AmazeTheWorld is a Belgian family of writers, actors, designers, photographers, painters, teachers, scientists and nerds. Well, at least that’s what we would like to be.President Foo (the webstore) is just another desperate attempt translate this creativity into hard cash. Seriously, we need it.
President Foo was originally a play written by Frank & Laura Robben.It was first performed by Hofpoortteater Elckerlyc in Turnhout, Belgium in a direction for Frank & Laura Robben.In that cast also Gwen & Celeste Robben played.Read more about it on the Amaze The World website: President Foo.Frank wrote a very nice but extremely amateurish e-book version of it which is available for free on Apple iBookstore.
Warning!The play, the book and the descriptions on the website are in Dutch.
By the way…Our logo is actually created from a picture of Gwen Robben performing in President Foo. (Thanks to Rudi Clause for the original picture)
Frank is the founder of AmazeTheWorld and the instigator of President Foo. So far he made most of the designs. He’s also our webmaster and storyteller. Oh… and also our main investor, which is why we allow him to carry the title CFO. He’s a lot more boring in real life.
Do you like our ‘house style’? All the drawings of the designers and products are drawn by Laura. I bet you recognize her style in some of our designs as well. Since she gave our designers a face (and body), we consider her our HR manager.
It’s not really clear what Gwen does at AmazeTheWorld. She’s there. She’s present. And things wouldn’t work without her. She did provide photo’s and inspiration for some designs. She always provides inspiration.
(and she does the catering)
Celeste is our silent colleague, usually sitting somewhere in the back doing whatever it is she’s doing. You won’t find any designs of her yet. But some how she’s the catalyst keeping us all sane. Since she worked on the starfish video, we gave her the title PR manager.
In case you still have some doubt… The Designers of President Foo are not real humans.They are fictitious characters.There not even original, they are based on characters that were used in other works.
Laura gave them a face (and a body) in her cute drawings.
Frank & Laura Robben created President Foo for their play President Foo
Arend Blauw was the leading character in a book ‘Bloed’ which was never finished. The name just stuck.
The name translates as ‘Eagle Blue’ but the dutch version sounds more mysterious right? Especially when you don’t understand any dutch.
Beatrix Rosebud was also created for a never published book and reused in a never sung song lyric: Rock Freebird and the Magical Experience of Life featuring the Rosebud Sisters on their way back to Hameln.
The name Hendrik Baggermolen popped up somewhere in the nineties in a letter from Frank Robben to someone else.It kept returning.Some say he once had a company ‘Hendrik Baggermolen Beton & Breiwerken‘ but that is just a rumour.
Karl-Heinz Klagermann first appeared in the play ‘Talisker‘ by Frank Robben.The story of the play was rewritten as a book: ‘Talisker, de bende van Uisge Beatha op de planeet Alba‘.That book was even translated to English and oddly called ‘Talisker, the Uisge Beatha gang on the planet Alba‘
King Knuft III (original dutch: Koning Knuft III) dies in the children’s play ‘De koning is dood‘ (The king is dead). Actually the play is more funny than the description I put here.
Sophie Johansson appears in the book ‘Talisker en de Engelmannen‘. The english version ‘Talisker and the angelishmen’ should be published somewhere in 2021 published yet
Stephanie Featherweather, originally concocted as mysterious singer in an american midwest coverband, was reinvented as a university student in Frank Robben’s movie script ‘Maelstrom’. Needless to say this script was never published nor used as a base for a really movie.
