Artisteducator in Theatre & Media student Robby created his own study programme in Suriname

Robby's dive into his origins

"During my course, I unexpectedly became interested in my Hindu roots”, Robby says. "When I first started at ArtEZ, I thought I would use my technical skills (I also did a year of ICT) in the art field, focusing on new media and digital narrative forms, for example." However, Robby decided to follow the module called 'Nomad' (where students explore other theater makers across the country) and ended up attending a performance by the National Theatre in The Hague, which centered around the Day of the Maroons, the annual commemoration and celebration of the Maroon communities of Suriname and French Guiana. That visit opened Robby's eyes:

It was like walking into a family party!"

"I saw people in Surinamese traditional clothes and heard Surinamese music. I saw my parents' culture represented in the theater, in my world." Visiting the celebration was a real eye-opener. Whereas as a child, Robby mainly wanted to distance himself from the Surinamese-Hindu culture by behaving as Dutch as possible and not different from his friends at school, he now felt the need to discover his past. "I promised my mother that we would make a family tree together”, he says.

Snowball effect

Robby's decision to delve into his own origins had a snowball effect. After genealogical research, which also resulted in a documentary about his mother ("I'm a real mother's boy too!" he says), he signed up for a storytelling evening by Surinamese theater maker Jose Tojo in June 2022. "Storytelling is incredibly important in our culture," says Robby. "Since there are few official records, we depend on the stories that have always been passed on by word of mouth for our existence." According to Robby, telling Surinamese stories through theater, therefore, fits seamlessly with the creative, but also educational, side of his studies and role as an Artisteducator: "By telling these stories, we teach people about our rich history."

Full of pride on the royal stage

Jose Tojo was so impressed by Robby's storytelling skills that he invited him to take part in the National Theatre's next production, Apinti & Sambura: Two beats, one heart, which tells the story of the Maroons - enslaved Surinamese who escaped slavery and went to live in the interior forests - and the indigenous people who welcomed them. Robby joined the production as part of the building block 'Exile', a study component that puts students to work in the field outside the structures of school. Exactly a year after he first walked into The National Theatre during the Day of the Maroons, Robby found himself on stage there. "It was a moment full of pride. A special recognition that there was a place for our culture in an institution like the Royal Theatre."

Trip to Suriname

After the performance, it was time to resume the regular curriculum, which included an education internship. However, Robby received a phone call from Jose: the performance would be traveling to Suriname. Did he want to come along? "I would have totally agreed to perform in the production", Robby explains. "But ideally, I wanted to combine it with a trip to Suriname so I could truly immerse myself in the local theatre culture there too."

Robby knew that the school encouraged combining personal activities with the course, so he took a chance. "I suggested to the school that I take the 'Exile' building block a second time, but they didn't think that was a strong enough plan yet." However, his study supervisors were enthusiastic and instructed him to first write a plan for six months of study input. He needed to outline how he would achieve the educational goals and be accountable for his activities in Suriname. "It forced me to take responsibility," says Robby. "I sought help from others who were good at planning and made arrangements with teachers whom I would liaise with for different parts of my study plan during my stay."

Robby’s coming-of-age

Robby's plan was approved, and he was allowed to follow his self-designated path to earn his credits. "A promise is a debt, so it did matter to get it right. My study supervisor stressed that I would be the first person to do it this way, so something was expected of me." In Robby's own words, the past year has been like a coming-of-age story for him. "Whereas before I was chaotic and never dared to ask others for help, now I had to get my act together." The show in Suriname was a tremendous success and will even have a sequel. Besides his spiritual development, Robby learned to find a middle ground between the structuredness of Dutch theater and the Surinamese "No Spang" mentality.

Soon, Robby will be teaching high school students about the colonial systems of the Netherlands. And shortly after that, he will start his final year of Artisteducator in Theatre & Media in Zwolle. In this stage, he mainly hopes to bring together all his previous experiences and perhaps explore how he can integrate his ICT knowledge into his work…

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