Guy Coolen named intendant of the Fast Forward programme

17 january 2023

Guy Coolen | Photo: © Marcel Lennartz

Guy Coolen has been appointed as the new intendant of the Fast Forward programme, which supports mid-career makers in developing their international careers. Together with a group of scouts active in the Dutch performing arts, Guy will connect talented performing artists with foreign producers, companies, venues and festivals. He’ll take over the role from Johan Gijsen.

A step towards the international stage

“I’ve been involved with Fast Forward as a scout for several years now and have been able to support all kinds of makers during that time. For me, Fast Forward offers a unique opportunity to help makers focus on their international orientation – an important career step for many. This appointment allows me to leverage my network alongside the committee of scouts and use it for the benefit of these fantastic artists.” - Guy Coolen

About Guy Coolen

As the artistic director of festival O. (previously known as Operadagen Rotterdam) and the Belgian production house Muziektheater Transparant, Guy is deeply rooted in the world of music theatre: a crossover between various disciplines. He is also the chairman of the worldwide network Music Theatre Now (part of the International Theatre Institute), which stimulates the development of new forms of opera and music theatre.

Guy brings together artists from all over the world and guides them in their artistic endeavours. Having previously done so as a scout for Fast Forward, he’ll now continue his work as the programme’s intendant.

Fast Forward

‘Fast Forward: talent in an international context’ was established by the Performing Arts Fund NL on January 1st, 2014. The programme offers selected performing artists an opportunity to further their artistic development in collaboration with an international partner. The first edition helped 11 makers to realise their projects. The second edition was launched at the end of 2019.

Read more about Fast Forward here.