Teatro KadaKen’s home base is Teatro Aula in Wishi. This space, located in the historic Huize Welgelegen building, better known as Habaai, was built in 1930. And now, we’re back home. Because in 2009, this was the very place where we held our first performance. We performed in a bare, run-down auditorium with no stage. The audience sat on folding chairs scattered throughout the space.
That kind of interaction, is exactly what we seek. It fits perfectly with the progressive and unconventional style of theater maker Albert Schoobaar. In 2008 Albert launches Teatro KadaKen, together with actress Norma Cova and business manager Lou Nisbet. Albert and Norma both act in the foundation’s first youth production: E dekonstrukshon di Edsel K. It’s Albert’s dialogue in Papiamentu that makes young people laugh and cry. These are their words, their world.
That beginning… what an incredible time! It laid the foundation: five theater productions created under Albert’s artistic direction. That became the legacy: this style, these ideas, these productions. After that, Lou Nisbet and the board took the reins. Together with a new generation of creators, they expanded Teatro KadaKen into a unique platform for socially driven storytelling.
Ten years later, everything came full circle. Birgen di Rosario, a care organization, manages Huize Welgelegen. In 2018, under the newly appointed director Indra Rossen-Lucasius, the long-neglected auditorium, which had essentially turned into a storage room, underwent restoration. Deep cleaning and repairs to the wooden floors and shutter windows, were the first steps that were taken to make the space accessable to audiences again. This all happened while Teatro KadaKen was managing Theater La Tentashon in Otrobanda.
In 2020, Kadaken and Birgen di Rosario discussed a possible collaboration. That partnership was formalized in a contract signed by the board and Lou Nisbet. Both organizations shared a vision for the use of this special historic venue: a place where people of all ages could once again experience art, theater, and culture. A venue that can become the center of Curaçao’s performing arts scene. In November 2021, Teatro Aula officially opened its doors.