Maaike Bleeker is a Professor and the Chair of Theatre Studies. She studied Art History, Theatre Studies and Philosophy at the University of Amsterdam where she also completed her PhD on Visuality in the Theatre (2002). Previously, she lectured at the Department of Theatre Studies of the University of Amsterdam, The Piet Zwart Post-Graduate program in Fine Arts (Rotterdam), Media Gn: Centre for Emergent Media (Groningen), The School for New Dance Development (Amsterdam), the post graduate program Arts Performance Theatricality (Antwerp), and in the IPP Performance and Media Studies Summer School of the Johannes Gutenberg Universität, Mainz. Since 1991, she also worked as a dramaturge for various theatre directors, choreographers and visual artists. She performed in several lecture performances, ran her own theatre company (Het Oranjehotel) and translated five plays that were performed by major Dutch theatre companies. She was an Artist in Residence at the Amsterdam School for the Arts (2006-2007) and member of the jury of the Dutch National Theatre Festival TF (2007-2008).