Company Cecilia
When an organisation wants its strategic plan to set a new direction, it needs someone willing to ask the right questions. Compagnie Cecilia chose to work with S&L five years ago. Now, it has chosen to do so again.
Compagnie Cecilia is a Ghent-based theatre community committed to actor-led theatre and accessible storytelling. It creates and presents productions both in its own theatre and at other locations. Its home is De Expeditie, in Ghent’s former docklands.
Vjera Somers, General and Business Director of Compagnie Cecilia, explains: “Five years ago, Arne Sierens—the founder and, until then, the public face of the organisation—moved on. The team was entirely new and had to rebuild the organisation from the ground up. There was no blueprint, only the conviction that our theatre had to remain accessible and welcoming.”
Compagnie Cecilia brought in S&L—not for ready-made answers, but for the right questions. What do we stand for? Who are we doing this for? How do we want to work together? S&L helped the team return to the fundamentals and develop an impact model. This set out the impact Compagnie Cecilia wanted to have on the cultural sector and the wider world, as well as the choices required to create that impact. It was focused, powerful and tailored to the organisation.
“Our strategic reflection led us, among other things, to move away from the conventional structure centred on a single artistic director who sets the direction. Instead, we decided to work with a broader group of theatre-makers. That felt like a bold step.”
But it worked. Today, Compagnie Cecilia attracts 40,000 visitors a year, and the organisation is thriving. As a new strategic-planning cycle begins, it has once again chosen to work with S&L.
The questions no one asks aloud
“S&L asks the questions that tend to remain unspoken internally. They do not shy away from difficult conversations. Sometimes you need an outsider to name what you can no longer see yourself,” says Vjera.
The collaboration extends beyond the strategic plan. Along the way, Compagnie Cecilia has also turned to S&L for support with specific organisational questions, including the division of responsibilities, internal dynamics and innovation. As Compagnie Cecilia itself describes it, the support was always focused and manageable.
“S&L helps you see things differently and face the difficult questions rather than avoid them.”
In 2024, more than a year before the deadline for the existing strategic plan, S&L spoke with artists and partners as part of a mid-term review. This helped bring previously unseen issues to the surface. “An organisation is constantly evolving. If you only come together when the strategic plan is due, you miss a great deal,” says Vjera.
Compagnie Cecilia and S&L also explored new directions for the organisation and reconsidered the internal division of responsibilities. When the new strategic-planning process began in late 2025, much of the essential thinking had therefore already been done.
A collaboration that inspires both sides
Sabine Craenen explains: “For us, Compagnie Cecilia is a client that inspires us in return. The organisation works sociocratically, for example, and that is not just an appealing idea on paper. You feel it as soon as you walk through the door. There are few barriers, and everyone is approachable—audience members, actors and staff alike.”
“The strategic-planning process is also a genuine co-creation between S&L and Compagnie Cecilia. S&L prepares the working sessions, and Compagnie Cecilia then actively builds on the outcomes. When we return two weeks later, a great deal of progress has been made. That collaboration creates real energy.”
Vjera agrees: “That interplay makes all the difference. The entire team has great confidence in S&L—so much so that choosing S&L for our new strategic plan was almost a no-brainer.”
“The entire Compagnie Cecilia team has great confidence in S&L.”
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