Saskia Maas (52) from Amsterdam knows how to build a theater from the ground up. She once started with the English-language improvisational theater Boom Chicago in Amsterdam and managed to make it a huge success. Now she introduces young people with autism to the stage and it all started with her own son.
“Thanks to playing on stage, my son has gained a lot of self-confidence. He didn’t dare to go to the theater alone. He didn’t dare to order Coke in McDonalds yet. Things like that have now become completely normal. That makes me so very happy proud and I wish that for other parents too.”
A scriptless world
“Together with Pim Donkersloot (of the ChildCenter Foundation), I founded InterActing, a theater school for young people with autism. These young people often have no stage fright at all, because they are not concerned with how they come across to others. Improvising itself is, of course, great fun. unpredictable, but the rules and space surrounding it are clear. And nothing is wrong! The young people can experiment and see how others react. We provide a safe environment and gradually the young people learn about their own behavior and the behavior of others.”
“We are very happy to come on location to do a program there and help people.”
“I soon saw that the theater was an incredibly beautiful way to take these young people a step further. For example, my son stores a lot of information throughout the day. He is constantly in overdrive and he remembers everything. Through rituals and fixed he feels safe with routines, but the improvisational theater that we practice is precisely a form in which no script is used. On stage they then develop exactly the handles that they can also use in the real ‘scriptless’ outside world.”
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Interacting
“Of course there are already quite a few initiatives for young people with autism, for sports and music. But this was not yet there and certainly not in this region. As co-owner of the Boom Chicago improvisational theater it was up for grabs and I know exactly what it’s like to have a child with autism. I’m always into tackling things, really a control cousin.”
“Now it’s important for me to introduce InterActing to as many people as possible, because they might think: ‘Gosh, I also know someone who could really benefit from this’. It makes sense that as a parent you worry a lot. about your child, especially if your child needs just a little more support. But with InterActing we want to give a feeling of optimism, there is much more possible that you think.”
“We just want to give a sense of optimism, there is much more possible that you think”
“My greatest wish is that we can reach and help even more young people through improvisation. The last week of the summer holidays we have our summer school. Here we offer a very special lesson program to the young people every day. In addition, we are also expanding to schools and special education. We also teach there through improvisational theater, and we certainly want to do that even more. We are very happy to come on location to do a program there and help people.”
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“In addition to helping the young people, I also want to fight for more autistic young people in our media landscape. The more the better, because they are doing really well. Let them participate in the movies and the commercials, and not just as autistic character. Because there really is a lot more that can be done. They listen very well to instructions and they are very dynamic. When I look at my own son, you can direct very well. He also has a own youtube channel and it’s going really well!”
In the Warriors program, inspiring people from North Holland tell their story. Each and every one of them tries to make the world a little more beautiful in their own way.
Fighters is broadcast on the NH Nieuws TV channel and via our website. The stories can also be listened to as a podcast. Subscribe to it via your favorite podcast channel. Here you will find an overview of all Warriors.