Carlie Schoonees – I eat men like air
I eat men like air is a future piece for a percussionist that explores female rage as a physical, embodied, and often suppressed force. For her research in February and March 2026 Carlie Schoonees is a residency guest at L.I.K. – Laboratory for Inclusive Culture by Un-Label in Cologne.
About the research
During the residency, composer Carlie Schoonees will compose a solo work for percussionist Rita Couto Soares that explores female rage as a physical, embodied, and often suppressed force, alongside what emerges once that rage has burned through. The title, I eat men like air, is taken from the final stanza of Sylvia Plath’s poem Lady Lazarus, in which the speaker appears as a figure repeatedly destroyed, displayed, consumed, and resurrected by doctors, men, institutions, and spectators.
[…]
Beware
Beware.
Out of the ash
I rise with my red hair
And I eat men like air.
The work will engage with this figure not only as a symbol of triumph, but as a body shaped by cycles of oppression, endurance, and survival. Rage will be present as something sharp, raw, consuming, and unavoidable – an unapologetic response to lived experience and systemic pressure. At the same time, the piece will also be concerned with what follows rage: emotional coldness, detachment, and the altered state that can arise when survival replaces resistance.
I eat men like air will reflect on how female anger is frequently pathologized, silenced, shamed, or redirected inward. By blurring the boundaries between musical action and physical expression, the piece will seek to give form to emotions that are socially discouraged from being expressed openly. The composer and performer will search for ways to transform gestures and movements of anger, and their aftermath, into sound, emphasising the body as a carrier of memory, frustration, and endurance.
Artists
Carlie Schoonees
Carlie Schoonees is a South African composer based in Cologne, Germany. Schoonees works across instrumental, theatre, electroacoustic, multimedia, performative, and interdisciplinary projects. Her music frequently explores psychological themes, including her own neurodivergence, through text, metaphors drawn from nature, and musical and performative gestures.
Schoonees’ works have been commissioned and performed at festivals such as Acht Brücken (2024), ORBIT Festival for Contemporary Theatre (2024), AvantGarten Liedberg (2020), and Woordfees (2018) in South Africa, among others. She has had three premieres with Ensemble Musikfabrik as part of the Adventure concert series, participated in workshops with ensembles such as JACK Quartett, and received a commission from the University of Bonn, which was premiered at the Beethoven-Haus in Bonn.
After completing her bachelor’s degree in composition at Stellenbosch University with Hans Roosenschoon, she moved to Cologne in 2019, where she graduated with two master’s degrees – in instrumental composition and in electronic composition – from the Hochschule für Musik und Tanz. During this time, she had lessons with Sergej Maingardt, Michael Beil, Annesley Black, Brigitta Muntendorf, and Miroslav Srnka.
Rita Couto Soares
Rita Couto Soares is a Portuguese percussionist whose work focuses on contemporary music. She is particularly interested in performing new works and collaborating with composers. She studied Percussion at the University of Minho with Nuno Aroso and completed two Master’s degrees in Solo Percussion and New Music at the Hochschule für Musik und Tanz Köln, where she studied with Carlos Tarcha and Dirk Rothbrust. Rita has taken part in international programs such as the Darmstädter Ferienkurse, the European Workshop for Contemporary Music and the Remix Ensemble Academy. She has performed at renowned contemporary music festivals including Acht Brücken and Warsaw Autumn, and has collaborated with ensembles such as Ensemble Musikfabrik and unfeed format. She is active as a freelance percussionist and performs regularly in contemporary and interdisciplinary projects across Europe.
Credits: 1) Sophia Hegewald, 2) und 3) Anna Tena
About the residence programme by Un-Label
Un-Label’s artist residencies provide artists with disabilities with the opportunity to realise their own creative projects while receiving targeted support. The Labor für inklusive Kultur (L.I.K.) in Cologne serves as a central space where artists with disabilities can connect, collaborate, and work in an inclusive environment. In addition to financial, personnel, and logistical support, the residencies focus on interdisciplinary and intersectional collaboration. Un-Label also partners with cultural networks to establish accessibility and long-term support for artists with disabilities within the arts sector.
