-person backstage crew, and more. And, it has to be said, their production book always falls into place like a perfect puzzle.

Their project won yet another gold Benelux Event Award, and national celebrities like Koen Wauters spoke only with praise about a production that was top-level TV... When you see the result of what you are a part of, you take the healthy stress of working for MeetMarcel in stride. As a freelance stage manager, each MeetMarcel reference is a calling card for other productions at home and abroad.