Booklet 'In Search of New Audiencies, the City in all it's Diversity' by Dutch Performing Arts

ASSITEJ NL & PRESENT

1- 4 September

IN SEARCH OF NEW AUDIENCES THE CITY IN ALL ITS DIVERSITY 1

INDEX Notes 26 Seminar 28 Photo exposition ‘Look’ 28

Programme scheme 4 Preface 6

TH EATR E S

29 Bijlmer Parktheater 29 De Krakeling 29 De Meervaart 30 Oostblok 30 Podium Mozaïek 31 Vondelpark Openluchttheater 31

9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19

TF Jong 32 Colophon 34

PROGRAMME SCHEME IN SEARCH OF NEW AUDIENCES THE CITY IN ALL ITS DIVERSITY

SATERDAY, SEPT 3 11:00-11:30 am 11:30-11:55 am 12:00-12:20 am 12:30-12:55 am

1- 4 September

1:00-1:35 pm 1:30-2:00 pm

THURSDAY, SEPT 1 5:00-7:00 pm 7:30-8.30 pm

2:00-2:40 pm 3:00-3:45 pm

Registration, drinks & dinner | Welcome speech | Opening photo expo Look Performance: Know Me by BonteHond

4:00-4:30 pm 4:40-5:30 pm 5:30-6:00 pm

FRIDAY, SEPT 2 8:45-9:15 am 9:30-10:00 am 10:00-1:00 pm

1:10-2:00 pm 1:30-2:00 pm 2:00-4:00 pm 4:00-5:00 pm 5:10-6:00 pm 6:15-7:15 pm 7:30-8:55 pm 9:15 pm 10:00 pm

Bus trip from Volkshotel to De Balie Coffee/tea SHOWCASES BY DUTCH ASSITEJ MEMBERS Feikes Huis | Panama (2+) DEGASTEN | Awake (14+) Theater Terra | Guess how much I love you (4+) & King Arthur (8+) TG Graasland | Brrr! (4+) Wervelwind Ensemble/Muziekvoorstelling.nl | Twirl Tryater | Knitting (4+) Vanaf 2 / Simone de Jong | Hermit (2+) Lunch Registration visitors seminar Seminar about diversity for young audiences Drinks Bus trip from De Balie to De Meervaart Dinner Welcome speech by Andreas Fleischmann and Daria Bukvic Performance: Jihad the performance by Theater De Meervaart & Senf Theaterpartners Bus trip from De Meervaart to Leidseplein and Volkshotel Performance: De Familie Manson by Lars Doberman at Theater Bellevue (optional)

6:00-8:00 pm 9:00-10:00 pm 11:00 pm

SUNDAY, SEPT 4 9:45-10:15 am 10:15-10:30 am 10:45 am 11:00-11:35 am 10:30-11:00 am 11:15-12:15 am 12:30 pm 2:00-3:00 pm 3:15-3:45 pm 4:00-5:15 pm 5:20-5:50 pm 6:00-7:00 pm 7:30-8:40 pm 8:40-9:40 pm 10:30 pm

Bus trip from Volkshotel to De Krakeling Coffee/tea Performance: Mating Season by Aya Danstheater / Alida Dors Bus trip from De Krakeling to Vondelpark Lunch Welcome speech by Ellis van der Giessen, programme manager Vondelpark Openluchttheater Performance: The crazy boys on holiday (4+) by Plan D- | Andreas Denk Bus trip from Vondelpark to Bijlmer Parktheater Performance Hip Hop Hurray by Frontaal / Don’t hit Mamma Talk with Ernestine Comvalius, managing director of Bijlmer Parktheater Bus trip from Bijlmer Parktheater to Krakeling Networking dinner Performance: 100% Selfmade by DOX / Maas Theater & Dans Bus trip from de Krakeling to Volkshotel Group 1: Bus trip from Volkshotel to De Krakeling Group 2: Walk from Volkshotel to Oostblok Welcome speech by Marijke Schermer, artistic director Oostblok Option 1: performance iPet by Bonte Hond at Oostblok Option 2: performance In the distance by Malou van Sluis and Judith Sleddens at De Krakeling Bus trip from De Krakeling to Oostblok and Podium Mozaïek Lunch and speech by Zafer Yurdakul, managing director Podium Mozaïek Performance: We’re going on a bear hunt by Theater Sonnevanck / Silbersee Bus trip from Podium Mozaïek to De Meervaart Performance: Aunties by Toneelmakerij Bus trip from De Meervaart to De Krakeling Dinner Performance: In my mind I’m a thin girl by NT Jong Drinks Bus trip from De Krakeling to Volkshotel

PREFACE In search of new audiences, the city in all its diversity!

We wish to thank all the theatres for their immense help in compiling this programme: De Meervaart, Het Bijlmerparktheater, Podium MozaĂŻek, Oostblok and the Vondelpark Openluchttheater. We look forward to taking you along on our quest to find new audience groups!

Welcome to this 4-day festival, aimed at showcasing the diversity of youth theatre and youth dance in the Netherlands to national and international professionals. We have searched for the kind of performances that can draw a diverse audience, with stories told from unusual angles, offered at different locations spread across the city. We will see shows in the popular tourist venue of the Vondelpark, but will also take you by bus to theatres in areas where tourists never tread. De Krakeling will serve as the festival centre.

On behalf of Assitej Nederland and the Krakeling Kees Blijleven Dutch Performing Arts Anja Krans

At the international festivals that we visited in recent months, diversity was a recurrent theme. The festivals and participating companies all feel a strong urge to find ways to reach out to new audience groups. In a quickly changing society, there is a need for different stories, and to see and to present a mirror of society on stage. In these 4 days, we will attempt to meet the urgent need for diversity, in the Dutch context. There are 12 performances for visitors to visit in these 4 days. To mention just a few: Jihad is about young people traveling to Syria to contribute to the cause; Know Me is about the comfort that Maria Callas can offer adolescents; there is a comedy about aunts (Aunties), and there are performances for very young visitors. Clearly, many different sides to the coin named diversity are presented here. This mini-festival is all about colour, about gender, and about homosexuality. There are theatre and dance performances for toddlers and adolescents and everyone in between. The festival is also about the actual context of a performance. These 4 days will be a lively demonstration of the vitality of theatre for children and adolescents in the Netherlands. Besides these performances, there are lots of other events. On Friday morning we are pleased to introduce you to some members of Assitej Netherlands, who will also present some excerpts. This is followed by a seminar on Friday afternoon about the theme of diversity in cultural centre De Balie, where we will present a number of inspiring stories. And there are lots of opportunities to discuss performances youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve seen during the shared meals and bus rides. This festival is an initiative by Assitej Netherlands in collaboration with De Krakeling and Dutch Performing Arts, and is held as part of TfJong, the annual Amsterdam festival where last seasonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s best performances are shown again.

Thursday 1 sept 07:30 pm | De Krakeling

BONTEHOND KNOW ME (12+) Know me - A plea for individuality and for the guts to stand out from the crowd. Just imagine: you are a fifteen-year-old, red-haired boy who adores Maria Callas. Your mum is highly self-centred, your classmate a bully who tries everything to get you down. And above all, you live in Almere: the city no one wants to live in. How on earth will you stay true to yourself? Just when everything seems hopeless, the boy gets help from outer space: Klaus Nomi has arrived.

DIRECTION René Geerlings DURATION 60 min. CONTACT FOR BOOKING Maartje Nieuwint maartje@bontehond.net WEBSITE www.bontehond.net

Know Me is a visual music theatre performance about being different, about the power of vulnerability and resilience. Because being yourself no matter what, however crazy or deviant, takes a lot of courage.

DOX / Maas Theater & Dans | 100% Selfmade (12+) BonteHond | iPet (2,5+)

BonteHond makes shows for a wide audience and gives room to new theatre talent. The signature style of BonteHond can be described as quirky, visual and physical theatre for children, youth and family audiences, with a lot of focus on location theatre, talent development and community arts. Topical and socially relevant theatre, made from ‘New Town’ Almere, in the youngest province of the Netherlands.

Malou van Sluis & Judith Sleddens | In the distance (2+) Theater Sonnevanck / Silbersee | We are going on a bear hunt (4+) Toneelmakerij | The Aunties (8+) NTJong | In my mind I’m a thin girl (12+)

Photo: Kamerich & Budwilowitz

NOTES

Friday 2 sept 07:30 pm | De Meervaart

Saturday 3 sept 10.15 am | De Krakeling

THEATER DE MEERVAART & SENF THEATERPARTNERS JIHAD THE PERFORMANCE (15+)

AYA DANSTHEATER / ALIDA DORS MATING SEASON (10+)

The theatre performance Jihad is about the three friends Ismael, Reda and Ben who no longer feel at home in the Netherlands. They leave for the Middle East to join the Jihadis. Once arrived, they encounter a situation that’s less heroic than they had envisaged.

DIRECTION Daria Bukvicncini DURATION 80 min. CONTACT FOR BOOKING Andreas Fleischmann afleischmann@meervaart.nls.nl WEBSITE www.meervaart.nl

The founder of the production is Belgian writer and director Ismaël Saidi, who also plays a part in the original Belgian variant Djihad. The piece is autobiographical, for Ismaël was himself recruited as a young man to fight in Afghanistan. So he is intimately familiar with the subject matter. His performance had a strong impact on the audience because his work is comical and tragic at the same time. His tone and message are close to the experience of youngsters, he doesn’t shun taboos and in fact makes them debatable. The light-hearted tone of his piece brings people together. It creates room for discussion and sharing of common experiences.

Photo: Ben van Duin

Danstheater AYA produces powerful dance theatre performances for youngsters about current, confronting themes that are connected to their reality, like cultural identity, sexuality, peer pressure or popularity. AYA’s performances are intense and direct and are characterized by a dynamic mixture of dance styles and music. AYA is the only Dutch company that consequently places contemporary dance in combination with text and personal stories of dancers next to popular expressions from the urban culture. Performances by AYA cause discussion and emotions, confront and explore borders, exactly like youngsters explore their own borders.

NOTES

Photo: Sanne Peper

NOTES

As part of Danstheater AYA’s silver jubilee, artistic director Wies Bloemen asked amongst others Alida Dors to engage in a dialogue with one of her older work. Alida Dors choose the piece Mating season from 1996. The hormones race through the dancers’ bodies in Mating season. The duet is Alida Dors’ response to the conflicting feelings which arise when you deeply long for someone. The electrified dancers perform a raw courtship ritual. They revolve around each other without touching, driven by the uncertainty about the durability of the longing.

CHOREOGRAPHY Alida Dors based on an idea of Wies Bloemen DURATION 20 min. CONTACT FOR BOOKING Frontaal Theaterbureau: Mirjam Nebbeling info@frontaal.com WEBSITE www.aya.nl

Saturday 3 sept 02:00 pm | Vondelpark Openluchttheater

Saturday 3 sept 11:30 am | Studio Aya

PLAN D- | ANDREAS DENK THE CRAZY BOYS ON HOLIDAY (4+)

DON’T HIT MAMA / FRONTAAL HIP HOP HURRAY (4+)

It’s finally holiday-time! Two neighbours are on their way to their vacation spot in their old Volkswagen beetle. They are really looking forward to it! Sandwiches for on the way, a map on their laps, and the radio is tuned into the latest weather forecasts from Spain. But what is rumbling under the hood of the car? And where is the smoke coming from? Luckily, the neighbours are not easily defeated. Problems are there to be solved. They roll up their sleeves, clean their tools, and submit the car to an unforgettable tinkering match. Slowly, the beetle is changed into a fairy-tale-like swinging carousel. This sparkling dance performance shows that problems don’t have to be bothersome, but rather on the contrary. And that actually all of the solutions are fine, as long as you have fun. And no matter what the outcome is, it’s always enjoyable to solve the problems together!”

DIRECTION Yvonne Birghan - van Kruyssen DURATION 35 min. CONTACT FOR BOOKING Britt Arp britt@plan-d.nl WEBSITE ww.plan-d.nl

Hip Hop Hurray! is a humorous hip-hop show, illustrating what it’s like to be yourself, to be different and to be together. For choreographer Honey Eaves hip-hop is the perfect genre to display the ins and outs of social behaviour to children, inspired by the characteristic values of the hip-hop scene. The dancers will explore the concepts of me, you, them and us with each other and with the children, as the show will finish with an interactive moment of shaking and grooving together. The music in Hip Hop Hurray! will make the children swing and is a trip down memory lane for the parents, all of course entirely kids proof. Funky and colourful animations will complete the experience, which proves that being together is much more fun than being alone. Hurray!

DIRECTION Honey Eavis (concept: Mirjam Nebbeling + Honey Eavis) DURATION 2 versions: without animation 40 min. with animation 55 min. CONTACT FOR BOOKING Frontaal Theaterbureau: Mirjam Nebbeling info@frontaal.com WEBSITE www.frontaal.com

Theatrical Agency Frontaal challenged the Amsterdam based dance company Don’t Hit Mama to create a hip-hop show for young children. Frontaal believes that the importance of hip-hop and urban influences in the current field of dance is something that needs attention and needs to be broadened further than an audience of adolescents and adults. In an effort to offer the full and diverse world of dance to a wide audience, Frontaal set up a collaboration with Don’t Hit Mama. Choreographer Honey Eavis from Don’t Hit Mama has worked with children before, but in choreographing for them she finds a challenge in involving them in the experience.

Plan d-, the international theatre company under the artistic leadership of Andreas Denk (choreographer, dancer and set designer) has been creating exciting dance theatre for children and their families alike since 2008. His narrative pieces include themes from peoples’ everyday lives. Andreas Denk gathers inspiration from peoples’ stories, objects in his surroundings and unique spaces. He approaches his tragic characters with the necessary touch of absurd humour, making the performances not only entertaining but also touching.

Photo: Bowie Verschuuren

NOTES

Photo: #2 plan d

NOTES

Saturday 3 sept 09:00 pm | De Krakeling

Sunday 4 sept 11:00 am | Oostblok

DOX / MAAS THEATER & DANS 100% SELFMADE (12+)

BONTEHOND IPET (2,5+)

CHOREOGRAPHY Arthur Rosenfeld i.a.w. Erik Bos, Niels van der Steen and the dancers DURATION 75 min. CONTACT FOR BOOKING Dana Kibbelaar dana@maastd.nl WEBSITE DOX: www.wijzijndox.nl Maas: www.maastd.nl

iPet is a hilarious performance for the youngest audience, without the chit-chat but with a lot of music, magic and movement. Inventive use of iPads on stage, in combination with the physical acting of the duo makes iPet an extremely funny show, for young and old.

DOX makes multidisciplinary theatre productions, and is a breeding ground for young, culturally diverse talent in the performing arts arena. DOX discovers, guides and offers a stage to young theatre talent. Inspired by a diversity of cultures, DOX works dynamically, adopting a multi-coloured style of theatre production, which offers space to the talent and the ideas of up-and-coming performing artists. By making theatre with young players and young producers of diverse cultural backgrounds, they are offered serious opportunities for career development. Maas Theater & Dance is physical, imaginative and distinctive in every sense. Maas performs for everyone: children from the age of 3, school classes, families, teens and young adults.

Photo: Kamerich & Budwilowitz

iPet opens with two children’s entertainers about to start their act. They create balloon animals and do magic tricks by pulling bananas out of iPads, just the way it’s supposed to be. But the magic trick starts to rebel and the iPad turns out to be a cheeky prankster who disrupts the entire show. Eventually, no one knows who controls who anymore. Look around you. Everyone is probably staring at an image on a screen, and it seems completely normal. But if you’re constantly being kept busy by a computer, how self-sufficient will you grow up? Can you stay smart if you don’t have to think for yourself anymore? Is the iPad making the world a smaller, or a bigger place?

DIRECTOR René Geerlings DURATION 40 min. CONTACT FOR BOOKING Liselotte Bos Liselotte@bontehond.net WEBSITE www.bontehond.net

NOTES

Photo: Kamerich & Budilowitz

NOTES

A group of young men from different backgrounds, all of them late bloomers and all crazy about dancing, strive to realize their dream: making it as a professional dancer. They battle their way towards the top. What begins as a harmless game of one-upmanship, intensifies into something more dangerous.The boys throw everything into the contest: bullying, virtuosity and dirty tricks. It goes so far that they end up gambling with and perhaps losing their precious pleasure, the friendship that they so prize, and even their own identities. 100% Selfmade is about going outside your comfort zone, letting go of your tough self-image, following your heart, and an uncompromising love for dancing.

Sunday 4 sept 10:30 am | De Krakeling

Sunday 4 sept 02:00 pm | Podium Mozaiek

MALOU VAN SLUIS & JUDITH SLEDDENS IN THE DISTANCE (2+)

THEATER SONNEVANCK / SILBERSEE WEâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;RE GOING ON A BEAR HUNT (4+)

What is in the distance? And how do you get there? We collect all our courage and step into the big, wide world looking for the unknown. Inspired by the stories of the Dutch writer Toon Tellegen, Malou and Judith make this visual, interactive, musical performance for toddlers, about leaving home, coming back - and the adventure in between! In the distance is an imaginative performance about longing for a place where you are not. Desire fuels the imagination; and those who truly, freely imagine, can reach any distance.

DIRECTION Daan Alkemade DURATION 40 min. CONTACT FOR BOOKING Bureau vanaf 2: Peter Lanting peter@vanaf2.nl WEBSITE www.indeverte.jimdo.nl

Malou and Judith are two Dutch artists. They first met in 2007 during their education at the University of the Arts Utrecht (HKU). In 2012 Malou made a performance for the very young (2+) in collaboration with Festival 2 Turven Hoog, Almere, called Searching for the crying-girl. Because of this experience to perform for toddlers, Malou and Judith got inspired to create a performance together which resulted in the performance In the distance.

Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re going on a bear hunt is a stage adaptation of the eponymous picture book, a bestseller for toddlers by Helen Oxenbury and Michael Rosen. A play about being courageous, traipsing together through mud and a snow storm, about being over confidential and being scared under the covers. Four singers, a percussionist and a dancer tell the exciting story of a father, his children and their dog going together on a bear hunt. With enchanting music, play, image and movement. And with an active musical role for the children in the audience.

DIRECTION Flora Verbrugge DURATION 60 min. CONTACT FOR BOOKING Lieke Bisseling lieke@sonnevanck.nl WEBSITE www.sonnevanck.nl www.silbersee.com

Sonnevanck creates new music theatre, with sound content and in adventurous forms, for children and adolescents aged 4 to 18 years. We perform around 400 plays every year in small and middle halls of the national theatres, in playing premises of primary schools and at schoolyards of secondary schools in a truck that is converted into a theatre. Silbersee is a production centre for adventurous music theatre and experimental opera. Artistic director and founder Romain Bischoff creates meetings between a diversity of theatre makers, composers, writers, singers, dancers, actors, choreographers, puppeteers, circus performers and other artists, in genres ranging from classical to urban. The musical human voice is a constant factor in all their productions; for the rest, everything is open. Silbersee stands for an intimate, agile and musical art form, without precedent.

Photo: Edwin Deen

NOTES

Photo: Saris&denEngelsman

NOTES

Sunday 4 sept 04:00 pm | De Meervaart

Sunday 4 sept 07:30 pm | De Krakeling

TONEELMAKERIJ THE AUNTIES (8+)

NTJONG IN MY MIND I’M A THIN GIRL (12+)

Joris lives in an abandoned fish restaurant. And he’s alone, too, because he hasn’t got parents anymore. He doesn’t make his bed, he drinks five litres of coke every day, reads comics and never puts the rubbish out. Then, one day, Auntie Cunera, Auntie Jo and Auntie Desiree come hammering at the door. They’ve come to teach their little nephew some manners, and before he knows it they’ve occupied his home. His aunts have got big plans. They want to reopen the family restaurant. They wash out Joris’s ears and make him their manservant. So thank goodness a tramp manages to gain entry into this fortress run by aunties. The aunts get wind up over the new occupant and a bloodcurdling battle ensues, with hot chili peppers, perfect disguises and blatant bribery. The Aunties is an exuberant performance with doors that slam, men who play women, jokes that hurt and a child that needs to survive. About the bigger question: who is raising who?

DIRECTION Paul Knieriem DURATION 80 min. CONTACT FOR BOOKING Leonie van Tol leonie@toneelmakerij.nl WEBSITE www.toneelmakerij.nl

DIRECTION Noël Fischer Mancini DURATION 70 min. CONTACT FOR BOOKING Meeke Beumer meeke.beumer@nationaletoneel.nl WEBSITE www.toneelmakerij.nl

Toneelmakerij makes bold, high-quality theatre for young audiences, with love for language, cross-disciplinary experimentation and social engagement. As well as performing in small and medium-sized theatres, they take their plays into the classroom, where the experience and sense of connection is at its most intensive and intimate. They also make site-specific productions, and are active in local districts of Amsterdam and at summer festivals.

Photo: Bowie Verschuuren

NOTES

Photo: Sanne Peper

NOTES

Be perfect / Be the true you. A hilarious and cheeky performance about the unashamed desire for beauty and the struggle with your (adolescent) body. When you look amazing, you will be happy. Right? In a world in which glamour and physical perfection are ideal, is every glance in the mirror a confrontation with your self-image. In a Las Vega-like setting, five totally different girls join the ultimate challenge: the battle for absolute control of their appearance. NTjong creates performances for children and youngsters, as part of the Dutch National Theatre and as the successor of theatre company Stella Den Haag. NTjong is bold, inquisitive, optimistic, young at heart, sincere, passionate and adventurous. NTjong creates theatre that occupies a place at the heart of society, with which both young and old can identify. It does so, for instance, by making radical and topical adaptations of classic and modern plays and stories from world literature. But NTjong also makes productions that focus on visual, musical and physical performance. Finally, NTjong takes theatre out into the world, by creating location productions and community projects, and by performing at schools.

SHOWCASES

Photo: Brrr! by TG Graasland | Photographer: Richard Smits

Vanaf 2 / Simone de Jong | Hermit (2+)

FEIKES HUIS PANAMA (2+) DIRECTION Danielle Wagenaar DURATION 30 min. CONTACT FOR BOOKING Bureau vanaf 2: Peter Lanting peter@vanaf2.nl WEBSITE www.feikeshuis.nl

Two garbage men build a wonderful world of fantasy, out of a million plastic caps, bags and bottles. They bring out flowers, trees, birds and insects. In this colourful world the garbage men assume the roles of Tiger and Bear in search of the land of their dreams. Panama is an ode to fantasy and shows us that travelling in your head is easy and wonderful. All you have to do is look at the world around you with fresh eyes. The performance is inspired by the book The trip to Panama by Janosch. Feikes Huis represents object theatre, an art form also known as visual theatre. Under the artistic guidance of Eliane Attinger, Feikes Huis cooperates with various artists, whose origins range from theatre to mime, dance, puppetry, opera/musical theatre, performance arts or the visual arts. The visual, often non-spoken performances of Feikes Huis are very suitable to be played abroad.

THEATER TERRA GUESS HOW MUCH I LOVE YOU (4+) & KING ARTHUR (8+) (VIDEO) DIRECTION Fons Merkies DURATION Guess how much I love you: 55 min. King Arthur: 60 min. CONTACT FOR BOOKING Europe, Asia, Australia / NZ: Theater Terra michiel@theaterterra.nl North America: Kids’ Entertainment tara@kidsentertainment.net WEBSITE www.theaterterra.nl

DEGASTEN AWAKE (14+) DIRECTION Elike Roovers DURATION 60 min. CONTACT FOR BOOKING Farnoosh Farnia farnoosh@theaterdegasten.nl WEBSITE www.theaterdegasten.nl

Guess how much I love you: Big Nutbrown Hare and Little Nutbrown Hare love each other very much. But love is not always an easy thing to measure! During spring, summer, autumn and winter, Little Nutbrown Hare tries to to tell something very important to Big Nutbrown Hare: ‘Guess how much I love you?’ After this adventure, Little Nutbrown Hare wants to sleep. Big Nutbrown Hare carefully puts him to bed in the ferns. While Big Nutbrown Hare lies close to Little Nutbrown Hare he whispers: ‘I love you to the moon… and back’. Guess how much I love you is one of the most popular children’s books worldwide. Theater Terra has created a new show based on this book, with the use of puppetry, inventive sets and music. King Arthur: The world famous tales of King Arthur, the sword Excalibur, the wizard Merlin and the knights of the round table have been the inspiration for books and films for centuries. Theater Terra has created a new family musical with puppetry based on these famous tales. The English people have been longing for a new King for years. According to a legend, only he who manages to pull a sword from a stone, can be crowned King. When the young Arthur manages to do this effortless, a big adventure starts. With the help of Merlin the wizard and the knights of the round table, Arthur might become the biggest King of them all… Theater Terra creates family musicals, puppetry shows and theatre shows. Theater Terra’s theatrical vision is creating theatre that is enjoyable for both children and grownups, where the visual image is always more important than the spoken word. All productions are created around universal themes with a social embedding, in a way that is understandable for children.

Awake is a coming of age physical theatre performance with young actors between 18 and 22. They share their most intimate dreams and desires in the lucid moments from dusk till dawn. Fear and loneliness are reciprocal feelings in a state of insomnia. Awake shows their mental exhibitionism and confessions, mixed with beats from DJ Love supreme. DEGASTEN creates performances with youngsters in the age of 12-25 together with a professional creative team. The signature of DEGASTEN: raw, dynamic, interdisciplinary, visual theatre based on the stories of youngsters. The principle cause of DEGASTEN is to mirror the diversity of great cities.

TG GRAASLAND BRRR! (4+) CREATION AND PERFORMANCE Harold Shriven, Emiel de Jong DURATION 50 min. CONTACT FOR BOOKING Niels-Jan van Dijk Niels-Jan@burobannink.nlnl WEBSITE www.tggraasland.nl

An eskimo, all alone on the Arctic Circle. His cold small igloo as a house full of warmth. This is his home. The animals are his friends and the silence is his companion. One day he catches a very large fish. Well maybe not a fish but a frozen businessman. Both of their worlds are put upside down. What is the businessman doing on the Arctic? How will he find his way home? Brrr! is a funny, wordless, visual and heart-warming performance on habits, being alone and the dilemma to adapt. What if you think you understand each other, but really don’t? Can you be friends with someone who doesn’t speak your language?

TRYATER KNITTING (4+) CONCEPT AND DIRECTOR Ira Judkovskaja DURATION 50 min. CONTACT FOR BOOKING Jojanneke Braam j.braam@tryater.nl WEBSITE www.tryater.nl

In the performances of the Dutch theatre company TG Graasland, the stage image puts you in a totally different world. Text is avoided as much as possible and the story is told with images, movement and imagination.

WERVELWIND ENSEMBLE/ MUZIEKVOORSTELLING.NL TWIRL DIRECTION Ide van Heyningen, Virág Dezsö DURATION 40 min. CONTACT FOR BOOKING Rudi van Hest rudi@muziekvoorstelling.nl WEBSITE www.muziekvoorstelling.nl

A long time ago, somewhere on earth, people thought that life was like a piece of wool. Imagine it was true. What would it be like? A long thread full of thoughts? Or would you simply be able to knit a lovely jumper from it? And what would happen when you grew? Would the jumper get smaller? Or would it grow with you?And what if that ball of wool gets tangled? Would that mean your thoughts would get tangled too? Knitting is about this sense of amazement. About growing and growing up. Follow your own yarn of wool and see where you end up... Knitting is a poetical play, with lots of music and few words.

Tryater performs theatre in and from Friesland for adults, youth and children. Tryater takes theatre to a wide public, offering an artistic experience, an opening for nuanced reflection, encounters and dialogue. The exchange of thoughts between the players and the audience is intensive, and they not only meet our public in theatres, but also in village halls, sports halls and schools. By performing on location we invite people to experience their everyday surroundings in a new way.

VANAF 2 / SIMONE DE JONG HERMIT (2+) DIRECTION Simone de Jong DURATION 35 min. CONTACT FOR BOOKING Bureau vanaf 2: Peter Lanting peter@vanaf2.nl WEBSITE www.vanaf2.nl

There is a square. Is it a house? There is sound. What happens inside? A lid opens. Is there something inside? What? Who? Hermit is a visual, original performance about a mini house. The inhabitant is not at home, but we do hear him… A funny and moving performance about being alone and coming home. Coming from music theatre and modern mime, Simone’s performances are about sound and imagination and are always addressing the senses, in a secretive way. She previously worked at Orkater and Het Hoofd, as actor, director and writer. This is her second performance for children.

NOTES

SEMINAR IN SEARCH OF NEW AUDIENCES

THEATRES BIJLMER PARKTHEATER

As the first professional theatre in Amsterdam Zuidoost, the Bijlmer Parktheater has evolved into the theatre of the New Netherlands. It is a place where new theatre makers have the opportunity to develop and to present themselves, and is a platform for crossovers between cultures and art disciplines, between professionals and emerging talent. This has resulted in a long series of innovative and socially relevant theatre performances in the past five years; performances that radiate the spirit of the new, culturally diverse Netherlands.

Friday 2 Sept 2:00 pm – 4:00 pm | De Balie In recent years, cultural institutions have increasingly come to recognise the need for diversity and the opportunities presented by diversity. Interest in the theme is steadily growing internationally as well. While in the midst of this process, we feel it is important to share some inspiring stories from the Dutch and international field. The seminar will be opened by Hassan Mahamdallie of the Arts Council England, playwright and author of the Creative Case for Diversity. Further, the well-known writer Abdelkader Benali will deliver an address on the importance of culture for today’s children, based on his book Brief aan mijn Dochter (Letter to my daughter). Other speakers include Jolanda Spoel of Maas Theater en Dans (Rotterdam), René Geerlings of BonteHond (Almere) and Gianni Grot ( Amsterdam), who will describe how they attempt to incorporate diversity in their own programming and productions.

Bijlmer Parktheater Anton de Komplein 240 1102 DR Amsterdam www.bijlmerparktheater.nl

DE KRAKELING

Housed in historical premises at the heart of Amsterdam, De Krakeling has been the theatre house for youth for almost 40 years. Every year, more than 40,000 children and adolescents discover theatre here. De Krakeling wishes to reach as many children and adolescents as possible from all segments of the population, and to make a visit to the theatre a permanent part of their lives. Theatre suspends the familiar reality of everyday life and creates room for the imagination, for a sense of wonder and for empathy, and it stimulates an open view of the world. The intimate theatre hall has a flat floor, so there is little sense of distance between the public and the actors on stage. De Krakeling programmes both the top end of youth theatre and new youth theatre talents. De Krakeling has come to fulfil the role of expertise centre for the Dutch youth theatre sector.

PHOTO EXHIBITION LOOK Every day | de Krakeling

The exhibition Kijk (Look) is the result of a photography workshop for children in Amsterdam’s Kolenkit neighbourhood. Over a period of ten weeks, the children worked towards this photo exhibition that presents the theme of children’s rights as seen through their eyes. Nadia, Safouane, Nerrimene, Ilias, Jinan, Mariam and Malak show what children’s rights mean to them, in their own neighbourhood.

De Krakeling Nieuwe Passeerdersstraat 1 1016 XP Amsterdam www.krakeling.nl

OOSTBLOK

PODIUM MOZAÏEK

Oostblok is the theatre of the East of Amsterdam. Her main incentives are 1) showing highly qualitative professional plays in the eastern district of Amsterdam and 2) entice a new audience into the theatre. Oostblok shows around 120 events a year, a little less than a third of those are for children and families. Oostblok is a hospitable place for artists with various backgrounds: veterans as well as starters, both art-school-educated and self-made. Oostblok connects with organizations outside the cultural sector and regularly breaks out of the ‘black box’ to bring her programmes on other locations.

Podium Mozaïek is a theatre in Amsterdam-West, established in a former church. The venue presents music, theatre, comedy, contemporary dance, exhibitions, spoken word and every cross-over between these disciplinaries you can think of. Both from national and international artist, renowned and upcoming. Our key value is bringing together the different cultures that live side by side in this metropolis. Made in Mozaïek productions, such as The New Artists Festival RRReuring, WestWords and Lyrical Fever, and the WESTwaARTS open air festival at the Erasmuspark are productions of our own creation. For young families we offer all disciplines and themes in our childrens program Lanter & Fanter. A Lanter & Fanter performance never stands alone: Afterwards the children take part in active and creative workshops provided by professional artists.

Oostblok Sajetplein 39 1091DB Amsterdam www.oostblok.nl

Podium Mozaïek Bos en Lommerweg 191 1055 DT Amsterdam www.podiummozaiek.nl

DE MEERVAART

Theatre De Meervaart is an artistic haven for artists and audiences alike, situated at the Sloterplas lake in the wide west of Amsterdam. Additionally, De Meervaart serves as a mainstream theatre, offering over 250 shows a year that range from comedy to children’s theatre, dance performances, theatre for adults, intimate concerts and the occasional musical and opera. De Meervaart is widely considered as a forerunner in drawing in new artists and audiences, especially those with a diverse, multicultural background. In doing so, it attempts to erase cultural boundaries. De Meervaart believes in telling stories that deserve to be told and offers (upcoming) artists room to express theirs. Yearly over 7.000 youths in the ages of four up to eighteen take classes and develop their talents at its creative Studio, ranging from theatre to street dance, ballet and dj’ing. Moreover, De Meervaart is home to the Amsterdam City Company for Contemporary Dance known as ICK, the Amsterdam Andalusian Orchestra and to multiple artists, among whom the internationally renowned theatre maker Jakop Ahlbom and awardwinning actor and creator of children’s theatre Pieter Tiddens.

VONDELPARK OPENLUCHTTHEATER

For many years the Vondelpark Openluchttheater is home for a large audience to enjoy a summer of diverse and surprising performing arts in the Dutch capital. The Openluchttheater is open for everyone; visitors, young and old, well-off, homeless, working, retired or unemployed, nearby or from abroad, meet in the heart of the Vondelpark to discover and get inspired by new talent and established artists, with unique modern dance pieces to famous pop music. For the young visitors, the Vondelpark Openluchttheater organizes a diverse program of dance, music and theatre performances on the Saturday afternoon. Each show is followed by a theatre workshop (from story telling to dance choreography), to give the youngsters an insight in the process of theatre-making. To encourage children to stay active in theatre during the summer months, the Openluchttheater offers a full week theatre course where the young talents work on a performance that premieres in the Vondelpark Openluchttheater in front of a super enthusiastic audience.

De Meervaart Meer en vaart 300 1068 LE Amsterdam www.meervaart.nl

Vondelpark Openluchttheater Vondelpark 5a 1071 AA Amsterdam www.openluchttheater.nl

TF JONG TF Young is the youth edition of the Dutch Theatre Festival, taking place in September. During this ten-day festival the best performances of the past season can be seen one last time in different venues in Amsterdam. The participating theatres, de Krakeling, Oostblok, Podium Mozaiek, de Meervaart, het Bijlmer Parktheater & Vondelpark openluchttheater show both their favourite shows and a selection of shows made by a jury. This jury, consisting of seven theatre professionals, nominated eight standout shows for the ‘Zilveren Krekel’, an award for the best theatre performance. Five of these nominated shows can be seen during TF Young: Bezoek voor Beer (Visit for bear) 4+, Wij gaan op Berenjacht (We are going on a bar hunt) 4+ Falling Dreams 10+, In mijn hoofd ben ik een dun meisje (In my mind I am a thin girl) 12+ & Bromance 15+. On September 11th, during The State of Youth Theatre, one of these eight shows will receive the ‘Gouden Krekel’ award for best youth play. This ceremony will be presented by Hildegard Draaijer, Artistic director of youth company DOX. TF Young is a collaboration of: Nederlands Theater Festival, de Krakeling, STIP theaterproducties and Zapp Theaterprijs.

COLOPHON ORGANISATION

Anja Krans, programme manager for Dutch Performing Arts, an organisation that promotes Dutch music, theatre and dance on the international stage. Dutch Performing Arts is powered by the Performing Arts Fund NL. Kees Blijleven, chairman Assitej NL, the Dutch centre of the worldwide organisation that stimulates international exchange in the performing arts for young audiences. Kees is also artistic director of de Krakeling, theatre for young audiences in Amsterdam. EDITORIAL BOARD

Kees Blijleven (De Krakeling) Fako Kluiving (Bijlmerparktheater) Wendy Draaijer (De Meervaart) Matthia Jansen (Oostblok) Zafer Yurdakul (Podium Mozaïek) Ellis van der Giessen (Vondelpark Openluchttheater) ASSITEJ BOARD

Kees Blijleven (chairman, artistic director De Krakeling) Manuel Segond von Banchet (managing director Danstheater Aya) Marjolein van Bommel (managing director Het Filiaal) Paulien Geerlings (dramaturgy Toneelmakerij) Saskia Janse (artistic/managing director Speeltheater Holland) Kees Blijleven (project manager) Joëlle Raus (coordinator visitors programme) Ellen van Bunnik / ‘n More (production) Leonie Dijkstra (communications) Cover photo: iPet by BonteHond Photographer: Kamerich & Budwilowitz Graphic design: www.taluut.nl

Photo: Aunties by Toneelmakerij | Photo: Sanne Peper

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