Juries TF and VSCD merge

It was actually typically Dutch. After all, we have more awards to give away here in all parts of the creative sector than there are artists. Almost. And so all those awards have their own selection committees, juries, committees and you name it. Not only costs hands full of money, it's also cumbersome. That's why at least one sensible decision has now been taken in the regions of stagecraft.
The selection committee that works every year for Theatre festival TF selected the 10 best, most beautiful, most important or most socially important plays for reprise in The Theatre Festival of the Netherlands, will also decide which of the actors, actresses and creators will go home with the prizes after that festival. After all, those Oscars of the Dutch theatre, which all have their own names here (Gouden Louis, Gouden Theo, Arlecchino and Colombina) have until now always had their own stately jury, composed by the Association of theatre and concert hall directors. Close cooperation between the somewhat rebellious Theatre Festival led by Jeffrey Meulman, and the rather old-fashioned closed VSCD had so far failed to get off the ground. That it will now happen is nice, but also means an awkward intervention in the way Theatre Festival TF handles selection. After all, there is a good chance that a prize will now also be established for the Best Performance of the Season (The Golden Master Builder), and so it will also be part of the Theatre Festival selection. Will there be an element of competition after all, and that was always a bit not the intention of a festival that aimed to be more party than competition.

Main reason for the merger, according to our highly placed source however, the lack of suitable candidates for two drama juries. After all: there are no longer that many experts to be found who are not already on some committee or other, advising on something or having already served last year. Remains the biggest question whether Jeffrey Meulman, the director of Festival TF, sticks to the tradition of a striking and appealing jury chairman. This has also proved increasingly difficult to find in recent years.