Marc van Warmerdam was born in Haarlem on 13 April 1954. At the age of seventeen, while still busy with his secondary education, he became a founder member of the legendary music-theatre collective Hauser Orkater. In 1980, he set up De Mexicaanse Hond (The Mexican Hound) theatre group, together with his brother Alex. Since 1987 he and Ton Schippers have managed Orkater and De Mexicaanse Hond. Van Warmerdam stopped performing himself in 1998, and since 2001 has been responsible for Orkater's overall graphic design.
