Getting to know yourself through others
- Theatre
- Education in Art
Demi Kleinmeulman graduated from the bachelor course Theatre in Education in Zwolle. She’s the director, creator, producer, and performer of her finals performance, which has become personal, since it’s about her family history. The focus is on the experiences of being Indonesian.
In the video below, we see a suitcase from the Dutch East Indies. It’s filled with old pictures of Demi’s grandmother, grandfather, and great-grandfather. We hear her speak about her process: “I read history books to learn about the facts. And I spoke to people from the same background because I could learn more about myself through them.” With her graduation performance, she wants to show the public her own perspective. She hopes that each spectator will think about what it means to them and how this can be of value to their life:
Valuable experiences
Demi says that the course Theatre in Education gives you the opportunity to find out what suits you as a person and what tools you need. “It requires some form of independence. You need to show initiative. And for me personally, that helped me a lot. I had questions for my teachers, and they guided me through suggestions. I never felt that I had to do something,” she explains. You also get coached during which the teachers ask you a lot of questions. She found that valuable, especially because she implemented the same method in her research.
Demi’s plans
Her future plans vary. She wants to create theater with the focus of working with communities. She also wants to teach because she enjoys providing personal guidance and coaching. But nothing is set in stone. She wants to take her time to figure out what the next step will be. One thing is certain: she wants to focus on the individual and she wants to see a variety of things in her future plans. When she’s asked if she has a tip for new students, she answers: “Even though your finals feel like an ending point, they’re actually your starting point. There’s no need to create the perfect end product. Give yourself the space to create freely.”
Theatre in Education
The bachelor course Theatre in Education in Zwolle gives you the tools to prepare yourself for a life of development as a leading theatre and media maker. You learn to direct, design, film, and produce. You take an enquiring and designing approach to creation, and you work with a variety of communities in the Netherlands and abroad. After you graduate, you can work in both schools and in extramural education. Think of becoming an independent cultural entrepreneur, conceiver and maker of theatre companies, of a trainer in business environments.
