Cellosonate / WAAGSTUK

The situation

Following strategic sessions on strengthening the organisation of Foundation Cellosonate Nederland, Green Room shifted focus to a new challenge: promoting Caffè Sospeso. This music theatre piece tells the story of two homeless cellists, a mother and her son.

Part of the Dutch tour was embedded in Dakloos aan de kade, a Rotterdam festival dedicated to the topic of homelessness. The festival explored the issue through film, an exhibition, talks, and site-specific performances of Caffè Sospeso.

Although the tour and festival were organised separately, they called for a unified and efficient communication strategy.

The process

In unexpectedly harsh winter conditions, Marc art-directed an outdoor photoshoot – unplanned, but strikingly suited to the subject. The resulting imagery was paired with a bold graphic style, developed to serve both the festival and tour campaigns through tailored designs.

Green Room managed targeted print and social media campaigns in selected cities and handled media outreach. A marketing toolkit was created for theatres, including campaign visuals, a promotional video trailer, and marketing text. Personal contact with promoters helped secure their active engagement.

Collaboration with the marketing manager of Dakloos aan de kade was close throughout, with Green Room taking on the role of project manager to keep all partners coordinated and on track.

The results

Caffè Sospeso was performed 24 times, including appearances at leading new music festivals such as O. Festival Rotterdam and November Music. The production received enthusiastic coverage from national media, with rave reviews in Theaterkrant, NRC, and Volkskrant, and an interview with cellist-performer Doris Hochscheid on NPO Radio4.

Future-proof

After the success of their music theatre series, the name ‘Cellosonate’ no longer reflected the full scope of activities led by cellist-performer Doris Hochscheid and her team. Green Room was invited to structure and lead an internal brand naming session. The result is WAAGSTUK, a name for which Green Room created the logo. (There’s no direct English translation; the word evokes venture, enterprise, with an explicit element of risk.)