Elsbeth Vernout

(Odijk, NL 1971) is a theatre maker, actress and founder of Stichting Castel Bianco, a platform for the realisation of musical theatre productions (www.castelbianco.nl). In her work she combines the three subjects she graduated in: theatre (Theaterschool Selma Susanna-Thopss), journalism (School voor Journalistiek, Zwolle), and anthropology (University of Amsterdam). In her werk she departs from personal and current themes. Thus in her solo performance Deze en Genen (Somebody or Others) she goes in search of her Dutch East Indies' roots. Her musical theatre production Gegijzeld (Taken Hostage) is about the occupation of a school in the Dutch town of Bovensmilde in the 1970s, in which her sister was among the hijacked children. Right now she is working with Frits Lambrechts and others on a musical performance about the city of Amsterdam. In addition she writes theatre texts and lyrics, teaches cabaret and writing for the theatre and writes poems and presentation texts for television. www.elsbethvernout.nl