From research to dress rehearsal

How Ben Verhoeven started a new theater genre in Flanders

While many children have a clear penchant for either languages or science, young Ben Verhoeven felt at home in both domains. Today, he combines his love for theater and improvisation with his background and interest in science through his company ERLNMYR. In the fall of 2025, he launched his sixth show Lang zullen we leven (which literally translates to: long shall we live). In this story, Verhoeven discusses four important steps that helped him get his science theater business off the ground: getting ideas, finding collaborators, securing funding, and selling his shows.

But first, let’s see where it all began. “I’ve always been fascinated by language and theater, as well as science and technology,” Verhoeven says. “My school career has been a mix of both. I started taking theater classes and performing when I was seven. In secondary school, I studied science and math, even if I was also the best in class for English. So after secondary school,  I did end up studying English and theater, film, and literary studies.”

He then went into yet another direction and opted for an MA in Computational Linguistics, which was followed by a PhD. While working on his PhD, Verhoeven became actively involved in improvisation theater. A plan started taking shape in his head. After his graduation, he would take the leap and combine his passions by doing science theater as well as help other people on stage by giving science communication training through his company ERLNMYR.

\ Ben verhoeven © Frédéric Paulussen

Step 1: Getting ideas

Since his self-funded debut, each of Verhoeven’s productions has emerged through a different path. “I’m not ashamed to say that I allow myself to be opportunistic. Where can we make something? Who is interested? Where is the money? You need to look around with an open mind.”

For his first show, Hoofdstof (head dust), Verhoeven and his collaborators developed a game show format where a fictional scientist (played by Verhoeven) competed to win research funding. His second show resulted from perfect timing. A contact at the Flemish government had informed Verhoeven that they were starting a policy plan on artificial intelligence and had some budget for science communication projects. Verhoeven took the opportunity to make a Flemish version of Improbotics, an international format in which the AI-powered robot Alex takes over control from one of the actors on stage, and the audience has to guess who it is.

His next show, Koninkrijk der Weetgierigen (Kingdom of curious minds), landed in his lap. “Pieter Tijtgat, who was working at the Odisee University of Applied Sciences at the time, wrote to me saying: ‘I have a story that I think could be a great performance. Can we talk about it?’” After an online talk, Tijtgat connected him to Odisee teacher and theater maker Tine Van Den Broeck. They went for a walk in a nature reserve (it was during the pandemic, after all), and decided to collaborate. Van Den Broeck and Verhoeven are now developing a second show together. If there is a Brussels government that can sign off their subsidy, that is.

ERLNMYR’s latest production, Lang zullen we leven, started when imec’s communications team contacted him about creating something around chip technology and health. 

Educate or inspire?

In his shows, it is not necessarily Verhoeven’s goal to educate his audience. “There’s always a theme we work around, and there is a goal attached to it. But knowledge transfer is not the first goal. The first goal is to pique the audience’s curiosity and to intrigue them.”

Verhoeven sees it as a continuum from education to theater: on the education side, you find what he calls “experiment shows,” in which a presenter builds a simple narrative around a few cool (and highly visual) science experiments. “There’s a lot of science, but not that much story.”  Then there are shows by people like Lieven Scheire and Hetty Helsmoortel, which have more storytelling but also have elements of a (well-delivered) lecture. “My shows are closer to theater on this spectrum, They’re definitely not experiment shows,” Verhoeven explains.

Theater, Verhoeven emphasizes, is fundamentally about people, emotions, and storytelling. By introducing science as the backdrop against which a story unfolds, he hopes to give his audience a better understanding of some central scientific concepts, such as uncertainty or the iterative process of doing research. 

His shows include learning materials for teachers to use afterwards, allowing them to revisit concepts or ways of thinking from the performance. “Though I don’t know whether teachers actually use them.”

Having a scientific background himself helps to develop ideas and improvise on stage, but when he delves into other domains, it becomes trickier. “My knowledge generally reaches far enough to pretend I have a PhD in biology to an audience of 12- to 14-year-olds. If a research topic comes up, I would have to make up what I say about it, but the core of the story would be related to the scientific method. And when it’s necessary, I ask for help. Depending on the show, I can double-check something with the audience, or ask if someone can do a quick internet search. With other projects, such as his current collaboration with imec, there’s a partner who contributes to the content from the start.”

Step 2: Finding collaborators

As soon as Verhoeven decided to take his career in this direction, he started talking to people about his plans and ideas. During the pandemic, a difficult period as he had only just started his business, he took the opportunity to hold virtual coffee breaks with new connections.

Verhoeven met his fellow performer for his first show, Hoofdstof, in the improv scene. The show’s pianist had also been part of his first science improv experiment. “He is a computer scientist and made an app for us so we could get audience input via mobile phones during the show.” 

Even if he describes himself as a jack-of-all-trades, Verhoeven brings in more specialists when his budget allows this. “I try to budget for set and costume designers. Because that’s a specialty. I may have ideas about these things, but they’re not as substantiated or creative as those of people working in these fields.” 

For his shows in secondary schools, Verhoeven always works with the same sound and light technician. After working together for a while, he’s gotten quite good at improvising along with the players. “He’s so fast that he can find sounds or music online that fit the scene and is not afraid to add them to the show last-minute. It’s really nice when he adapts the lighting based on what we’re playing.”

Finally, next to a good accountant, Verhoeven also has a lawyer specialized in the cultural sector, who helps him draft contracts and can advise on legal matters.

\ Ben Verhoeven © Frédéric Paulussen

Step 3: Getting funding

The economics of artistic entrepreneurship are stark. What they don’t tell you about starting a creative career in science communication: the first year, you might live on your partner’s salary, in combination with the odd interim job. For theater, especially when children are the audience, subsidies are a necessity. You cannot charge a school for the months you spent preparing your show. Verhoeven started working on his first show without any funding. He later did ask the Flemish Government for an ad-hoc subsidy, which then, as mentioned, also resulted in funding for the artificial intelligence show Improbotics.

Corporate sponsorship brings different dynamics. Imec’s contribution to Lang zullen we leven not only provided financial resources and scientific expertise, it also meant that there was someone looking over the team’s shoulders during the show’s development. “We had agreed that I would have complete artistic freedom, but I also wanted them to be happy. So there’s a tension when you work with a commercial partner: how free are you really?”

\ Ben Verhoeven during his show Koninkrijk der weetgierigen  © Karolina Maruszak

Step 4: Finding an audience

When it comes to selling his shows, Verhoeven’s academic experience is a plus, since he had already built a network via Flemish initiatives like the Children’s University and Day of Science. “So I use that network and my credibility as a former scientist.” A booking agent helps him enter Flanders’ cultural scene.

Verhoeven mostly sells his shows to primary and secondary schools, either directly or via a local cultural center or community center. Working in schools has an impact on the possibilities. First of all, primary schools can only pay a small amount per child, due to regulations regarding how much they can charge parents for extracurricular activities. “If we combine two shows on a single day, we can make it work financially. But this kind of budget does not allow for a technician or other support beyond the actors. Luckily, this isn’t the case in secondary schools. “We have to be able to adapt a show to the possibilities of each school. Our primary school shows are low-tech, so that we can perform them in gym halls. Secondary schools usually do have some sort of auditorium, and sometimes we can also play in a local cultural center.” 

In the future, Verhoeven hopes to strengthen his ties to Flanders’ cultural sector. “I’m hoping to do an artistic residence, or maybe get a cultural subsidy.” He dreams of an evening show as well, but for now, he’s content working mostly in the daytime. “I have a family. So I’m not going to fully dedicate my career to evening work.”  

Verhoeven’s trajectory offers a realistic picture for anyone considering a similar path. It requires a clear vision, the willingness to take financial risks and grab each opportunity, and a lot of networking. Seven years in, Verhoeven’s science theater has essentially created a new niche in Flanders. “Sometimes I really miss having someone to decide things with. What’s the direction we’re going? What’s the next project?” But once a project is underway, collaboration kicks in. “I rarely work on a project alone. I’m the producer, but in the creative process, I’m guided and inspired by others.”

More information about ERLNMYR’s shows, including the most recent production Lang zullen we leven on erlnmyr.be

Science theater research

While science theater hardly exists in Belgium, it is more popular in the Netherlands. At Utrecht University, Muriel van der Jagt, science educator at Amsterdam’s science museum NEMO, is currently writing her master’s thesis in science communication and education on the topic. Her interview study focuses on performers’ motivations to do science theater. “The few studies on science theater tend to focus on audience reception.” Van der Jagt shifted the focus to the makers: “Why do people choose to do science theater? What is their goal? It’s great if the audience is excited, but if knowledge transfer was the goal, then something’s not working.”

Van der Jagt is investigating this through interviews with both scientists-turned-performers and theater makers who’ve embraced science. Her research is ongoing, but she already has some interesting preliminary findings.

For example, it seems that scientists tend to focus on conveying the scientific method and how research actually works, while theater makers are more concerned with generating enthusiasm and offering new perspectives on the world.

Van der Jagt: “One person I interviewed has a show about sexual diversity in animals. She doesn’t want her audience to remember exactly which species can be intersex, but wants them to know that what we see in humans also happens in nature. So not a direct knowledge transfer, but a new way of looking at the world.”

After completing her thesis, van der Jagt hopes to get into science theater herself. “Like Freek Vonk, but more focused on physics and chemistry,” and with lots of interactive elements. “One of the most interesting things in science communication is dialogue. So if I made a show, there would be a lot of interaction with the audience.”