theaterRob van Houten.nl

Mime period Rob van Houten

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Rob van Houten is probably the most outstanding and most all-round mime in the Dutch theatre field.

Rob van Houten was educated at the end of the sixties in mime, classical ballet, acting and was contracted by the youth theatre company Carrousel, directed by Jan Bronk, who is the founder of mime in the Netherlands. In that period he was educated in all facets that had to do with making theatre.
Early seventies he made his first mime solo performance Mime Clown. This performance showed his typical energetic style and showed his aversion to white painted faces and the imaginary picking of flowers, accompanied by dynamic music. This performance gave him the recognition as a mime. Especially his new and fresh approach of this traditional art form was praised by everyone.

As a crown on his work in this mime period Rob van Houten recieved the audience prize during the overcrowed international mimefestival in Zürich, Switzerland.

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Inspiration 

Posters

Rob van Houten is a big fan of the french movie comedian Jacques Tati because of his humane and timeless humour. Also the symmetry in the work of the graphic artist M.C. Escher fascinated him immensely. The work of the surrealist painter René Magritte inspired Rob van Houten to create many hillarious acts.  He was infactuated by the expressive lonelyness in the work of American painter Edward Hopper..the art of leaving out in its most sublime form. In the end, mime is also an art of leaving out.

Hopper

Magritte


M.C.Escher

In Paris he visited all kind of revues and absurd nightclubs. His many visits to Casino de Paris made him fall in love with genuine revue! 

Funhouse Theatre Company

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Rob van Houten was ready for an absurdistic revue, filled with theatrical contradictions. He formed a company around himself with strange artists with different backgrounds and working in very different disciplines. He named the company "FUNHOUSE" and reached the top of Dutch theatre in an unconventional way with unique and surprising shows. The press responded unanimously with great enthousiasm! Funhouse performed in overcrowded venues: "This you have to see!!" The shows where new and burlesque. A combination of theatre, revue, circus and vaudeville. Art and Kitsch, refined and rude. His biggest characteristic was the subtile use of a false bottom. The special effects were realized by puppeteer Feike Boschma. Eyecatching glitter, sexy dancers, light and refined decor made the shows one big party.

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Rob van Houten's way of making theatre was an inspiration to other groups. Rob developed himself more and more as an actor and his strong theatrical voice suited the spectacle of Funhouse.

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Rob is able to perform as a fragile Pierrot as well as sinister and shaggy persons. These two contradictive qualities often confused the audience. 

Funhouse was funded by the government in the seventies and eighties.

A lot of Shows were realized under direction of Rob van Houten: FunhouseHorror , Revue Classics, After Eight, After All, Who is Who, Modern Times and many others. With the show After All, Theatre Company Funhouse toured in many European countries.

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Program

Rob van Houten went on a study trip to the United States of America where he visited theatre spectacles in all big cities, also Las Vegas

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Drama/Television

After the Funhouse period Rob played several roles in big drama productions: Tjechov's Uncle Wanja, Pinter's The Birthday Party and the storyteller in Korczak a.o. He also performed in musicals.

Rob van Houten became famous on Dutch TV with his appearances in the Dutch version of Sesame Street and with his interpretation of Boy Bensdorp a macho cafetaria owner in the taboo fighting soapseries of the 'enfant terrible' of DutchTV, artist and writer Wim T. Schippers.
Guest appearances in nearly all Dutch soaps and in the Rudy Carell TV Shows for German television. Rob was a member of editorial boards for several TV programs and invented many acts for Sesame Street.
Rob van Houten was a pioneer in acting for several figures for computercontrolled TV animations, designed by Raymond le Gué.

 The Present

Over the last years Rob van Houten specialized in performances and mime workshops for highschools and universities.
Rob van Houten has a big talent for working with masks and he studies and got specialized in the characters of the Commedia dell'arte. His vision is though that working with masks shouldn't be a goal but a way to strenghten certain situations.
Rob is also coaching young talent.

And... Rob van Houten, starting out as a silent mime, who stumbled over his own words, is now the voice of many commercials for radio and TV. Life is a mystery.......

Rob is a Gemini!! 

Picture Galerie Funhouse

Rob & YouTube (!!!)

Picture Galerie Students

 

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