Author: Richard Bryant, Assistant Professor

Hanne Nuytten (Fort George overlooking Port of Spain)

This past term, the Academy for the Performing Arts and the Theatre Design and Production (TD&P) programme welcomed Ms. Hanne Nuyttens of Belgium as part of her school’s study abroad programme. The Royal Institute of Theatre, Cinema and Sound (RITCS) is located in Belgium and is part of the Erasmus University College of Brussels. Its focus is "the development of one’s own artistic path, through which the student seeks his own idiom, style and themes."

I visited RITCS the previous year while on a research trip on technical theatre history. It is there that I met some of the faculty and students of the RITCS programme and shared with them my experiences here in Trinidad. I would like to thank Mr. Harry Cole and Mr. Chris Van Goethem, both instructors of RITCS, for welcoming me. It was through their assistance that they helped recommend Ms. Nuytten to come to study here at the Academy for the Performing Arts.

When Ms. Nuytten arrived, her main focus of study was on live sound mixing and performance. As part of her school programme, Hanne also developed work on her thesis, the development of ear training for sound engineers. To help broaden her experience, she also helped light the APAFest performances of "Look Twice". Hanne was an all-around excellent student as well as an adventurous one visiting many of the areas of both Trinidad and Tobago.

I would like to extend thanks to Professor Kwame Ryan and Professor Katy Gainham of the APA for helping me navigate the protocols and paperwork to make this happen. I would also like to thank the staff and students for welcoming Hanne and making her part of our school. Finally, I would like to thank Ms. Hanne Nuyttens for coming and embracing our school and the country of Trinidad and Tobago. I know that this experience had a few surprises along the way for all of us.

In closing, my hope is that UTT, the APA and the TD&P program can help send future students not only to Brussels, Belgium but also other schools abroad so that they can have a experience much like Ms. Nuytten had with us. We can build a stronger design and production community while having experiences that enrich and enliven. Thank you everyone for this amazing experience and opportunity