Silvia Andringa
She creates productions for children, teenagers and adults as a guest director at a variety of theatres internationally. She coaches young theatre artists and groups and teaches directing and acting. Since 2000, she has been actively involved in projects that further the artistic quality of children’s and youth theatre. In 1999/2000 Silvia Andringa received the Hans Snoekprijs for the most important children’s and youth theatre production of the season, for her staging of the play Medusa by Bouke Oldenhof. Medusa was also nominated for the 1000 Watt Prize. Andringa was a co-founder of the Theater Het Laagland in Sittard and between 2000 and 2007 worked as one of its artistic directors, alongside Inèz Derksen and Bas Zuyderland. In the years since, she has realised plays for children, teenagers and adults, including puppet- and classroom-theatre projects as a freelance director. Since 2004 Silvia Andringa has been a jury member for Kaas & Kaapes, the Dutch-German children’s and youth theatre writing competition in Duisburg. In 2010 she was the Artistic Director of the first HALBSTARK festival in Münster.
In 2012 two of her productions celebrated their premiers at the Theaterhaus Frankfurt: Stein auf Stein (Stone on Stone), which traces the history of the theatre and the Jewish quarter, and Wilde Schwäne (Wild Swans), based on the fairytale by Hans-Christian Andersen. In the same year Andringa staged the youth theatre production Tisha for the Teatro KadaKen in Curaçao and the Puppentheater Gnaffel’s anniversary production of Wilte en het wilde paard (Wilte and the Wild Horse). She wrote and produced the classroom-theatre project Waar rook is, is vuur (Where There’s Smoke, There’s Fire). In 2012 Andringa also founded the theatre group De Jonge Republiek, which stages international theatre productions and projects. Her projects Wilde Schwäne and Waar rook is, is vuur were both performed at the HALBSTARK festival 2012.
Since the last HALBSTARK Festival two years ago, Andringa worked for the Caribbean theatre "Teatro KadaKen" in Curacao, was a guest director at several Dutch theatre groups and founded the theatre foundation "De Jonge Republiek".
Since 2012 Andringa is also in Münster actively involved in the artistic development of new projects and ideas that strengthen the theatre for young adolescents. Some examples of these new ways and inspiring results will be presented during HALBSTARK 2014.