Dirk Bruinsma, artistic director of the Peergroup theater company, knew that there was a lot of theater talent in the North. But he did not expect the level to be so high. On the audition day for the Atropos performance, young people were able to show what they had to offer. “I’m totally surprised.”
More than forty auditionees had registered for the audition day for the leading role in the theater play Atropos, which theater company Peergroup will perform next spring. A large club, although a lot fewer young people showed up on yesterday’s audition day, says artistic director Dirk Bruinsma. “In the end there were fourteen young people. Some were sick, and some didn’t show up. That’s what happens with young people,” he says, laughing.
But the talent of the young people between the ages of fourteen and twenty was evident, he says. “It was a very talented group, with young people who have already done a lot in the North and who would like to play in a professional performance, with professional makers. In addition to amateur players, they were also young people who wanted to further develop themselves and have a future for themselves. see in the theater.”
According to Bruinsma, they have come to the right place at Peergroup. “The theater piece was devised for talent development in the province. We also want to be the place where these young people can shine in a professional performance. Where they can build a CV to be admitted to a theater school and later find work.”
Rehearsals will start in January for the performance Atropos, which will premiere in May 2024. “The performance is essentially about the questions: are you a good ancestor and what future do we leave behind for our children?”
Atropos is not performed in an ordinary theater. The play is performed in a veritable waste cathedral, which is specially built for the performance. “Not a decor, but a real structure made by architects and engineers from residual materials.”
The company previously also made straw castles in Veenhuizen. “Now we are looking for people who want to help build and donate waste.”
Ultimately, twenty young people must be given the leading role of Max, which is played by about ten actors simultaneously per performance. Of the sixteen young people, eleven have advanced to the next audition round and auditionees who were unable to attend yesterday will once again be given the opportunity to show what they have to offer.
There will be a total of twenty performances. Bruinsma is confident that this will work with the young people who have already been selected so far. “It makes me super enthusiastic. The young people who were there were playing with full of verve and with all their heart on the playing floor. The nerves were put aside, without any embarrassment they dived in completely. They dare to show themselves .”