Those Clever Dutch

Europe was fantastic. While in Bologna, I ended up sitting on a panel for Teatro Del Navile’s Acting School, helping Nino evaluate this year’s crop of students. Also met with the cast of Leftovers, the play is in fine shape.

In The Netherlands, I came across a book of plays written by Dutch authors, 4 Playwrights in 2003. This book is part of Atelier’s Theatre in Translation Series. The plays were written and produced in Dutch, then translated into English for publication. Esther Gerritsen’s Housewife is a wonderful play, as well as Clay by Marijke Schermer. These plays, and the work of the Italians, gave me a strong look at what I call stylized realism - characters that are set in a realistic/natural environment and tweaked up a notch to make them slightly hyper-realistic.