“We have been offering this course for the Dutch university population for years. It is very popular, some years there is even a waiting list. Now, finally, we can also do something for international students,” says Doppio chairman Lennart Verheijen, who is a sixth-year electrical engineering student.

An extra subsidy from Studium Generale is making it all possible. About twelve people will be able to take part in this first international acting course. It will run for ten weeks on Friday evenings from March 28. According to Verheijen, participants get a taste of all aspects of acting and types of theatre. Among other things, participants learn how to get into a role, how to deliver lines and work with text. But also how to quickly switch between different emotions.

“There is a lot of improvisation involved. I found the course very liberating when I finally found the courage to take part. You learn to put yourself in someone else’s shoes. To be totally different than you would normally be, without any of the usual consequences. For example when you pick a fight or start yelling at someone. This is all actually quite intimate, which makes it easier than usual to get to know people.”

Skimping
The course will be given by Monique Janssen, an experienced professional director. Often, drama students from Fontys teach a course as an internship. “We work with professionals, there is no skimping on quality. Even though the starting level of the course is quite low, often we see good results, with people making fast progress,” says Verheijen.

Doppio puts on about eight plays a year at Plaza Futura (the film house and theatre venue at the Leenderweg) and the Gaslab on campus. Members sometimes work all year on these productions. Although no production has yet been planned for the potential international actors, it would definitely be on the cards if the course goes well. “We’ll wait and see how things go,” says the Doppio chairman. “If there is enough interest and funding, it would be great to do a production in English. We’ll be deciding this summer if the course was a success and whether any further courses will be held or any other activities will be started up for TU/e’s international population.”

Defenses
Doppio is quite an atypical student association. It is an association with members and activities about once every three weekends, but it’s also all about acting. “I found I got to know people very quickly as a result of acting together. People let their defenses down more than they usually would. Even though people in this kind of group can be very diverse, I don’t think anyone felt left out,” he recalls.

The next Doppio activity will be a party in March, the date will be posted on the site. Three productions will play at Plaza Futura and four in the Gaslab in May and June. A sailing weekend is planned for July./.

Registration for the Doppio basic acting course at: doppio@dse.nl. The 30-hour course costs 50 euros.