De Sont of Mjoezik
De Sont of Mjoezik is a live video essay: a theater performance that translates and adapts videographic strategies for the stage. It liberates the video essay from the shackles of the screen – whether big or small – and turns it into a fully embodied form of research. The result is an exhilarating study of fandom, presented as a whimsical yet critical performance that examines the deep emotional connections fans forge with iconic works of art.
Maria Zandvliet, a Dutch theater student, created De Sont of Mjoezik as her graduation performance for her master’s degree in drama. At the beginning of the performance, she confesses to having watched The Sound of Music hundreds of times as a child and promises to watch it one more time – this time alongside that night’s audience. She keeps her promise, and together, we do. (However, the nearly three-hour-long classic is condensed into a brisk 60 minutes or so as Zandvliet frequently speeds up her digital copy of the film).
What begins as a humorous and charming portrayal of childhood fandom gradually becomes a critical investigation: of the musical’s portrayal of traditional gender roles, its physical normativity, and the tension between the woman Zandvliet idolized as a child and the adult she has become.
To visualize that investigation, she performs several hallmarks of the video essay live on stage. There’s a supercut sequence, where Zandvliet fast-forwards through the film, pausing for each mention of the name Maria. There are side-by-sides, where Zandvliet doubles as the film’s protagonist or gets in line as an extra von Trapp sibling. Zandvliet even wheels a second projection screen around to create live reframings and inserts. These creative interventions not only replicate the tools of video essay-making but also reveal the thought and craftsmanship behind them.
Zandvliet’s embodiment of her investigation takes on a strikingly literal dimension. Dressed in a sporty white outfit, her torso often doubles as a projection screen. She inhabits the film and vice versa, her physique visually blends with that of Julie Andrews. At first, this allows Zandvliet to visualize her prepubescent admiration for the film and its lead character. However, as the performance progresses and her views mature, it becomes a way to question the darker implications of modeling one’s desires and appearance after an idol. The visual blending of Zandvliet and Andrews becomes a powerful symbol, interrogating the pressures and consequences of shaping one’s identity to fit an unattainable ideal.