As part of the dramaturgical trajectory within De Grote Post and after having identified many (unnecessary) uncertainties among local audiences, Sara Vanderieck develops the EyeCatcher in 2018: an educational series on performance analysis for non-professionals.
She is inspired by audiences who often engage in awkward conversations after performances and wants to offer an answer to comments like “oh but I don’t really know anything about that” or “maybe I didn’t quite understand”?
This is how another form of emancipating audiences comes into being alongside the more traditional introductions and after talks to break down such barriers in the audience and provide them with a tool to enrich the viewing experience, a pair of spectacles that broaden the view.
Using a questionnaire and a number of performances from the season’s program, Vanderieck takes the participants on a journey that focuses on their viewing experience and how to deepen it.
How can you watch a performance? What emotions does a certain scene evoke? What choices did the artists make and why …? …
Vanderieck’s specific and broad career path makes her the perfect companion for this journey: from a master’s degree in dramatic arts at the RITCS, to almost a decade of international work alongside first TG STAN and then Alain Platel, via the start-up of a local cultural centre as a member of the artistic management of De Grote Post to a position as an independent dramaturge with various companies.
Testimonials from participants
“EyeCatcher does not only open your eyes but also sharpens all your senses during a performance. You learn to see more automatically – and soon you also see what is not being shown.”
Henk
“Eyecatcher was a fantastic experience. Sara uses a questionnaire to teach you to look at all aspects of drama. And during the discussions, we also received information about the state of affairs in the performing arts at home and abroad. At the end of EyeCatcher, you no longer ‘go’ to the theatre but you experience theatre.”
Carla
“Eyecatcher: the word could not be more literal. Fascinating input from Sara, theoretical but never boring, fuelled by many practical examples. Always interesting group discussions, with different angles, visions of what and how was experienced during a performance. A practical questionnaire that helps to put into words the impressions and stores them in the memory. A mix of different personalities with a range of interpretations that you, as an ordinary audience member, would not easily find out. In my case, a tool that I can certainly use on a professional level as well!
Magda
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