About Elly

Hello, I am Elly Jarvis, a theatre-maker, performer, and director based in Berlin. My work combines documentary research, improvisation, work with non-professionals, music, and devised theatre to create performances in which bodies rehearse identities they have not yet learned to inhabit.

I approach theater as a space of rehearsal: a liminal, magical space where individuals and communities can physically try out new ways of being together before they become possible elsewhere. My projects often begin with ethnographic research, archival material, or personal histories, but the destination is always embodied. Historical images become choreographic scores, interviews become image, social questions become live situations shared between performers and audiences. Collaboration is one of my core values: I believe we are wiser, cleverer and more capable together.

Across my work, I often return to moments of transformation: children inventing democratic societies, a grandpa and granddaughter renegotiating queer kinship, communities learning protest, or performers attempting or dissecting femininity, vulnerability, or visibility they have been taught to avoid. Humor, play, and rigorous research coexist with an interest in ritual, participation, and the politics of the body.

I grew up amongst the corn fields of central Minnesota. I got my big break to study Acting at the University of Michigan and then moved across seas where I completed an MFA in Theatre Education at the Berlin University of the Arts and further training in Dance in Theatre and Education. I now work across theatre, dance, opera, documentary film, and participatory performance.

Curiosity and openness are my two primary motors for creative work.

My recent work has been presented at the Berliner Ensemble, Deutsche Oper Berlin, English Theatre Berlin, FELD Theater, Hin & Weg Festival, and the International Short Film Festival Oberhausen.

My hobbies include: fermentation (in particular of lemons), playing video games, watching Youtube, doing yoga and attempting flower arrangements.