4th National Drama Festival opens

Oct 16, 2014 News

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….Minister Anthony acknowledges growth

The emergence of the National Drama Festival has brought with it an increase of the

number of play writes, plays and drama groups, and this realization is an indication of the festival’s success. Another positive that secures the continuation of the festival was a re-commitment by Digicel (the main sponsor of the event) to continue supporting the festival which is in its 4th edition.
It was with that sense of accomplishment that the 4th National Drama Festival (NDF) was launched on Tuesday evening at the National Cultural Centre.
In the coming weeks Guyanese will be treated to a menu of dramatic plays in the open-full length, open- short or one act, junior and debutante plays; there will also be performances by several secondary schools. In total there are 28 plays to be seen. They will all be performed at the NCC and admission is free.
In his remarks, the Minister of Culture, Youth and Sport, Dr. Frank Anthony recalled the start of the festival. He explained that prior to its development there was a call by artists and writers for a space to showcase their talent hence the NDF.
Since then, the festival has grown and this is visible in the quality of the plays, writing and directing of the dramatical pieces.  He added that the variety of the plays also changed, and now the stage is being used to address social issues.
Minister Anthony emphasized that the NDF, through social realism and entertainment, has delivered dramatic pieces on social issues in a more palatable way.
The Minister indicated that the festival has also attracted many to the National School of Drama and Theatre Arts which has received an overwhelming response in applications. In light of these and other successes, there is still a need for the emerging and professional drama groups to be registered. Minister Anthony advised that they be registered as businesses.
He acknowledged that there is also a need for a more appreciative audience because of the hard work and investment put into the plays.
Director of the NDF, Collette Jones-Chin, in her presentation, highlighted that despite the uncertainties which spilled over from last year’s festival; the competent team members have cleared every hurdle and are now in the middle of the race, heading for victory.
Jones-Chin pointed out that she was recently asked ‘why a drama festival and what is its importance to our society when our people are more concerned with finding ways of eking out an existence?’ In response, she highlighted that drama from its intercession was and still intends to reflect human behaviour and action in the midst of crisis and everyday life; theatre, which from Greek times is known as “the Seeing Place”, brings people together to see the truth about life and their social situation; and also, the festival are imperative if we are to understand our history from social to economic trends. She explained that they record the patterns of cultural change, bring communities together and broaden our cultural horizons.
Jones-Chin indicated that in contributing to the enhancement of Guyana’s cultural image and identity, the Ministry of Culture through the National School of theatre Arts and Drama which now umbrellas the Festival,  initiated a Mentorship Programme in 2013. There, some 30 – 45 Mentors from 5 regions in Guyana were trained and certified.
The Mentorship programme is now in its second year and even though there are colossal rooms for improvement, significant progress has been made. Coming out of the visits to Berbice, Mahaica, Mahaicony, Linden, West Demerara, the Essequibo Islands and Coast, and Georgetown 19 new groups were registered.
In an effort to ensure the preparedness of the new groups a new strategy has to be implemented which will see mentors being deployed in January and working with groups cross country. Those groups can then perform for their communities on a regular basis.  Additionally, not only will this initiative boost their confidence but can provide edutainment for the inhabitants, a platform for the NDF staff to scrutinize ways in advancing the plays that are ‘stage worthy’ and polish and prepare others for the next year.
The Director of Studies, NSTAD, Al Creighton emphasized that the NDF is in a unique position of leadership in drama in the Caribbean. He illustrated that the ‘Link Show’ is an important aspect that represents that position of leadership.
Creighton noted the festival in itself is unique because of its structure and developmental component. He added that such festivals are rare in the Caribbean except for Jamaica and Guyana. With regards to the developmental component of the drama festival, Creighton pointed out that through the NDF there has been a surge of new plays which contributes to the continued life of drama in Guyana. As such the festival should not be taken lightly.
Some of the participants in this year’s festival include the Horizon Arts production, Surmounting Thespians, Center Stage Productions, Mabaruma Heritage Community, Mahaica Youth in Progress, and several secondary schools such as Berbice High School, Annandale Secondary and President’s College.

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