Cikaros (Denmark) - photo: Andreas Omvik
Loutop (Switserland) - photo: Celine Mathé
Cie. Willi Dorner (Austria) - photo: Lisa Rastl
BOT (The Netherlands) - photo: Hans Hendriks
La Salamandre (France) - photo: Yves Petit
Granhøj Dans (Denmark) - photo: pervictor
Ziya Azazi (Turkey) - photo: Free Arts
Frequently Asked Questions about Spoffin
As of 2010, the Dutch city of Amersfoort will harbour a new cultural festival: Spoffin. Ambitions are huge - Spoffin is to serve as a bridge, establishing connections and linking up the whole of Northern Europe. Initiator and director/curator Alfred Konijnenbelt provides answers to questions he has often asked himself.
Erm... Spoffin?
‘Nice one, isn’t it? What do you reckon: some sort of flying fish? A kind of dextrorotatory Finnish yoghurt? Slovenian soup made of raw meat leftovers? The pet name for the Seventeenth Century British royal bed bouncer? Close enough! Spoffin is a new international multi-arts festival held in Amersfoort all through the last weekend of August, starting in 2010. A cultural event of European allure, covering the field of arts in public space - and you can visit most of it for free to boot.
You really want to know where we got the name from? Alright. Consider the festival to be a spin-off of its three predecessors: Theater Terras, responsible for presenting nearly four decades of modest scale, high quality special theatre shows on various sites all over Amersfoort; Festival Etcetera (La Strada) co-founded by Theater Terras; and the Keistadfeesten, the traditional Amersfoort popular festivals. In recent years, Theater Terras has made numerous attempts at modernising the Keistadfeesten by organising an international street theatre festival as an integral part of the event. Humble as its origins may be, its remarkably solid programming ensured for a certain degree of allure, attracting large and grateful audiences. The city of Amersfoort has a proud heritage of street theatre tradition, but until recently, input had dropped down to morsels and crumbs.’
Spoffin - is it all brand new, or will it feature some elements of its predecessors?
‘Well, even though Spoffin is all about being new, it obviously won’t be denouncing its roots. It owes a lot to each of its three forerunners. Theater Terras has left it an inheritance of top-notch contacts in the world of international festivals, as well as the great deal of care invested in treating its artists and locations. From Etcetera, it derives its daring programming setup featuring loads of premières by groups hunted out by our scouts throughout the Netherlands and abroad. You would often see stuff you wouldn’t find at other progressive festivals like Oerol or Boulevard until a few years later. What’s more - you’ll already get a taste of the particular flavour to recognise the Keistadfeesten by when you see dozens of Amersfoort either hosting international artists and professionals, or hard at work volunteering to help guide visitors, assisting technicians, hauling equipment, and building up the festival grounds.
These volunteers are the true roots of the festival. The final factor making it all extra special is in the fact that both the Keistadfeesten and Etcetera have dissolved themselves to make way for something new - for Spoffin, that is.’
So what exactly will Spoffin be doing differently? Won’t it be the same old show, only slightly bigger?
‘The festival is so much more than just some spin-off of the past; creating something completely fresh and new is what we’re all about! In fact, that’s precisely why the name was switched round as it is. You can regard the year 2010 as a transition stage, but from 2011 on, Spoffin will accommodate both an in- and an off- section.
The in-programming will paint you an up-to-date picture of the very cream in current cutting-edge street and location theatre from the Netherlands, Europe, and perhaps even beyond, with loads of attention for innovative forms of theatre. In addition, there will be a so-called off-programming, allowing theatre groups to perform their very latest shows - partly at their own risk. Known as showcases in jargon, such performances are featured across several European festivals, though these are mainly held in Spain and France. Surprisingly, the Northern part of Europe does not yet offer any large-scale showcases for street and location theatre - at least not at a professional level - even though there is a definite demand for them. Some of the most brilliant shows are produced in Great Britain, as well as in Scandinavia, Germany, and throughout all of the countries east of it. And let’s not forget the Netherlands! The bulk of all of these excellent shows can only be seen in their countries of origin. Artists are usually not limited by a lack of talent; it’s the contracts and the means to scale things up that are lacking.’
When you look at it that way, what starring role is there for Spoffin to play?
‘Spoffin will be serving as a bridge, chiefly for Northern Europe. If the festival works out, developing along the lines we have in mind, Amersfoort will come to be a cultural hub; a true nexus of street and location theatre. Of course, these things don’t just happen overnight. It’ll be years before the idea really takes root, claiming the attention on an international level as well. Nor will it all just work itself out.
If we really want to get things going, we will need to invest heavily behind the scenes, paying attention to organising the parts of the festival the crowds won’t get to see. It is our ambition to do a better job than most other showcase festivals. There, groups often only get their travel expenses reimbursed. We will go beyond that by providing the facilities they need to present their shows at peak performance. We will also give them a warm welcome by providing proper accommodation and gourmet food - another thing many other festivals lack. We have reserved a prime site for building an Artists’ Village with foldable rooms situated around a huge restaurant tent where our chef will be preparing meals that will make any artist drool.
Spoffin aims to be an experience to remember, lingering in the minds and conversations of participants and visitors alike, and resulting in valuable contacts lasting for years to come. So as we invest heavily in our off-artists, they will reciprocate by investing their time and ideas; and that is exactly why our standards are high. We don’t just let anyone in, to prevent situations like we witnessed at one of the French festivals in attempts to host over 700 groups over recent years. That’s just too much. The only certainty such programming warrants to visitors and programmers alike is that they will see heaps of rubbish - and miss out on most of the good stuff.’
So where’s the urgency in Spoffin? What does it add to the crowded festival landscape?
‘Spoffin provides audiences with a compact and topical overview of the very best in European street and location theatre. In addition, this festival is the only one combining a showcase with a specific focus on Northern and Eastern Europe. We also distinguish ourselves by our hosting of artists and professionals. It’s sad to see how few of our fellow festivals pay any particular attention to that aspect.’
How do you compile the in-programme as a curator? What profile will the festival have?
‘Let me start by tackling your first point: Spoffin is a festival combining high quality and accessibility. This is the reason why the majority of shows are for free. The value of that should not be underestimated - people love to experience new things, but they don’t like having to pay big money for them.
Other important factors in putting the programme together have been matters like originality, expressiveness, and professionalism. We are happy to support explorations reaching across the boundaries between theatre, dance, figurative arts, and technology.
Having said that, I find that festival producers usually treat their artistic concepts in overly complex ways. They often talk about high-flown objectives and very specific target audiences that are quite indistinct at best. The fact of the matter is very simple though: Spoffin intends to give an accurate outlook on the best and the most interesting developments in the field of street and location theatre in Europe. Period. As a consequence, we make the festival attractive to anyone - public, producers, and professionals alike - open to new and surprising theatre experience. Period.’
Will the off-programming be subject to different standards?
‘Our programming scouts make preliminary selections based on interesting and innovative plans, in addition to any previous shows by the same producers they may have seen. The festival curator then goes on to make the final selection. This selection method ensures that we compile a cultural event worth visiting in all respects. Spoffin is quite happy to invest in artists, but only in sound ways, and only with proper attention. This may sound like a cliché, but it is nevertheless true that quality is what matters, as opposed to quantity. Even though we will be admitting some 30 to 50 off-groups over the years ahead of us, it is still a large event, and don’t forget about the in-programming standing firmly amidst all this off-clamour. All in all we are talking about a grand total of 50 to 70 groups performing some 150 to 200 shows between them.’
Street theatre, let’s face it: isn’t it getting a tad bit old-fashioned by now?
‘That’s probably true if you associate the concept with clowns and jugglers going through the motions of the same old acts over and over again. By contrast, we will be presenting innovative art forms; performances that are complete mismatches for traditional theatres or smooth floor stage play. We will be showing you things in which locations and shows are mutually reinforcing, or inversely, causing friction and evoking huge contradictions. It’s not as if there’s anything wrong with entertainment; we just make sure we select a number of projects that have a strong sense of relevance or even urgency. Consider Hostage, a show by Holbæk Teater from Denmark: an intensely gripping immigrants’ drama unfolding right under your nose in a moving coach, with the audience for its passengers. That’s another Dutch première, by the way.’
From Denmark - again?
‘Yes, Denmark is the 2010 Spoffin partner nation. Each year, we select a new nation from the northern half of Europe to embark on a path of special cooperation. The first edition of the festival will feature some four or five Danish projects, including the opening show, on Dutch stages. And no, it’s not just because the Danish government will make a donation. First and foremost, this joint venture is about important developments we would like to show to wider audiences.’
Why would theatre groups from all corners of Europe be coming over to Amersfoort? What does Spoffin have to offer apart from a stage to play on?
‘To artists, it will be additionally interesting to visit an event where lots of programmers from other festivals are present. Chances are that if they come to see performances they like, artists will be invited to tour along all those other festivals in following years. That is why we will be inviting dozens of festival programmers and other theatre professionals from all over Europe to come and have a look. As with groups, we don’t just invite anyone - we approach people capable of making a difference.
They too will be enjoying our warmest welcome, and we will make sure that apart from seeing an excellent programme, there will be loads of opportunities for establishing valuable contacts. We will arrange a special meeting point for artists and programmers to engage in conversation about their shows and future plans. Even though the audience will hardly notice, having a place like that available is vital for the festival plan to succeed.’
Why Amersfoort, when you might just as well have chosen Amsterdam or Berlin?
‘All around the world, street theatre is chiefly the domain of medium-sized cities, as it has a huge impact on local city life for a few days. A large street theatre festival held in, say, Amsterdam would disrupt the entire city. Amersfoort, by contrast, has just the right scale for such an event. The historic inner city is pleasantly compact and has wonderful squares and streets to offer, which will really allow matters to come to full effect. Both in the heart of the city and beyond, hidden locations abound that even Amersfoort residents hardly know. We would love to play those spots, using them as stages for special performances. The city is located at a crossroads of motorways and railway connections, making it easy to reach from all over the Netherlands as well as from other parts of Europe. An Intercity train will take you from Schiphol Airport to Amersfoort in less than 40 minutes.
Even now, the Our Lady’s Tower serves as a benchmark, being the official geographical central point of the Netherlands. For a few days each year, Spoffin will turn Amersfoort into the cultural central point of Europe, too.’
Wonderful as that may sound - won’t all of this international turmoil pass right over the heads of the local residents?
‘On the contrary. Spoffin is supported by dozens of volunteers; either as visitor stewards, or as guides for international guests, assisting construction, or helping out our chef. Experience has taught us that for many people, the festival is an absolute highlight of the year - an event to which they will gladly lend a helping hand, allowing them to meets scores of new people as they go. So in that sense, this event does not only serve a cultural purpose, but a social one as well. The festival also selects an annual number of framework performances in which professional theatre producers and local talents join forces to arrive at special shows. These things also generate a deep sense of connectedness to the city. To name but an example, the Austrian choreographer Willi Dorner will be working with twenty super-dextrous Amersfoort citizens for an entire week to create an unusual form of art. They will be seen running about the city, pausing only to form a sculpture together. Dorner will pile people up in aesthetic shapes, or suspend them on their own in some improbable position. The next instant, the work will burst apart, only to have the participants run to the next location and make their next move. Very urban and highly picturesque at the same time; it was all over the newspapers last year when Willi Dorner performed in London, and the IDFA film festival featured a documentary on him. We are proud to present the Dutch première of this show set right on the boundary between theatre and the visual arts.’
A festival of such grand stature - you can’t just go and set it up by yourself, can you?
‘Definitely not. Let me start by pointing out that I am being backed up by a highly active board thinking along with me: the people responsible for recently elevating Theater Terras to such great heights. In May 2010, they will be relieved by a new board, consisting of people with access to extensive networks in the world of theatre and festivals or in the business community. The ex-board members will then return to organising a series of summer evening performances set on special locations, which will be the prelude to Spoffin over the months of July and August. Spoffin will have a small and flexible staff core, in which the director/curator will be supported by technical producer Remko van den Ende, executive producer Rob Acket, and communications official Ida Bromberg.
International aspects will be governed by Casper de Vries, artistic director of the Tuin der Lusten (‘Garden of Delights’) in the province of Overijssel. He has access to an impressive network extending throughout the European festival community. These staff members are all experienced and flexible freelancers willing to commit themselves to the festival for several months. The last thing we want is to have some heavily institutionalised festival organisation with self-preservation as its main goal. Although our budget is limited, we intend to use most of the funds to benefit the artists. This calls for hard work and smart organising, which is in fact easier in a small team than in a large group.
Then there’s all the volunteers we know we can count on to make things work in practice. Amersfoort has a respectable tradition when it comes to this; you’ll be hard-pressed to find any initiatives that have come about without volunteers. We can draw upon a pool of dozens of grizzled veteran volunteers; people who know their way about town with a great sense of commitment and lots of useful contacts, purposefully grinding away at their tasks - and loving it! Volunteers keep the organisation together; a festival such as this would be simply impossible without them.’
How many visitors does Spoffin aim for?
‘The festival is meant to draw a broad audience of theatre and art enthusiasts, both from Amersfoort and the wider Utrecht province and from the rest of the Netherlands - and from abroad in due course. Roughly similar events held in other European countries indicate that such festivals can grow to huge public attractions for which people gladly sacrifice some of their holiday leave. Partly based on past experience, we think audiences could expand from some 50,000 visitors in 2010 to between 90,000 and 100,000 in 2013. The same principle applies here, though: bigger does not necessarily mean better.’
Will Spoffin be joining forces with other cultural organisations from Amersfoort or elsewhere?
‘We certainly will be. We cooperate with Amersfoort in C, for example, which is the umbrella organisation comprising the Armando Museum, Kunsthal KAdE, Museum Flehite, and Mondriaanhuis, to ensure a wonderful sequel to the highly successful Museum Night held in tandem with the festival on August 28. Then there’s our new ally Franje, which has previously been operating in the periphery of both Etcetera in Amersfoort and De Parade in Utrecht as a ‘parasitic festival’. Franje will be offering a stage for up-and-coming talent from Amersfoort, as well as for experiments by artists from the rest of the world. Our local theatre De Flint has agreed to accommodate us in the halls of the Stadshal in case of great urgency, such as when heavy rain threatens to ruin the festival. This will hardly be an ideal situation, of course, as only a fragment of the programme would fit in these halls, but we are very grateful for this generous offer nonetheless. We are currently in the process of consulting various other institutions. As we were glad to notice, the will to cooperate is clearly present in Amersfoort. It all seems to vibrate with the will to make Spoffin a lasting success!’
Will visitors have to cue up for hours to get their tickets?
‘Access to a large share of Spoffin will be totally free. That’s a unique selling point compared to most other festivals. For the remaining twenty percent of shows that do require you to buy a ticket, we will be very lenient towards our visitors. We will do so by keeping prices low; tickets will rarely cost more than fifteen euro. The bulk of tickets will be sold through our website, and as we keep ticket sales completely in our own hands, any additional charges will be limited to about one euro for each reservation. We will keep some tickets in reserve for sale at our box-offices, so even if you decide to visit a show at the very last moment, you will still have a good chance of getting in.
So, what do you reckon - starting to get used to that name yet?’
