Willem Wassenaar

Willem Wassenaar is a 2006 graduate of the Master of Theatre Arts in Directing at Toi Whakaari: NZ Drama School and Victoria University of Wellington. Willem is originally from The Netherlands, where he studied and worked as an actor, director and acting tutor. In New Zealand, Willem directed productions at Te Whaea Theatre, Circa Theatre, Centrepoint Theatre, Downstage Theatre and BATS Theatre. Recent directing credits include Delicates, Mirad; A Boy from Bosnia, The Glass Menagerie, Antigone (for International Arts Festival Oerol in The Netherlands), Angels in America; Part I Millennium Approaches, A Streetcar Named Desire, Swan Song, Spring Awakening, Jeff Koons, The Little Dog Laughed, Wolf's Lair, Blood Wedding, The Crucible, Titus Andronicus, Vernon God Little, Broken China, The Little Prince, Romeo and Juliet, Equus, The Misanthrope and The Seagull. For directing Angels in America, Willem received the 2007 Chapman Tripp Award for the Most Promising New Director of the Year. Willem was also the dramaturg for STRIKE's acclaimed production Elemental and director of Fuse Circus's award winning show The Navigators. As an acting tutor he gave workshops in the Elements to students of Toi Whakaari: NZ Drama School and the wider industry. Willem is co-director of Almost A Bird Theatre Collective and Artistic Director of Long Cloud Youth Theatre.

Awards

2008 Chapman Tripp Award Nominee for Best Director of the Year – The Little Dog Laughed by Douglas Carter Beane.
2007 Chapman Tripp Award for the Most Promising New Director of the year – Angels in America, Part I: Millennium Approaches by Tony Kushner.

Relevant work history

July/Aug 2010
Director of Romeo and Juliet, Maidment Theatre (Auckland), Auckland Theatre Company.
Apr 2010
Director of Broken China, Basement Theatre. Produced by Almost A Bird Theatre Collective.
2010
Artistic Director of Long Cloud Youth Theatre (Whitireia Performing Arts Company). 2010 productions include Vernon God Little by DBC Pierre (Jan/Feb 2010), The Little Prince (May 2010), Equus by Shaffer, The Misanthrope by Moliere & The Seagull by Chekhov (Sept/Oct 2010).
Nov/Dec 2009
Director of Wolf’s Lair, Circa Theatre. Produced by Almost A Bird Theatre Collective. Winner of Chapman Trapp Award for Most Promising Female Newcomer of the Year (Sophie Roberts).
Aug/Sept 2009
Director of Wolf’s Lair, Basement Theatre. Produced by Almost A Bird Theatre Collective.
May/June 2009
Director of Blood Wedding by Federico Garcia Lorca, Circa Theatre. Winner of Chapman Tripp Award for Outstanding Performance (Geraldine Brophy).
Feb/Mar 2009
Director of Wolf’s Lair, BATS Theatre. Produced by Almost A Bird Theatre Collective.
Jan/Feb 2009
Director of The Navigators by Fuse Circus, World Buskers Festival (Christchurch) and Queen’s Warf (Wellington). Winner of People’s Choice Award.
2009
Artistic Director of Long Cloud Youth Theatre (Whitireia Performing Arts Company). 2009 productions include return season of Colony! and GRIMM for Fringe 09 (February), The Crucible by Arthur Miller (June) and Titus Andronicus by William Shakespeare (December).
Nov 2008
Director of The Little Dog Laughed by Douglas Carter Beane, Downstage Theatre. Winner of two Chapman Tripp Theatre Awards (Best Set Design, Outstanding Performance).
Aug/Sept 2008
Director of Jeff Koons by Rainald Goetz, BATS Theatre and The Mighty Mighty. Produced by Almost A Bird Theatre Collective.
June 2008
Dramaturgy for the show Elemental of percussion group Strike, Downstage Theatre.
May 2008
Director of Swan Song by Branwen Millar as part of Young and Hungry Festival of New Works ’08, BATS Theatre.
2008
Artistic Director of Long Cloud Youth Theatre, training and production company for talented young actors aged 14-21 years (part of Wellington Performing Arts Centre). 2008 productions include Spring Awakening by Frank Wedekind (June) and the devised shows Colony! and GRIMM (October).        
Nov/Dec 2007
Director of A Streetcar Named Desire by Tennessee Williams, Circa Theatre. Produced by Almost A Bird Theatre Collective.
Sept/Oct 2007
Director of Angels in America, Part I Millennium Approaches by Tony Kushner, Downstage Theatre. Produced by Almost A Bird Theatre Collective as a graduation production of Toi Whakaari: NZ Drama School.
June 2007
Director of Antigone by Sophocles for the international arts festival Oerol in The Netherlands; a site specific work at a beach with a cast of New Zealand actors. Produced by Almost A Bird Theatre Collective.
April/May 2007
Director of The Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams, Centrepoint Theatre. Produced by Almost A Bird Theatre Collective.
Feb 2007
Director of Antigone by Jean Anouilh for Fringe 07, Te Whaea Theatre. Produced by Almost A Bird Theatre Collective.
Dec 2006
Director of The Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams, Circa Theatre. Produced by Almost A Bird Theatre Collective.
Oct 2006
Director of The Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams, Te Whaea: National             Dance and Drama Centre. Produced by Almost A Bird Theatre Collective.
Sept 2006
Director of Delicates (the film). Produced by Almost A Bird Theatre Collective.
June 2006
Director of Mirad, A Boy from Bosnia by Ad de Bont that toured around several             Wellington high schools.
Feb 2006
Director of Delicates, a devised site specific work in a Newtown laundrette for Fringe 06. Winner of outstanding performer award (Sophie Roberts). Produced by Almost A Bird Theatre Collective.
Oct 2005
Director of Delicates, a devised site specific work in a Newtown laundrette. Produced by Almost A Bird Theatre Collective.
Oct 2005
Co-director of What You Will, a community theatre project with drama students of Wellington High School on sexuality and identity.

2005/2006
Secondment with Tom McCrory (Senior Tutor and Head of Movement of Toi Whakaari: NZ Drama School) in acting training, elements and Bouffon. Tutor of acting workshops on the elements at Toi Whakaari: NZ Drama School. Drama teacher of several acting courses for KIDS 4 Drama.

2002-2004
Drama teacher of several acting classes for children at primary schools and community centres. Playwright and director of children and teenage plays. Director of one-act play Instappen en Uitstappen, part of Komen & Gaan by Hans Brans. Director of MUF by Don Duyns. Assistant director of Yerma by Federico Garcia Lorca, directed by Shireen Strooker for the professional theatre company Tryater. Hosting cultural events (presenting), e.g. De Kunstbende and pop festivals. Acting in self devised plays of DE UNI, the in-house theatre group of the University of Groningen. Cofounder of the international theatre group Amper Een Vogel (Almost A Bird Theatre Collective), its first production Kip! (chicken) was nominated as one of the best plays at the National Student Theatre Festival and was included in the festival Holland Woche in Oldenburg, Germany. Artistic director of children activities at theatre festival Noorderzon 2004 (Kids & Young) in Groningen.

2002-2004
Production manager of frats (amateur theatre school) in Leeuwarden, The Netherlands.
(Chief) Entertainer for Fiesta Hotels & Resorts on Ibiza (Spain).
Television maker (directing) of television programs (Groningen Wereldstad, WORST) for local broadcasting station OOG TV.
Educational history

2005-2006
Master of Theatre Arts in Directing at Toi Whakaari: NZ Drama School and Victoria University of Wellington. Scholarships from Prins Bernard Cultuurfonds, VSB fonds and International Arts Foundation New Zealand. Courses: Directing method, Theatre Craft for Directors, Drama and Theory, Community Theatre, Directing Actors Project, Technical Directing Project, Community Theatre Project and Major Directing Project. Qualification completed in November 2006.
Master Art, Culture and Media / Theatre, Rijksuniversiteit Groningen. January-March 2004: secondment at professional theatre company Tryater (directing assistance of Yerma).

March-December 2004
Thesis on the relationship between the world of Antigone of Sophocles and the world of children aged 10-12. Qualification (cum laude) completed in December 2004.
Bachelor Art, Culture and Media / Theatre, Rijksuniversiteit Groningen. Qualification completed.
Bachelor Communication, Hanzehogeschool in Groningen. Qualification completed.
Study exchange program at Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff (USA).
HAVO (high school), Slauerhoff in Leeuwarden. Qualification completed.