On Tuesday 11 September the Andre Veltkamp Grant will be awarded to the Graduates 2018 of the Mime School for the 'energetic and blissful' performance Paradijsvertraging. Directly afterwards the winning performance Paradijsvertraging will be presented in the main theatre at the Academy of Theatre and Dance.
 
We will honour our alumni with a special Double Bill HALf6. The programme includes the presentation of the André Veltkamp Grant and the announcement of the winner of the Top Naeff Prize 2018. More information about the complete programme will follow soon.
 
The André Veltkamp Grant is intended for a graduation production that deserves a second life because of its special character, individuality, drive and originality. Paradijsvertraging deserves to be seen by a new audience and by the professional circuit. The André Veltkamp Grant will be handed out by theatre maker Charlotte Lap, widow of André.

Location and time
17:30 start HALf6 in de central hall of the academy
19:15 start of Paradijsvertraging in de main theatre at the academy, reservations via atd.ahk.nl/agenda

The jury about Paradijsvertraging
The jury praises the vitality, diversity, vulnerability and also the strength of this collective. Versatility is an understatement for this group of performers in optima forma. The Mime Graduates 2018 have a 'stubborn mentality, backbone, and a wicked anarchy'. Because the eight men and one woman are looking for protection but are also the paradise re-builders in a bunker on Spitsbergen. Paradijsvertraging directed by Ko van den Bosch works like a cast-iron primeval screaming ritual, as a sound box mirror of present times. The jury will happily see this performance again.

Watch the trailer of the performance

About the André Veltkamp Grant
The grant is named after André Veltkamp, director of de Theaterschool from 1997 to 2010 (now Academy of Theatre and Dance) The André Veltkamp Grant is intended for graduation production of the Academy of Theatre and Dance that distinguishes itself through its engagement with society today and warrants an audience outside the Academy of Theatre and Dance. There is special focus on the craftsmanship of the maker, individuality, intensity and authenticity.

The winner receives a sum of € 1.000 and made to measure productional support for the continuation of the production. De jury van de André Veltkamp Prijs bestaat uit Charlotte Lap, Erik Lint, Laurens Runderkamp, Niko Bovenberg en Annebeth Vlietstra. The grant has been made possible by the Pisuisse Prijs Fonds.

In 2015 the first grant was handed to Liliane Brakema for De Wilde Eend. This performance was selected afterwards for the Theater Festival. In 2016 the grant was awarded to Samira Elagoz for Cock, Cock: Who’s there!!! and in 2017 to the makers of the performance De Louteringsberg.

About the Top Naeff Prize
The Top Naeff Prize is the oldest student prize in the Netherlands and is awarded to promising talent of the Academy of Theatre and Dance. The prize is awarded courtesy of the Top Naeff Prijs Fonds (Top Naeff Prize Foundation) and is made possible by the Emma Morel Fonds (Emma Morel Foundation). The prize includes € 1000. In addition, the prizewinners may also be pleased with the fact that they are in the company of a select group of previous winners.

The first female prizewinner was the actress Sigrid Koetse who graduated in 1955. Following her, the prize was won, among others, by: Peter Oosthoek, Suzanne Kennedy, Boukje Schweigmann, Theun Mosk and Carice van Houten. The prize is awarded to an especially talented class on rare occassions. In 2017, the Top Naeff Prize was awarded to Benno Veenstra. The  jury of Top Naeff Prijs consists of: Bodil de la Parra, Jeroen de Beer and Lois Maat.

De Top Naeff Prijs en de André Veltkamp Beurs are governed by ‘Stichting Fondsen de Theaterschool’.