JUNE 2 IN THE OPERA HOUSE
DAY OF THE EMPLOYEES 2026
PLAY THE RHYTHM BEHIND THE NUMBERS DEVELOPING AN OPERA THE LANGUAGE OF BALLET AIRBRUSH AND PAINTING METHODS
GUIDED TOUR AT THE OPERA PARK & DOKØEN GO BEHIND THE SCENES OF DIGITAL HOSTING GUIDED TOUR OF DOKØEN BY THE OPERA HOUSE FROM ‘SPIRITUAL REARMAMENT’ TO THEATRICAL MAGIC UNDERSTANDING GENERATIONS / NONSENSE OR REALITY? THE LIGHTING DESIGNER AND CHOREOGRAPHER’S CREATIVE WORKSPACE GO BEHIND THE SCENES IN GOOD COMPANY WITH THE STAGE TECHNICIANS HURLUMHUSET. FROM THE SMALLEST DETAILS TO THE GRAND VISION A WIG’S JOURNEY FROM IDEA TO PREMIERE SUSTAINABLE THEATRE PRODUCTION THE THEATRE PAINTER’S WORK LISTEN YOUR WAY CLOSER PAPER FLOWERS CHORAL SONG KNIT & CHAT
DEAR COLLEAGUE
Here you can read about all the workshops offered on the Day of the Employees 2026.
You are required to select four workshops in order of priority, after which you will be assigned two workshops. We will in advance of the Day of the Employees inform you which workshops you have been assigned, where at the Opera they will take place, and which colleagues you will be participating with.
But first, you need to choose from the many different workshops.
For each workshop, there will be icons indicating what your role as a participant will be in that particular workshop. It is also stated whether the workshop is offered in Danish and/or English.
Listening: In this workshop you will listen to someone speaking on a specific topic. You are not expected to contribute yourself.
Dialogue: In this workshop you are expected to contribute, and you will have the opportunity to speak with your colleagues.
Active/creative: In this workshop you will need to use your body and/or create something.
Choose workshop between the 22nd of April and the 6th of May 2026.
We look foward to seeing you
AIRBRUSH AND PAINTING METHODS
Learn printing and airbrush techniques with the textile production team
In this workshop, you will gain insight into the work of the textile production team and have the chance to try out some of the techniques we use. During the workshop, we’ll work together to decorate a large tablecloth using some of our printing and airbrush techniques.
If you would like to have a souvenir from the workshop, you can bring a T-shirt or another item of clothing to try the techniques on. You may wish to bring an apron or smock to protect your clothes.
Facilitators: Katja Bie, Maja Marie Halling Rasmussen & Mikala Gandrup
Language: Danish & English
A WIG’S JOURNEY FROM IDEA TO PREMIERE
See how to create a stage wig and transform it from a tuft of hair into the star of the show
The workshop will cover each step, from start to finish, in producing the wigs we see on stage. All considerations regarding the form and function of the final product, as well as factors influencing its creation, maintenance and use, will be discussed. Nicolai and Nikki will describe how to take measurements, sew a wig hair by hair and fit the wig so that it is ready for everything from feasts to fencing.
Facilitators: Nicolai Holm Nielsen & Nikki Kristianson
Language: Danish
LISTEN YOUR WAY CLOSER AND BECOME BETTER AT LISTENING TO YOURSELF AND OTHERS
Strengthen your ability to collaborate and your self-awareness through emotional intelligence
Listening to both ourselves and others to is one of the most crucial – and often overlooked – skills in our working lives. In this workshop, we focus on listening as a skill that enhances collaboration, problem-solving, self-awareness and job satisfaction.
Through a combination of presentations on listening and exercises in small groups, we will explore our automatic listening habits in conversations with others. We will gain a better understanding of what happens when we listen to understand – rather than to respond. How does this affect the relationship, the quality of our dialogue and the solutions we create together?
We also turn our attention to inner listening. For while we listen to others, an inner dialogue often runs with judgements, assumptions and impulses (e.g. ‘I can see his eyes wandering – I must be boring to listen to’ etc.). We explore how this inner voice can get in the way – but also how it can become a source of self-insight and emotional intelligence. We will keep the tone light, with the aim of using self-irony and self-awareness to bring us closer together and take valuable insights with us into the future.
Facilitator: Nina Gram
Language: Danish & English
KNIT & CHAT
An hour of peace and quiet for your knitting with inspiration and good company
Join us for a warm and cozy hour where knitting and human connection weave beautifully together. Bring your own current knitting project – or bring size 4 needles and some thick yarn, and we will help you learn how to cast on and make your first stitches. You can receive and offer advice, share ideas and get help with whatever the yarn and needles might throw at you.
This is all about community, curiosity and getting closer to one another through our handiwork. Everyone is welcome, whether you are a beginner or an experienced knitter. An hour of peace, inspiration and good company.
Facilitators: Birgitte Bandmann, Isabella Blicher, Bermalyn B. Villanueva & Inge Lise Holmenlund
Language: Danish & English
BEHIND THE NUMBERS
How the theatre works. Find out about our finances and organization
Gain insight into how the theatre is organized and funded. Test your knowledge of how the various cogs work together, and what it all costs. What are our sources of income, and what does it cost to do what we do? What frameworks do we work within, and what does it mean to be a state institution? How is the theatre organized, who decides what, and in which forums? You will get answers to all of that.
You will also have the chance to meet your colleagues and talk to them about how we ensure a theatre that meets the moment within the administrative framework we have. You will gain new perspectives on your workplace, chat with new colleagues and perhaps pick up some new buzzwords.
Facilitator: Marie Munk
Language: Danish & English
PLAY THE RHYTHM
Try your hand at percussion and ensemble playing
You will get the chance to play percussion instruments with your colleagues and experience how music and rhythms can create a sense of togetherness and joy. You will gain unique insight into the world of the Royal Danish Orchestra, whilst challenging your coordination and sense of rhythm, and getting a behind-thescenes look at the percussion group’s inner workings. For this workshop, we will learn a short piece of music written especially for the occasion – a unique yet wonderful blend of samba and Balinese gamelan. It will focus on coordination, precision, ensemble playing and very basic music reading. When you sign up, we’ll ask you to assess your level on this scale:
1. Have never played music before and have no knowledge of music notation. 2. Have played music a little and have heard of a G-clef.
3. Have played a fair bit and can read music.
Facilitators: Mads Drewsen, Marcus Wall & Mathias Friis-Hansen
Language: Danish & English
GUIDED TOUR OF THE OPERA PARK
Walk and talk
You are invited to a guided walk in the Opera Park and will have the opportunity to chat with your colleagues. You will be shown around the beautiful garden and hear about the park’s creation and its ambitions. You may even get a tour of the underground section. Along the way, we will stop to enjoy the views, the many architectural lines and the gardens.
The workshop will take place outdoors, so please wear suitable footwear and clothing for the weather.
Facilitator: Nanna Højholt
Language: Danish & English
SUSTAINABLE THEATRE PRODUCTION
From words to action. Hear how we produce sets, costumes and everything else to reduce our environmental impact
A presentation based on the Royal Theatre’s commitment to The Theatre Green Book and to creating more sustainable productions. What to expect from the workshop:
Insight into the theatre’s journey towards more sustainable production: Where we are now, and what concrete measures we have already implemented
Practical inspiration: How can we all contribute to making the theatre greener –in both big and small ways, with a particular focus on The Theatre Green Book’s recycling targets.
Active involvement: Participants are given the opportunity to identify simple, realistic actions they can take themselves to promote sustainability in their daily work
Small steps can make a big difference.
Facilitators: Oliver Campbell-Calder & Mikkel Rubæk Language: Danish
CHORAL SONG
Let your voice resound
Come and sing along! Beginner or experienced – it’s fun either way! Through warm-ups and liberating vocal exercises, we will inspire you to dare to use your whole voice. As we sing lovely melodies together, we will explore why they sit so well and feel so good in the voice. Come and spend an hour of happiness doing what creates the most unity: singing together.
Facilitators: Lars Bo Ravnbak & Annika Isgar Language: Danish
THE LIGHTING DESIGNER AND CHOREOGRAPHER’S CREATIVE WORKSPACE
Hear about lighting design from concept to execution
Come and hear about the creative process in the collaboration between a lighting designer and a choreographer. During the workshop, Thomas Bek Jensen, Eukene Sagues and Joshua Kroon will create lighting designs live while you watch, and you can make suggestions and ask questions along the way. Eukene Sagues is behind works such as Blood Wedding and The Silence of Birds at the Old Stage, and the workshop takes the latter as its starting point –how the choreographer’s visions for the lighting were translated artistically and technically by the lighting designer. Dancer Jimmy Coleman will act as the body, so we can see how the light interacts with his movements.
Look forward to a fun and interesting session!
Facilitators: Thomas Bek Jensen, Eukene Sagues, Joshua Kroon & Jimmy Coleman
Language: English
GUIDED TOUR OF DOKØEN BY THE OPERA HOUSE
Walk and talk
You are invited to a guided walk on Dokøen with time to chat with your colleagues. You will be shown around Dokøen, where you will learn facts about the Opera House, Dokøen and the history of Holmen. You will be shown around the Opera House and hear about the historic area in which it is situated. Along the way, we will stop enjoying the view and the many architectural features. The workshop will take place outdoors, so please wear suitable footwear and clothing for the weather.
Facilitator: Nikolaj Muldkjær
Language: Danish & English
THE LANGUAGE OF BALLET
Throw yourself into the steps of ballet
You will have the chance to express yourself through ballet alongside your colleagues and receive an introduction to ballet as an art form.
How can you use dance and the body to express yourself through ballet? After some initial warm-up exercises, you and your colleagues will experience the power of dance in your own bodies as you try out classical ballet techniques. You will also gain insight into the work of the ballet corps. The workshop requires no prior experience. Please wear clothing that allows you to move freely.
Facilitators: Vítor Menezes & Alison Smith
Language: English
FROM ‘SPIRITUAL REARMAMENT’ TO THEATRICAL MAGIC
A workshop on the theatre’s new PR and press strategy
Join the spiritual arms race! Culture coverage is under pressure from a political news agenda where crises and conflicts often prevail over art’s unique ability to stimulate curiosity and contemplation. But political slogans such as ‘wellbeing crisis’, ‘spiritual rearmament’ and ‘cultural resilience’ are not just political obstacles for cultural institutions, but can be a golden opportunity to seize the agenda.
Using specific case studies, you will hear how we use new tools to shape the news agenda, ensuring the theatre’s many fantastic stories reach everyone –from decision-makers at Christiansborg to theatre audiences in Frederikshavn. Together, we will break down buzzwords like Issue Management, Issue Ownership and Newsjacking, offering insight into our daily life in the PR and press department and equipping you to understand a new media reality.
Facilitators: Michael Jannerup & NaNa Gravgaard
Language: Danish
UNDERSTANDING GENERATIONS. NONSENSE OR REALITY?
Gain both self-awareness and a ‘colleague’s perspective’ as you hear about perspectives across generations
You are familiar with personality profiles and life stages, but many people have a blind spot when it comes to the significance of the influences of our upbringing from society, family, school, etc. These shape our collaborations, the quality of our work and our shared working environment.
Join the workshop and gain an understanding of why it is so important to understand each other’s formative influences from our upbringing, biases, preferences and strengths. During the workshop, you will learn what has shaped the different generations – from the baby boomers and the results-oriented Gen X’ers, through the purpose-driven Gen Y’ers, to the digital natives of Gen Z – and how each brings a unique set of skills to the table.
This workshop will take you on a humorous journey through the generational landscape. You will have a laugh and plenty to think about as we explore the generational influences on our preferences and expectations regarding working life, leadership and collaboration.
You will hopefully gain not only self-awareness, but also insight into your ‘colleagues’ perspectives’. This knowledge can help create a workplace where generational differences enhance the quality of our collaboration and team spirit.
Join us and discover how generational awareness can become your new superpower!
Facilitator: Karen Spuur
Language: Danish
DEVELOPING AN OPERA
Gain a unique insight and hear about the process from idea to premiere
Meet opera director Elisabeth Linton, director of Der Rosenkavalier, among others, in conversation with technical director Sanne Brodersen about how an opera comes to life. Elisabeth and Sanne have a combined experience of more than 100 opera productions!
You will gain insight into some of the many calculations that go into a finished production. Hear why planning for an opera begins 2½ years before the premiere, and how the final decisions are made just before the premiere. Elisabeth and Sanne discuss the choices that need to be made regarding everything from scenography, costumes and wigs to entrances and exits from the stage and how dialogue works with and within the artistic team.
Any major opera production involves numerous people. Time and money are also key factors that shape the collaboration between artistic teams, performers, and the theatre’s backstage staff.
Facilitators: Elisabeth Linton & Sanne Brodersen
Language: Danish
GO BEHIND THE SCENES IN GOOD COMPANY WITH THE STAGE TECHNICIANS
Come and be physically challenged in various stage technical disciplines
In this workshop, you will learn about the workflow and safety aspects of the stage technicians’ tasks when setting up performances. And you will pick up a few good anecdotes along the way.
You will also get to try some of it for yourself: learn how to roll out a vinyl dance floor correctly (it looks easier than it is). Learn how to tie rigging lines and how they’re spliced. Walk with a wall and focus a lamp. And see how it’s done when a colleague has to get into a harness for a flight.
You should wear practical clothing that allows you to move freely and closed-toe shoes.
Facilitators: Lena Zink Brask, Astrid Heisel, Lars Schulze, Claus Pitzner & Martin Høier Language: Danish
THE THEATRE PAINTER’S WORK
Test your skills with the drawing stick
Here you will gain insight into the craft of the theatre painter and have the chance to try out the long drawing stick yourself. During the workshop, you will receive a broad introduction to the craft behind the theatre painter’s work. Hear about the practical work, collaboration with set designers and the hidden considerations. Afterwards, you will get to test your own skills in theatre painting as you draw with a long drawing stick on the day’s large, stretched canvas spread out on the floor.
Facilitator: Ask Bengtson Language: Danish
PAPER FLOWERS
Learn how to make beautiful creations
Learn how to make paper flowers that resemble a natural flower or a flower from your own imagination and meet your creative colleagues for a chat about techniques and colour choices. You will be guided through the process of creating your own paper flower. You will learn about choosing materials and colours, as well as various techniques for shaping flowers and adding the finishing touches. There will be step-by-step guidance, and skilled colleagues will help you create your own personal flower. You can choose whether to create a lifelike flower or a fantasy flower, and you are free to experiment with colour combinations. You will need to use your fine motor skills and be creative. After the workshop, you can take your flower home.
Facilitator: Marita Birgitte Hedegaard & Marcus Steenberg Language: Danish & English
HURLUMHUSET
FROM THE SMALLEST DETAILS TO THE GRAND VISION
Come and hear about the theatre’s major new venture
How do you use children as advisors? Who lives in Hurlumhuset? What can you experience in the old theatre? Why is play so important? What do the costumes look like? Who are the heroes, and are there any villains?
If you are curious about the things you will soon be able to experience at Hurlumhuset, then come and hear Head of Children’s Outreach, Gunna Winterberg, and Production Manager for Design and Construction, Kasper Hansen, talk about the creation of the children’s universe at Hurlumhuset, AND get a sneak peek at some of the things you can see, try on and try out there.
Facilitators: Gunna Winterberg & Kasper Hansen Language: Danish
GO BEHIND THE SCENES OF DIGITAL HOSTING
Hear about the collaboration and shared understanding it takes to develop the theatre’s new website, ticketing system, customer service, etc.
In this workshop, we will take you behind the scenes of digital hosting. You will gain an insight into how we have revamped the entire digital audience experience, and how this work has resulted in new websites for the Royal Theatre and the children’s universe, a new ticketing and purchasing flow, and new approaches to customer service, which together form a new and cohesive digital customer journey.
At the workshop, you will gain insight into how we have used change and coordination to ensure a shared direction. You will also gain insight into how we have structured the work using the theatre’s project management tools, and what lessons we have learned.
The workshop is not about technology, but about what went on behind the scenes that led to the final result.
We will share our experiences of how we have:
1. Worked towards a shared vision and adjusted our course as we learned new things
2. Organized ourselves in a way that allowed us to develop whilst day-to-day operations continued
3. Built structure and collaboration across teams so that the right people were brought in at the right times
4. Dealt with frustrations, dependencies, priorities and the many big and small decisions that come with a project of this scale
5. Ensured that all aspects of the organization were taken into account – even when the task did not immediately seem relevant to everyone
The workshop is for those who are curious about how to navigate a major change in practice, and what it requires in terms of collaboration and shared understanding – regardless of professional background.
Facilitators: Nina Hestehave & Nanna Jensen
Language: Danish & English
FOYERFESTIVAL
FOYERFESTIVAL FROM 9.00 TO 10.30
Between 9:00 and 10:30, the foyer of the Opera House will be buzzing with life, art, and colleagues! Coffee and bread rolls will be served.
You can meet your colleagues in the Employee Library and hear about what they do at the theatre. There will also be time to learn more about everything that’s happening in Personaleforeningen, Kunstforeningen, Kajakklubben, the Competence Fund, Postyrium, and Stærekassen. There will be both artistic contributions and communal singing, so come and join us and start The Day of The Employees in the best possible way.
From 14:30 to 15:00, we will round off the day together, with time to mingle with your (new) colleagues and share impressions from the day. Coffee and cake will be served.
Read more about The Day Of The Employees on Kongesiden