English Theater Apeldoorn will perform ‘Project Lipsync: Blondie vs. Queen’ on 30 June and 7 July in GIGANT Apeldoorn. Curious to learn how our production is made possible? Let us take you behind the scenes and share the ingredients of our multicultural theater recipe!
Our first ingredient is our team. Our theater season started in September with our workshop period. This was when we welcomed new members from different cultural backgrounds, ages, occupations and experience levels in theater. We started building a solid team with plenty of acting and design exercises. Slowly, different team members took on various roles, including acting, writing, directing, costume design, stage design, technique, and marketing. Because we are entirely run by volunteers, a team that is passionate about what they do and committed to each other is extremely important.
The second ingredient for a successful production is raising enough funds to bring our ideas to life. Having a rehearsal location, renting a stage, designing costumes and decor, and promoting our play all require resources. So, one of the first things we do in a new season is to draft a project budget. We generate some funds from membership contributions and ticket sales, but to keep these affordable, we need to find a third source of funds: a subsidy or sponsorship. This season, Wittenborg University of Applied Sciences became our gold sponsor, and we also received funds from Rabobank as part of their Club Support campaign.
Last but not least, we need an audience! After all our hard work throughout the season, we are eager to share the outcome with the residents of Apeldoorn, internationals in the region, or anyone interested in creativity and cultural activities. What we create finds more meaning when we finally share it with an audience. We aim to build bridges between people from different cultural backgrounds, and we want this impact to go beyond our team and reach visitors to our performances. We also aim to create more opportunities for internationals in the area to participate in cultural activities and help individuals in this community feel at home.
Our Gold Sponsor Wittenborg
Wittenborg University of Applied Sciences is a business school offering bachelor’s and master’s degree programs in many different fields of management to students from all around the globe. In fact, Wittenborg is the most international business school in The Netherlands. From their campuses not only in Apeldoorn and Amsterdam, but also in Vienna and Munich, they create a significant impact on the internationalization and educational initiatives in Apeldoorn and the regions they are active in.
Wittenborg is the gold sponsor of our current production. Having similar goals to create a welcoming environment for internationals makes Wittenborg the perfect sponsor for us. Wittenborg’s President Peter Birdsall says, “As the Wittenborg family, we are not only investing in the education of our students, but also in ensuring that they feel at home, take part in sports, cultural or other social activities, and make the most out of their time at Wittenborg and in Apeldoorn. We are delighted to support local initiatives and communities that build connections between internationals, especially English Theater Apeldoorn. That is also one of the reasons why we recently established the Expat Centre Central Netherlands together with the regional employer’s organization ‘VNO-NCW Midden’, to help bring companies and organizations together with internationals.
Peter has a personal connection to theater as well. When he left school he established the Tickled Pink Theatre Company, which toured the south of England in the mid 1980’s performing classic plays and also political comedy. He was also involved in the establishment of the 250 seat Tivoli Performing Arts Centre, a small theatre in Eastbourne, UK. “I saw English Theater Apeldoorn’s play last year as well, and it took me back to my years managing my own theatre company and working at the Tivoli, where we had a mix of professional and amateur companies, offering classic plays but also performance art. It remains one of the most energizing and motivating times of my life! I really look forward to seeing English Theater Apeldoorn’s new play in GIGANT, which features the music of two artists that shaped my young teenage days! I unfortunately can’t make it to the premiere on 7 July, but I will certainly be there on 30 June at the tryout.”
Project Lipsync: Blondie vs. Queen
Our project this year is a lipsync musical that is based on the songs of well-known tunes from Blondie, including “One Way Or Another” and “Call Me”, as well as songs from Queen, like “Bohemian Rhapsody” and “Another One Bites The Dust”. We formed a great cast, with people from South Africa, Germany, France, Turkey, China, Poland, and The Netherlands participating; we got the support of our sponsors and partners Wittenborg, Rabobank, and GIGANT; now all we need is an enthusiastic audience to complete our multicultural theater recipe!
Are you coming to join us on 30 June or 7 July at 15:30 in GIGANT? Visit this page for more information and tickets.