Tell us: who are you and why do you enjoy going to work? I am Imke and I graduated two years ago from the Fontys Hogeschool voor de kunsten as a teaching theater maker. Currently I enjoy working at the HAN in Nijmegen as a drama teacher on the program Vaktherapie Drama and besides that I have several jobs as a theater maker. I am also part of the absurdist music theater duo Snoekbaars. Why I love the theater profession so much is because it gives me room to break out of drudgery, bravado and having to do things "normally." On the floor, I am always looking for boundaries and unexpected twists and turns. This keeps me pushing myself to always keep looking at things differently and to be inspired by initially meaningless situations.

What are your biggest motivations? I've often had in my work that I consider just becoming a stock boy. In a process toward a performance, there are always times when I think "Why am I doing this?" Doubts about whether it's good enough, whether it makes sense, and things like "I'm just never doing this again" are normal thoughts that always come back. Yet at the end of that process, a piece of magic happens: everything suddenly comes together. Adrenaline, excitement and victory are palpable. A moment of ultimate happiness. Why do I feel this way? No idea. But it does make that one brief magical moment make me forget the long sometimes painful process and start it all over again.

With this #throughSTROOM we can make the world a little more beautiful every day! What inspiration do you think is important to share with others? I once had a teacher for whom we had to create a one-minute act every week. It didn't matter how crazy, grand or stupid it was, as long as you were on the floor for one minute. After that, there was no applause, because judgment would follow. This made everything exist; it is allowed to be there and everything is good. To this day I still take from this that you can allow yourself to think crazy or big and take yourself seriously. Your ideas have the right to exist.

How important do you think it is for people to become part of this #throughSTROOM? Theater to me is largely about collectivity and togetherness. You are sitting with a large group of people watching something that is being created at that moment. So you are suddenly experiencing something collectively with hundreds of strangers. After the performance everyone disperses to talk afterwards with a bitterball and a drink, but how wonderful it is to connect with each other just a little bit longer. I also think that after conversations with makers you look at performances differently. If you check something and dwell more on the intention of a maker, that also creates extra dimensions in a performance.

Which STROOM MeetUp has stuck out to you the most and why? The MeetUp that has stuck with me the most is from Saman Amini- integration plan performance. Saman Amini took us as an audience on his journey to his "Dutchness" which he had shaped into a cabaret performance. During the performance there was relaxation, fun and connection with the audience. Therefore, I expected the MeetUp to be in those atmospheres as well. The conversation also began with why he wants to share this story now and ended in a spirited substantive discussion with and between the audience. I saw the power of theater in this; it nicely showed how a cabaret performance, which is often seen as relaxation and something light-hearted, could nevertheless evoke a socially urgent discussion.

The MeetUp provides the opportunity for great encounters and real conversations. Which person would you like to meet someday? Maybe crazy not to mention someone in the theater field who inspires me right now, but people who know me well won't be surprised; I would love to have a conversation with one of the judges on Masterchef Australia. That program always makes me cry. The contestants compete out of quite an intrinsic motivation. The moment they are through, the judges are often strict and incisive, but they do this precisely to allow the contestants to move forward, to push their limits in order to make their dream come true. Contestants cry, I cry. I would love to talk with Gary Mehigan and George Calombaris about their passion, lifestyle and desire to coach others in this. Over a 7 course dinner, of course. Cooked by them.

In your conversations with the creators, you quickly get to the heart of the message. What’s your secret to having a good, in-depth conversation? For me, theater is often about the “why” question. On play, you often check what’s happening, but why it’s happening is what creates the tension. That’s why I find the “why” question so exciting to ask a creator. I believe this reveals the creator’s reason and motivation for telling a story or conveying a message. Besides, I’m naturally curious. I find it interesting to ask the “why” question, but I also really want to know the answer. What drives a creator to come up with this? Since we’ve all seen the performance together beforehand, I think it’s important that the audience members are given the opportunity to share their questions and reactions with the creator as well. What I’ve experienced during these post-performance discussions is that audience members speak very openly and honestly about their experience. This openness creates a kind of purity in the conversation, allowing the essence of the performance to truly shine through.