Foto: Merthe Wulff

My name is Jäckie Rydz (they/them) and I am a performance artist.

I develop body-based performances that deconstruct social rituals and renegotiate queer bodies, space, and language. In my artistic research, I ask how transformation is made possible through immersive stage designs, poetic texts, and radical presence. Through interaction with the audience, transformation becomes a tangible experience—especially when dealing with the intimacy of queer bodies.

My first production, BABYLON, premiered in April 2023 at Nowy Teatr Warsaw and was shown at Theater der Welt 2023 (supporting program), the Le Lampenfieber Festival Berlin, and the HundertPro! Festival 6.1. at Ringlokschuppen Ruhr. In June 2025, my first solo work, OLYMPIA, premiered at Sportfest at Ballhaus Ost Berlin, a physical exploration of the systematic oppression of queer bodies in bureaucracy and history.

I completed my B.A. in Stage Design (Berlin University of the Arts) and my M.A. in Applied Theater Studies (Giessen). During my studies in Giessen, I began a continuous, body-based practice, which I have been developing further since last year with choreographer Pamela Moraga. Together, we develop ritualized movement sequences that make the body visible as a medium and continue in the stage space and text.

As a freelance stage designer, I most recently worked at the Ringtheater Berlin for Transgenerations in June 2024 and at the Mousonturm Frankfurt for the Zaungäste Kollektiv in November 2023. In 2022, I was a fellow of the EU-wide ChangeNow! program, the Academy of the International Theater Institute in 2023, and a mentee in the LAFT Berlin entry program in 2024.