Dwayne Toemere

Artistic Research & Practice

Dwayne Toemere is a theatre maker, actor, and researcher at the ATD Lectorate. His work delves into Indigenous knowledge systems, grief rituals, and decolonization within the performing arts. Drawing from his Surinamese-Indigenous heritage (Lokono and Kalihna), Dwayne explores themes of loss, collective memory, and healing through artistic practices.

Dwayne is an actor and theatre maker. He graduated from the Mime School in 2011. In 2006 Dwayne got his masters degree in Psychology at the UvA with a specialization in Organizational and Industrial Psychology (A&O). Ever since he has worked as an independent theatre maker and in collaboration with different theatre companies.

Education & Coaching

Next to his theatre work Dwayne started teaching from 2013 in different theatre schools with a specialization in physical theatre and Corporeal Mime, a technique developed by Etienne Decroux. He also works as a trainer for different companies (commercial and governmental) for personal development and communication training.

A video of Dwayne’s work on Corporeal Mime with students throughout the years: https://vimeo.com/504154502

His research interests are in:

• Indigenous artist practices and the history and culture of indigenous communities.
• Mourning and the ways to make space for mourning practices and to heal.
• Diversity, Inclusion and Equality: ways to look at and to work on decolonization within the arts and within the education system.