Humans of TheaterFestival – Eva De Mulder (WiSPER)

zo 03 sep 2017

Hoe gaat het er achter de schermen van het TheaterFestival aan toe? Wie zijn al die werkkrachten, vrijwilligers en partners die noeste arbeid verrichten om u in theatrale vervoering te brengen? Vandaag: Eva De Mulder (WiSPER)

Can you tell me more about the workshop you are giving during the TheaterFestival?
This workshop revolves around the plays presented here. It lasts two and a half days and we are going to see three plays. After every play we see, as a group from the workshop, we have a discussion with someone of the actors or with the director and later on, we work actively with some elements from the play. Those elements can vary – they can be about acting, directing, dramaturgy or about the process of the play.

So, it’s the discussion that precedes the workshop that gives you direction in which the workshop should go?
Before I watch the play I try to get as much information as I can about it. I read a lot about its creation and, in general, any material that can be useful. During the discussions I am observing and collecting all the impressions and ideas participants have and what can be used later on during our workshop.

Can you tell me more about the participants? Are they necessarily professionals?
No, they are all people who are really interested in theatre but not professionals. Some of them are actors or directors in their spare time, some of them like going to theatre and would like to know more about the theatre and the backside of the play. There is only one group that follows the workshop so we have enough time to go deeper into the subject and dig more about their interests.

What are your expectations for this workshop?
There is no result that we are trying to achieve. It’s all about the insights: to feel how it must have felt during the creation of the play and to comprehend what the process may have been. They all come for different reasons but we also work a lot, play a lot and reflect on ourselves. The objective of this workshop is learning as it is, and not get some actual product at the end of it. It is good to have one group through the workshop because already now I can see the difference between the beginning and now. Before there was a certain distance between them, while now they are becoming louder and
express themselves easier.

Do you often do this kind of activity or is this a unique opportunity during the TheaterFestival?
I did similar things before, for instance during Theater Aan Zee and Kunstenfestivaldesarts. I like doing it. Having one activity like this during a year is good. Het TheaterFestival is a suitable place to do it because it has good vision and everything is well connected. We have a chance to talk to the jury, to the actors and directors and to get to know the plays.

What does this experience give you as a teacher, as a person who leads this workshop and the work with non-professionals?
Teaching is my profession. During the year I teach acting and directing, but working with non-professionals is something else. I like to transfer knowledge and watch people learn and evolve. I love to see how they advance step by step. The process of learning is not tied just to their learning about theater but they also learn a lot about themselves and how much they have grown through the process. I am touched and I love observing them, to see what their possibilities are and how we can use them to get more. I really enjoyed watching them grow in front of my eyes.

Tags: Eva De Mulder, WiSPER, Humans of TheaterFestival, Milana Vojnovic