Dirk Groeneveld

Dirk Groeneveld has been active since the 1980's as a theatre director, playright, actor, multi-media artist and dramaturg.

In 1982 he graduated as a director at the Amsterdam theatre school and joined the avant-garde theater group Onafhankelijk Toneel, which was inspired by American companies such as Mabou Mines and the Wooster Group. Groeneveld wrote and directed five original plays and acted in plays of the other members. All plays are based on or revised texts from novels or essays. This kind of theater making has since become his hallmark. In a later period it was described and promoted as "essayistic theater".

Between 1986 and 1991 he began working with the artist Jeffrey Shaw. Together they created three interactive installations: »The Narrative Landscape«, »Anamorphoses of Memory« and »The Legible City«. From 1991 to 1995 Groeneveld was artistic director of the Amsterdam Theater de Balie. Since 1996 he has worked as a freelance director, author and dramaturg. He works for various theater and dance companies in the Netherlands as well as individual artists.