Usually E.S.T.V. Doppio stages nine plays within an academic year and members can register for it. For Jehanne d’Arc they were scrambling for roles. More than twenty members auditioned while director Karlijne van der Kooij only had seven roles to fill. Among the lucky ones is Melissa Pruijn, who also happens to be the secretary of the company and is busy with the organizational side of things.

“I find this very intense”, she says. The second-year student of Psychology & Technology is studying for the leading part and is co-responsible for promoting the play, for which she is now unexpectedly trying to find a new technician - to mention just one thing. As Jehanne d’Arc she shows how she finds the courage to lead an independent life full of meaning.

“Jehanne doubts whether she fits into the marriage-birth-death framework. She wants to be different, not to be led by a man.” The play brings out the development from girl to heroine. The 15^th century is not depicted. “We play in contemporary clothes, for the intention is not to mimic that era. It is the message that counts; finding courage within yourself”, says Pruijn.

Ensuite

During the play the actors will be monitored closely by Ensuite. “Quite exciting”, officer Sanne van Kempen finds this. She is a violinist and second-year student of Applied Mathematics. “The emotion which the audience sees has to resound in the music. We are playing pieces including Mars by Holst and Finlandia by Sibelius, although we have had to look at those compositions anew. Sometimes we stop, or play louder, depending on what the scene being played calls for.”

Ever since Corona in Luna has been used, that is where Doppio performed. However, the stage there is too cramped for the Ensuite orchestra and all the players. So they have had to move to the Blauwe Zaal. The scenery – which they designed and built themselves – needs to have a natural look and consists of wood, a lot of wood. “We use a stack of wooden pallets to make a stairway in the Blauwe Zaal. Unfortunately we don’t have enough space to store those pallets and the other pieces of scenery in Luna. For now they are being stocked in Doppio member Margot van Montfoort’s shed.”

Tickets are 7.50 euros for students and 12.50 euros for non-students and are for sale via Quadrivium.