Saskia Maas a guest on Femke van der Laan’s Culture Program.

Saskia Maas a guest on Femke van der Laan’s Culture Program.

Tuesday night, July 4, Saskia Maas was interviewed on VPRO’s culture program because of the 30th anniversary of Boom Chicago Comedy Theater. Saskia is not only director of InterActing but also co-founder of Boom Chicago. Boom Chicago was the first English-language sketch comedy and improv theater in Amsterdam. It grew to become the training ground for some of the most successful comedians working in Hollywood. This week, the theater is hosting the Boom Chicago Comedy Festival.

Let's play!

InterAction is a nonprofit theater school and without the help of our donors, we are nothing.

Curious for more?

InterActing is a safe place where we play and have fun together on and off stage. Check out our videos and we hope you want to join our program!

Saskia Speaks at National Autisme Congress 2023

Saskia Speaks at National Autisme Congress 2023

Last Friday our co-founder Saskia Maas spoke at the Nationaal Autisme Congres about InterActing. Head trainer Jake Lefebvre and class assistant Tristan Bannerman came along to facilitate two improvisation based exercises with the audience, so they could experience what the InterActing students learn every week. The session was wrapped up by three InterActing students Aidan, Tennessee and Daniel who performed a short improvisation show to cheers and applause.

The NAC is an academic conference for autism related professionals from Psychiaters to Psychologists, Neurologists but also Teachers, School Doctors and Therapists.

Saskia spoke about how she started InterActing five years ago together with co-founder Pim Donkersloot from Child Center. Saskia strongly believes that flexibility is a muscle that you can train. She also believes that if you treat a child the way he is he will stay that way. If you treat a child the way you would like it to become you will bring him on the path to that destination.

That is exactly what she intends to achieve with InterActing. We help young people with autism through improvisation skills to become more socially resilient and self-confident. We teach them how to interact spontaneously with each other in a playful way.  and build on each other’s ideas. And most importantly they have fun and have a place to make friends.

This approach is very much supported by research done in the USA by the NAC’s special guest Professor Matthew Lerner from Stony Brook University in New York, who gave a keynote on Rethinking Social Outcomes Across the Spectrum and the Life Course.

He also subscribes to the fact that the ability to connect with peers and develop friendships is among the most crucial and complex developments in youth. While this capacity develops easily for most children, young people on the spectrum experience persistent social challenges. His research focuses on understanding mechanisms of and developing interventions for social and emotional functioning (in particular peer relations) among children and adolescents on the autism spectrum. He has used improvisation as well as a tool for the development of social skills and understanding.

Saskia and Matthew spoke at the conference about collaborating together on future programs and research together with Professor Sander Begeer from VU University and Dr. Kirstin Greaves-Lord from the Rijksuniversiteit Groningen.

Let's play!

InterAction is a nonprofit theater school and without the help of our donors, we are nothing.

Curious for more?

InterActing is a safe place where we play and have fun together on and off stage. Check out our videos and we hope you want to join our program!

Podcast: AmsterDames

Podcast: AmsterDames

Podcast: AmsterDames

AmsterDames: Inspiring Women in the Netherlands…an English Feminist Podcast in Amsterdam By Sarah Tekath. With each episode, you will get introduced to an amazing woman from Amsterdam. You will get to know more about her work, her art, her activism and her life story. In Episode #23, we talk with Saskia Maas, CEO of Boom Chicago and founder of InterActing. 

Listen to the full episode here

Let's play!

InterAction is a nonprofit theater school and without the help of our donors, we are nothing.

Curious for more?

InterActing is a safe place where we play and have fun together on and off stage. Check out our videos and we hope you want to join our program!

Podcast: Method in Madness

Podcast: Method in Madness

Podcast: Method in Madness

Please welcome Saskia Maas, CEO of Boom Chicago to episode 18 of Method in Madness. If you live in Amsterdam then you know how iconic BOOM CHICAGO is to this city. Lets hear from Saskia how improvisation has helped her to build this joyous community that helps, inspires and transforms people and organisations in need.

Listen to the full episode here

Let's play!

InterAction is a nonprofit theater school and without the help of our donors, we are nothing.

Curious for more?

InterActing is a safe place where we play and have fun together on and off stage. Check out our videos and we hope you want to join our program!

MARGRIET: From love

MARGRIET: From love

MARGRIET: From love

Because of her youngest son she is an experience expert in the field of autism. And because of her work she knows everything about improvisation theater. This is how Saskia Maas developed a theater program, together with her husband, to provide young people with autism social tools.

Read the Dutch article here. An English translation will follow soon.

Let's play!

InterAction is a nonprofit theater school and without the help of our donors, we are nothing.

Curious for more?

InterActing is a safe place where we play and have fun together on and off stage. Check out our videos and we hope you want to join our program!

NH Radio: interview met Saskia Maas

NH Radio: interview met Saskia Maas

NH Radio: interview met Saskia Maas

Humor and what it can add for people with autism. Listen here to an interview in Dutch with Saskia Maas at NH Radio.

by Saskia Maas | NH Radio

Let's play!

InterAction is a nonprofit theater school and without the help of our donors, we are nothing.

Curious for more?

InterActing is a safe place where we play and have fun together on and off stage. Check out our videos and we hope you want to join our program!