During the 14 hour duration of This is h: OURS manifestation staged by the Academy of Theatre and Dance on Friday 28 October 2016, the Top Naeff Prize 2016 was awarded to Erwin Dörr, a recent graduate of the Mime Study Programme. Samira Elagoz, who this year graduated from the School for New Dance Development (SNDO) was awarded the André Veltkamp Grant 2016.
The Top Naeff Prize is Holland’s oldest student theatre prize. The motivational accolade is traditionally awarded to promising students of the Academy of Theatre and Dance. The André Veltkamp Grant is meant for graduation productions that distinguish themselves by addressing contemporary social issues in such a way that they deserve to be staged outside the Academy. The André Veltkamp Grant was presented by Charlotte Lap, theatre maker and the widow of André, and Valerie Veltkamp, daughter of André.
About Top Naeff prize winner Erwin Dörr:
“Erwin is an especially versatile and powerful performer. He is a creative actor who finds it easy to adapt to all kinds of styles in theater without sacrificing his own singularity and strengths. His ‘yes’ is unconditional and he commits totally to the rehearsal process. He remains positive no matter what the circumstances and is able to make theatre material his own. The questions he poses, his contributions and the things he does all aim to elevate a production, a development he visibly enjoys. Erwin has a keen eye for the bigger picture and a strong spatial awareness. These talents allow him to communicate with a director on the same wavelength. His complete commitment and openness make his acting intense and moving.”
Download the Juryrapport Top Naeff Prijs 2016 (PDF, in Dutch)
About Samira Elagoz, winner of the André Veltkamp Grant:
“For her production Cock, cock, who’s there?, a documentary lecture performance about violence and intimacy in a world in which the virtual and the real are inextricably intertwined, Samira Elagoz has been awarded the André Veltkamp Grant. Samira is uncompromising and does not aim to please. Aesthetically, her work is reminiscent of Pipilotti Rist, Marlene Dumas and Sophie Calle. But she takes it into the 21st century, compellingly displaying her own style. The calm self-assurance with which she renders this alarming and intimate story shows a very mature artist.”
Download the Jury report André Veltkamp Grant 2016 (PDF)
The Top Naeff Prize
The Top Naeff Prize is traditionally presented as a motivational award to promising talent from the Academy of Theatre and Dance. The prize is named after the author Top Naeff who was also a leading theatre critic. It is Holland’s oldest student theater prize and is made possible thanks to the Top Naeff Prize Fund and in part, the Emma Morel Fund. Prize winners belong to a select company that includes the first prize winner, actress Sigrid Koetse who graduated in 1955, Peter Oosthoek, Suzanne Kennedy, Boukje Schweigmann, Theun Mosk and Carice van Houten. The prize was last awarded to Nina Spijkers who graduated from the Theatre Directing Study Programme in 2014.
The André Veltkamp Grant
This grant, named after André Veltkamp – director of de Theaterschool (since September 2016 renamed Academy of Theatre and Dance) from 1997 to 2010, is intended for graduation productions that identify with topical social issues and deserve to be staged outside the Academy. The jury assesses the authorship, singularity, authenticity and intensity of a production. The winner receives € 1000 and help with the extended production of the performance. The nomination committee for the André Veltkamp Grant consists of theatre maker and widow of André Charlotte Lap, Erik Lint and Laurens Runderkamp – the latter two are both members of the Management Team of the Academy of Theatre and Dance. The André Veltkamp Grant is made possible in part by the Pisuisse Prize Fund. The grant was first awarded in 2015 to Liliane Brakema (who graduated from the Theatre Directing Study Programme in 2015) for her production, De Wilde Eend. After an extended run, the play was ultimately selected for the Nederlands Theater Festival 2016.
The Top Naeff Prize and the André Veltkamp Grant are managed by the ‘Stichting Fondsen de Theaterschool’.
