Carifesta opens new horizons for St. Lawrence resident

Sep 07, 2008 News

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By Sharmain Cornette

Although the Caribbean Festival of Arts (Carifesta) has come to an end, the memories and of course the experiences gained by some individuals will forever live on.
This notion is especially true for 32-year-old Rosanna Lackhan of St Lawrence, a small community situated about five miles from Parika on the East Bank of Essequibo.
Lackhan, though possessing little experience, was chosen to do what she described as “undertaking the most enthralling task of being a Production Manager.”
Evidently satisfied with her performance at the recently concluded mega event, Lackhan during an interview with this newspaper recounted how she became involved in Carifesta, even as she related the fact that her life may now be on a course of complete fulfilment when it comes to artistic endeavours.
Elegantly poised in an office chair, the young woman reminisced on her younger days when she had no idea where life would take her in terms of a career.

Lackhan, who is the fourth of six siblings, attended the Leonora Secondary School after which she unconditionally declared that she wanted to become a seamstress.
But as luck, or more specifically bad luck would have it, sewing did not seem to like the enthusiastic woman. Lackhan explained how she would have so much trouble trying to undertake simple sewing tasks which eventually led to her completely giving up on the whole idea of sewing.
It was at this point she opted to join the family business of farming. And boy did she do well in that pursuit. From ground provisions to vegetables, she was able to execute her learnt planting skills which yielded not only satisfactory but profitable results.
She would continue with this trend for another few years, and it was not until she had an opportunity to travel to the twin island Republic of Trinidad and Tobago that her artistic juices flowed once again.
Lackhan said that during the trip she was captivated by exquisitely designed materials which caused her to yearn to heed the call of letting her creative talent unfold.
Following what she now believes was a divine encounter, Lackhan returned to Guyana where she encountered artistic talent the likes of Ras Leon Saul from whom she received extensive playwright training which she did not imagine would come in handy some years later.
Through her connection with the expert playwright, the passionate woman was able to act in a play called ‘In search of Happiness’ where she was able to showcase her ability.
To further expand her varying skills, Lackhan enrolled at the Burrowes School of Art where she was able to indulge in Texture Designing.
Also in 2005 the enthusiastic woman with bursting talent authored a book, Will Power over Poverty, which was published in London, England.
But even though she was exposed to the world of artistry, Lackhan would once again lapse into an unrelated arena.
She accepted a job at the Main Street Plaza as a Restaurant Supervisor, a position she retained until the call to be a part of Carifesta came.
But according to her, she was simply browsing through a daily newspaper when she saw an advertisement requesting various levels of artistically inclined persons.
Not sure of whether she had the potential to contribute to such a big event, a sceptical Lackhan decided to apply.
And since applicants had to apply for at least three positions at a time she chose Property Management, Acting and Hair and Make-up.
But to her surprise, when she was brought on board she was placed in the area of Production Management.
Lackhan said that she was exposed to a whole lot of knowledge through an intensive and compact training which was afforded her through Carifesta.
As part of the event which was undoubtedly a learning experience, Lackhan said that training in the area of production management commenced on June 2 this year and concluded the day that Carifesta ended.
She said during the course of the event she was able to learn a lot from Carifesta Artistic Director, Dr Paloma Mohamed and renowned local playwright, Ms Gem Madhoo-Nascimento.
She was also given the privilege to network with other personalities such as Sean Bhola, Marcia Girard, Kais Ramharbaul and Mrs Deborah Backer.
Her experience entailed her being placed in charge of all productions that were undertaken at the Anna Regina Multilateral School on the Essequibo Coast which included performances from the Bahamas, Dominica, Antigua and Barbuda, Trinidad and Tobago and of course from right here.
With a supportive technical and creative team, Lackhan said that the coordination of the activities could not have been better.
But while she was feeling some sense of satisfaction with what she was doing, little did the young woman know that there were others looking on too.
In fact, Lackhan was approached by a few Canada-based diplomats who questioned her about her training even as they highlighted how professional they thought her operation was.
The conversation, however, did not just end there since she has been offered support to further pursue artistic development.
Lackhan said that she was advised that she could be eligible for a scholarship at a Canadian University, an opportunity she intends to take complete advantage of.

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