Member of the Month
Welcome to our Member of the Month section. Each month we shine a light on an individual within our community. Whether they’re beavering away behind the scenes or hogging centre stage, these are the people that make the AATG what it is.
Each month we’ll bring you their stories: who they are, how they got here and what they’re doing with us. Feeling inspired? Fancy telling us your story? Want to recommend a Member of the Month? Write to us…
December 2024
Myrthe Bouwhuyzen
What began as a love of the English language for Dutch-born Myrthe Bouwhuyzen, has led to an exciting life of theatre and dinosaur bone hunting. Graduating with an undergraduate degree in English and Masters Degrees in English as well as Book and Digital Media Studies, Myrthe planned on pursuing work at a publishing house. Life, however, had different plans for her.
While a university student, Myrthe was intrigued by the opportunity to expand her language studies through theatre and joined what was then called LEF, but is now known as LET, Leiden English Theatre. By around 2016 she had several people in her social circle who were members of the AATG, including her housemates. It was then that she decided to participate in the chorus of AATG’s Snow White Panto, and then never left!
One of the aspects that has kept Myrthe active and interested in the AATG is the variety of opportunities to learn and grow. In fact, outside of directing, Myrthe thinks she has held just about every position the AATG offers, from stage manager to principal and from set building to make-up, she has done it all. She’s even been the singer in the band! This year she can be found on the current panto as the assistant stage manager, as well as helping in the props department.
But Myrthe’s interests aren’t limited to theatre. She began volunteering at Naturalis, a natural history museum in Leiden, as a museum guide. At the same time that she was becoming involved in panto, the museum acquired T-Rex bones in 2016, and Myrthe became interested in what the specialists were doing, quickly learning that many did not have a background in paleontology. So, she became trained herself! Since then, Myrthe has been sent on multiple trips to the United States to help work on dinosaur digs and helps to clean, prepare, and strengthen the bones for Naturalis.
November 2024
Maeve Huber
If you have attended any recent AATG Pantos, then you have already seen the work of one of AATG’s most gifted set painters, our Member of the Month, Maeve Huber. Whether it’s putting a face to a moon, or bringing an octopus to life, this highly-skilled artist is up for any task put her way. As with many members, she first became involved with the AATG when another member invited her to help paint sets. When Erica Verkerk-Dodd, head set designer for many of AATG’s productions, saw Maeve’s ability, she told Maeve she just had to keep coming back. And that’s exactly what Maeve did.
But Maeve’s participation hasn’t been limited to only set painting, she also works as stage crew during performances. This came about due to her willingness to always pitch in. When Eva, working as stage manager, found herself short of crew members on the night of a show, she gave Maeve a call because she lived near the theater. And Maeve answered, jumping in to help and never looking back. It turned out to be the right call, as Maeve stated her favorite part of the AATG is working as the stage crew, who choreograph their own dances to all the music in the pantos, moving and grooving backstage. Maeve describes it as a team party every night. Teamwork is something Maeve speaks about often, never taking credit for a set piece, stating they’re all collaborations, and always being quick to point out the contributions of others.
When she’s not completely swamped in her final year of study at BSN or supporting the AATG, Maeve is also an avid video gamer, with a special love for farming-based games. This Nova Scotia native and her father share a bond in building-up and comparing their digital tractors. Her sister, who is also a set painter, described Maeve as weird, funny, and unique. But to all of us, Maeve is all of those things, as well as talented, gifted, and an irreplaceable and loved member of the AATG.
October 2024
Helen Short
With her bubbly spirit and infectious grin, it’s difficult to not be in a good mood around Helen Short. The AATG choreographer has been lighting up our group with her smile for over 10 years, but has been teaching dancers and non-dancers how to move their bodies since her university days. Dancing from a young age, Helen’s interest bloomed at university where she completed a dance module in movement studies as she trained to be a teacher. It was at university that she began formally choreographing routines.
After university, she began teaching younger children, where she put on shows for schools and incorporated dance and movement into her activities. She also founded clubs wherever she taught, as a way to inspire children who shared her love of movement. Her husband Alex was the first in her family to join the AATG. As a band member, he mentioned Helen’s choreography background prior to our 2012 production of Cinderella, and Helen has been an irreplaceable member ever since.
Intense research goes into each routine. First, Helen meets with directors and gets an idea of their vision. Then she begins reviewing elements of each routine, making sure to provide balance and variation. She also carefully considers the varying abilities of the cast members (who range from professional dancers to those who have never danced,) the positioning of where people will be, the varying dynamics of the group and what will keep the interest of the audience.
Once a routine begins to emerge, she runs it through a trial to see if it will work, making sure to stay both literally and figuratively flexible when something needs changing. She is thankful to have the support of her husband to help her with the musical arrangement of the song and the two often collaborate to adjust the music to better fit with her creative ideas and vision. Creating the initial routine is the most difficult part of the choreography for Helen, as she finds the greatest joy in being able to teach the dance and watch it come alive onstage.
Although she has always been a professional teacher for children, Helen loves working with the adult cast of the AATG because of their enthusiasm and excitement. The instant feedback their smiles provide is motivating and uplifting. And while she is much more confident in her role behind the scenes, she hasn’t completely put-off the idea of performing onstage herself at some point. When she’s not teaching dance, she can also be caught on the dance floor performing various genres, from Latin American to Lindy Hop. Most of all, Helen is grateful that dance, her greatest passion, is something she still gets to spend her free time doing.
September 2024
Frank van Ginhoven
When Frank invited new friends to his home for dinner four years ago, he never imagined the encounter would lead to him building and designing theatre sets and challenging his creativity in new ways each week. Luckily for the AATG, Frank’s dinner guest that evening was Hans van Bemmelen, one of AATG’s lead set builders and Warehouse Wizards, who invited Frank to come to the warehouse and check it out. And Frank has been back at least once a week since then, working on any set piece that is asked of the team, crediting Hans with teaching him new ways to be handy, skills he claims he did not possess before coming to the AATG.
This isn’t Frank’s first foray into new territories. Throughout his life Frank has moved from place to place, picking up new hobbies and skills along the way. Most of the changes in his life have been inspired by his longtime love of learning, with Frank saying, “You meet great new people and learn great new things when you stay curious.” This lifetime of staying curious brought the trained engineer to jobs around the globe, eventually settling down in the Netherlands where Frank was born before moving to Canada as a child. He is joined in the Netherlands by his wife Jen, also a Dutch Canadian, one of his 3 children, and a couple of grandchildren, all of whom join him each year in watching the Panto and seeing Frank’s handiwork on stage.
In addition to his weekly work at the warehouse with the AATG, Frank has taken up other new hobbies and volunteer opportunities since retirement as well. Through the AATG, he met Peter Comley, who introduced him to volunteering with Dunea as a tour guide, which Frank now also does weekly. Like most Dutch, he also bikes almost everywhere, using his bicycle to get him to/from Scheveningen to the warehouse each week. But of all his new adventures, Frank’s favorite new hobby has been learning to fly airplanes. An enthusiasm for aviation is something he shares with fellow Warehouse Wizard John de Vries and the pair have plans to fly together soon.
Working alongside Paul Dundas, who rounds out the core group of Warehouse Wizards, Frank says he enjoys the friendships and comradery he has made with the AATG. The Warehouse Wizards meet every Wednesday afternoon, year-round, and the group is open to anyone who would like to join, no experience necessary. All that is required is a desire to stay curious.