Taking into consideration that the total of the AEGEE-Europe Network consists of more than 150 locals, it is no surprise that amongst these locals differences can be found. A good example of this is AEGEE-Nijmegen, which is the only local with a drama group that writes, prepares and performs their own plays every year. The AEGEEan talked to one of the Directors of the drama group, Renée Huismans, to find out more about their unique existence within the AEGEE-network.
Years and years ago the drama group was founded by a group of AEGEE-Nijmegen members who considered it a fun idea to create plays together. They formed a new committee, ‘Toco’ for short (coming from Toneelcommissie, which is the Dutch word for drama group), and held their very first auditions to gather new members. A success was born, and many more plays followed. The members of the committee change a bit every year, due to old members leaving AEGEE-Nijmegen and new enthusiastic members showing up, but they still write, prepare and perform their own play each year. Their tasks involve everything that comes with performing a self-written play: finding a writer, gathering attributes, holding auditions, promotion, taking care of the finances, etc. This year, these tasks are performed by eight enthusiastic members, namely Alexander van Ratingen, Bert Donks, Jorg Leijten, Robin Wellner, Bryan van den Broek, Renée Huismans, Esther Tange en Esther Schlatmann.
After the auditions have been held, which normally happens in November or December, the committee gets enlarged with a group of (student) actors, who are all members of AEGEE-Nijmegen or become a member after their audition. This year the committee found sixteen enthusiastic actors to join them. “It’s a very big group”, Renée says, “but that’s how we like it. We believe that the more people we have, the more fun it gets.” And fun it is, because next to the weekly repetitions (every Thursday night) the committee also organizes fun activities for their members. Due to this, the group of different people soon becomes very close. “It also helps that we are all working towards the same goal: performing an awesome play at the end of the year (June or July)”, says Renée. “After the repetitions we often go to the city to have some drinks, but we also organize our own activities, like karaoke nights and thematic parties.”
The committee doesn’t stop at the preparation and performance of a play though. Because they are an official committee of AEGEE-Nijmegen, they also organize regular activities for the regular members of the local. “On a regular basis we organize ‘drama games’”, Renée says, “where members can get in contact with the art of drama on a low-key base. These nights are often hilarious and bring good memories that aren’t forgotten easily.” A video of one of these nights can be found here. Next to these activities, all of AEGEE-Nijmegen’s members are also invited to visit the final result of the committee: their play.
This year, the performances will be held on the 12th and 14th of June in the Lindenberg, a theatre in Nijmegen. “The name of the play is Memoria, and it will be a tragic comedy”, Renée tells us. “When the thirty year old Bram dies, his family and friends are going through a difficult time. They aren’t only busy with the funeral, but also have to deal with the loss in their own ways. How do you go on with life when your son, lover or friend isn’t there anymore? Memoria is a play about losing a loved one, the hole that death leaves behind, the mourning and how to go on with life. To do this, all secrets have to be revealed, because only the truth can bring relief and acceptance.”
In former years the committee often performed comedies, but they changed up this tradition this year and went with something more serious. “I contributed to the writing of this play, together with Esther Tange and Julia von der Fuhr”, continues Renée,“and I’m very proud of the final result we created. It became a beautiful story which very clearly shows the emotions of the players. It will keep you on the edge of your chair the whole time!”
Right now, AEGEE-Nijmegen is the only local with a drama group, but Renée sees opportunities to start similar groups in other locals. “Of course, if there is no interest among the members, it won’t work, but if there is motivation, I would recommend the local’s board to start this initiative! Working on a play is a great way to get people together, which is an important goal of AEGEE too. The group consists of very different members, so everybody can learn about each other. Next to this, it would be fun to visit the plays of other locals in order to get to know each other better too! Last but not least, each year we gather an amount of new members, which often get involved within AEGEE-Nijmegen too, so it would also be a good way to attract new members for the local!”
Because Renée doesn’t only spend her free time on the art of drama, but also her time at work, she has many ideas for new plays. “Currently I have 100,000 ideas in my head, but I won’t share too much about them since we might still use them for new plays. Although, a Greek myth or musical would be very cool to do one time! The most important part to me is the message you want to spread with your play. If the message is good, the rest of the play will be good too. The options for this are endless, so I hope that in the future we will still be performing many more plays.”
AEGEE-Nijmegen’s Drama Group can also be found on Facebook!
Written by Svenja van der Tol, AEGEE-Nijmegen