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Drama Festival…The power of the “Playwright-Director” relationship
– “Before her parting” is one of the best plays of the year
By: Kiana Wilburg
In the heart of Guyana there lies a blossoming relationship. It is one between 31-year-old playwright, Mosa Mathifa Telford and 23-year-old director, Tivia Collins.
And no, it’s not a love story. It’s a “playwright-director” relationship that has given birth to “Before her parting” one of the most critically acclaimed productions at this year’s Drama Festival.
Playwright, Mosa Telford
The is about..…
How they collab
Ms. Collins is a talented director with an award at this year’s Festival to prove it.
How they feel about winning
She grew up in the village of Plaisance, East Coast Demerara. This sentiment was also echoed by Telford, who Collins enjoys working with.
Even with talent that is often described as a “diamond in the rough,” Collins, according to many, competes competently with the “heavy weights” of her division.
As for Telford, this playwright hails from Buxton on the East Coast of Demerara.
With a passion for writing, she says that it was something that just came to her naturally. And while she wrote several short plays for concerts and church activities during her teens writing for professional theatre only started about three years ago.
As it relates to the world of playwriting, this mother of two daughters said, “It is a world I hope I never escape from. It’s a wonderful place to be. I make it my own by thinking outside the box. I like to address taboo topics and be a voice for those who might have a little or no voice in our society.”
And the play “Before her parting” is an exceptional piece of art to support that.
According to the playwright, ‘Before Her Parting’ was inspired by the gender-based violence we witness in our society much too often. “The number of women who have been killed saddens me and I decided last year that I have to write something to speak on this issue.”
“I did not want to write the usual domestic violence play. I wanted to look at it from a different angle. The play tells a story of women who have been murdered and seeks to address the mindset of one man who murdered his wife. Often we do not question what caused these men to commit such an act and I wanted to touch on that as well.”
Director, Tivia Collins
“I wanted people to be reminded, that gender-based violence is a very sick and frightening thing and that it is a threat to family life. I wanted to remind them that the women who have died are not just statistics, but that they were real people who had hopes and dreams like the rest of us and that they should not be forgotten. And I was particular with the characters I chose because I wanted people who the audience could identify and empathize with.”
But as it is with most journeys, there are always obstacles, but this did not stand in Telford’s way. “The biggest challenge I encountered during the play was making the story believable. This is mainly due to the fact that the story deals with the afterlife. I had to write it in such a way that people would be sucked into that world, believe that the characters were real and sympathize with them.”
But this was made a reality, with Collins as a director. She expressed that working with Collins is a phenomenal experience. “We have a mutual respect for each other’s work. She has directed three of my plays so far – Shadows, Sauda (Guyana Prize winning play 2013) and Before Her Parting. I was amazed at how she brought the first play I trusted her with, (Shadows), to life and since then I am not afraid to trust her with my work. I admire her because she is so young, but her skills as a director, prove that the spirit of someone who would have been directing for years dwells within her. I think she will go down in history as one of Guyana’s best directors.”
Telford and her team were nominated for nine awards a the Festival and copped six and these are; Best Production, Best Use of Lights, Best Use of Sound, Best Director, Best Actor and Best Supporting Actress.
While the world of theatre is one driven by several things which may include status and grudges, Telford contends that she has learnt most importantly that in spite of her successes, it is important to remain humble and strive towards superseding your best.
As for the relationship cultivated between the two artists, Telford predicts another collaboration for next year, but for now they are simply enjoying the spoils of their hard work.
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