Mylène & Rosanne, two musical stars on becoming music theatre makers
- Music
- Theatre
They won the Junior Songfestival in 2013 and did an internship with Jetse Batelaan. Now they are onstage for their finals performance for the Music Theatre course in a performance about being twins. Therein lies the essence of Mylène and Rosanne Waalewijn’s struggle: “Do we have to sacrifice presenting ourselves together to be seen as individuals? Or can the two coexist?”
“Is it not hypocritical to present ourselves as a duo and then also want people to see us as individuals? Can people tell the difference between the two of us at all? Should we even expect them to?" Mylène and Rosanne have learned that asking these questions is much more important than the actual answer during their studies in Music Theatre at the ArtEZ Academy of Music in Arnhem. Rosanne: “It is more about the research, the process, which we show the audience during our performance.”
Performing on stage as twins
Even during their audition for the Music Theatre course, Rosanne and Mylène made it clear that they wanted to be seen as a duo. They also knew that they wanted to study and graduate together. This solidarity is the theme of their finals performance as well. Mylène: “It is about the experience of being a twin in three different forms: our mutual bond, our individuality even as a twin, and our relationship to society as twins. And overall, the main theme is loneliness.” It sounds counterintuitive, feeling lonely when you are always together. But that’s not the case, according to Rosanne: “Sometimes it feels lonely because you can never be seen as separate from your sister. We look identical, so you can very much want someone to see you as yourself individually, but that can be difficult. Some things are simply beyond your control.”
Talking simultaneously
The research became an exploration into themselves, through the lens of theatre. Mylène: “We started experimenting with spontaneously speaking at the same time. Sometimes that already happens automatically because we find ourselves in each other’s presence so often. On top of that, the way you think is partially genetic, so we often say the same sentences or think the same things. We thought it would be amusing to discover that more and train it. So we did that, research on ‘being twins’ for three years. When it comes to research on yourself, you’re constantly working on it, it’s never truly ‘ready’.” Rosanne: “I think it’s cool how people can get a peek inside my head during a performance. The research is never ‘finished’, but we are showing where we are now with it. It is a snapshot of the current moment.”
Professional training
Earlier in their lives, everything was about the end result, such as in Lucia Marthas’s dance classes where they both took part, or in the many musicals in which they performed. In fact, Mylène and Rosanne already had quite a musical career behind them when they auditioned for the Music Theatre cours. Mylène: “We started out in the field very early on and have already collaborated with several other music theatre professionals. But that doesn’t mean you are professionally trained. During the Music Theatre course, we took lessons in singing, movement, dramaturgy and song writing. Those were the skills we really wanted to invest in.” Rosanne: “Musicals often have a particular story arc and form that is nearly always the same. The Music Theatre course shows you the breadth of the profession, such as by creating more abstract performances. That was interesting to us, and learning to create abstract performances has allowed us to discover other theatre forms that we would like to deepen our proficiency in.”
Mylène & Rosanne's most viewed video, with 1.2 million views, is 'Wanna Be You'
On the lookout for a course made for makers
For Mylène and Rosanne, deepening their artistic practice mainly involves becoming makers as well. Mylène: “We were searching for a study programme that would also teach us theatre-making, but we didn’t know that consciously at first. So when we began the programme, we found that ‘making’ scared us the most. We thought, was this really something for us? We are more performers than creatives, anyway.” The twins didn’t have long to fret about it, though, because they were thrown into the deep end from day one: “At our first lessons, they told us to ‘create a performance.’ We were completely stressed out. We weren’t given much preparation before class started. How would we create a performance in such a small timespan? It turned out that the performance didn’t have to be fully finished at all. It was just about improvising.” Rosanne continues: “That’s a good example of what the programme was like; you can experiment and try out new things. It’s also nice that the entire world doesn’t have to see our creations right away.”
Looking at things differently and seeing more possibilities
Rosanne and Mylène now have multiple perspectives to examine their genre with thanks to their studies - as a maker, for example, instead of just a performer. Not only do they look at things differently now, but they also see more possibilities. Rosanne: “We danced a lot in the past, but we know now that movement encompasses something much broader than dance. For example, there is also mime and other forms of theatre. Knowing all these different ways to approach things has helped us become more flexible in the professional field. We now know a little something about every discipline.”
Collaborating on a critically acclaimed musical
Mylène and Rosanne have been able to put their expertise to good use during their internship with Jetse Batelaan, the artistic director of Theater Artemis. They played roles in his critically acclaimed production “Een leuk avondje uit” (‘A fun night out’) with Theater Artemis, Het Zuidelijk Toneel and hetpaleis. It is a musical done only in whispers, and is about everything complicated in life through the lens of one’s emotions - whether you should repress them or express them. In the performance, there are personifications of emotions throughout the auditorium. They come onstage from the audience, then disappear again. Rosanne: “It is unique in that the entire musical is all done by whispering. The entire show is very grotesque, with glittery costumes, lots of dancing, but you don’t hear very much at all. The ambient noise around you becomes magnified by that; for example, of two technicians arguing backstage, or fences toppling over.” Mylène and Rosanne were part of the “company” – the performers onstage – but not only that. Mylène: “We were also involved in the creative process. We contributed some songs and helped brainstorm how everything would flow together. In that way, we were able to perform not only musically but also dramaturgically."
Trailer of 'A fun night out' (Een leuk avondje uit), in which Mylène and Rosanne collaborated
Bucketlist item: the Eurovision Song Contest
With as much talent and experience as they have under the belt, there is the question of what Rosanne and Mylène will do after their studies. Rosanne: “We are looking into whether we can build on the concept of our finals performance and transfer it to a theatre somehow.” Mylène: “Overall we would love to write our own EP and weave it into a theatrical performance. Oh yeah, and participating in Eurovision is definitely high on our bucket list! But we have to wait and see about that. First thing on the docket is to write more songs!”
More about the Music Theatre course in Arnhem
