bambata show :)

It was great to go watch the first performance of a play written by Stix Mhlanga and performed by a group from Bambata, the theatre training project that I've been involved with in one of the townships on the edge of town. I haven't seen them for several weeks so it was good to reconnect and I was impressed by their work. They are part way through a 2 year programme with Styx and the performance was a first run-through of the script Dark City Bright to an audience. They set up a playing area between two sheds in the grounds of the local secondary school. It was rough and ready, but I really thought it worked. Expecially because the script tells a story of the community, based on true-to-life events from the surrounding area. Being at the heart of the place itself gave a certain authenticity and punch to the story. The audience loved it, there was a brilliant cameo of a policeman that in particular brought the house down!

In the post-performance discussion comments about the way 3 languages were successfully interwoven and used for comedy were raised as well as well as other praise! I want to submit the play for a festival of one-act plays that I've been asked to scout for and also see it showing as part of The Green Room :-)

The Lounge

Two more Lounge events have taken place since I last wrote about The Lounge. The latest, July's Lounge, was last Friday. Aside from the very first Lounge, personally this was the one that I enjoyed most. Somehow, everything seemed to run smoothly (except the sound which wasn't great this time!) and in terms of the event as a whole, it really shows that we're more experienced now and have the running of it in good shape. We know what works and have good systems in place! Set up & sound check complete, the scene as the doors open at 6.30pm

As a team, Tswa, Oria and I have delegated amongst ourselves who oversees particular areas of the night which seems a good plan and is going well. Others who help out also know what to expect and who to ask about what.

We've averaged about 90-100 people at the last two Lounges which is very good considering the midwinter weather - one day it'll be great to have patio heaters...

We've been experimenting with ways to encourage the open mic vibe with an organic, collaborative impro feel...We've always had a Jam session, but on Friday we tried something different and did away with the sign-up board and ran the whole night on a "grab the mic" basis. This worked well. We have a good security team, including one guy, Herbert, who was in a long-running Zimbabwean soap as a well-known character. Many of the crowd credit him with having inspired them to pursue arts in the first place. He's very humble so shrugs it off, but I'm looking forward to getting his creative input for The Green Room! We're on the lookout for people to come on board for that project and it's been cool to chat to guys at The Lounge who are also into theatre as well as music and poetry. For example, I was chatting to one guy who was interested, he's a writer, and it turns out that he wrote a sell-out play for HIFA 09 about current issues in Zim. Great to get to know him and others like him ahead of the Green Room launch in October.

I love the level of fun and trust we have as a team too. Whether we're pushing each other to perform as well as run the night, or watching each others' backs and making sure we all have fun too - it's a very cool dynamic that we have going on. We're in it together for the long haul and are open to experimenting with new ideas additional ways to collaborate as well as ensuring the Lounge remains organic and true to the vision of serving the community and creativity of the artistic community. We get on well and I think it all kinda shows through!

The June Lounge ended with a great Jam with dancers Rolx improvising along with the poets, rappers and musicians - it was pumping. The two guys on the left had travelled down from Harare to guest at the Lounge as part of a collaboration between us and some guys running another outfit in Harare. The collaboration came out of conversations we had at HIFA about wanting to increase the ties between the two cities and partner better. Next month we'll be sending one of our artists to their event in Harare.

Some of our crowd

Bruce Kuhn

Had a workshop today with an actor, Bruce Kuhn. I took part, together with my friends Tswa and Charlton and about 15 others. It was on storytelling and the skills Bruce taught and we explored connect well to a number of the projects that I am involved in or want to start up. So it was good and useful and I'm glad that guys I work with and collaborate with were there so that we worked together. That will be useful for following up and drawing on the ideas in future. In particular, Bruce's work is linked to the bible and the gospels of Luke and Mark. It really got me thinking about eyewitness accounts and the passion with which we tell stories that we connect with and it reminded me again of the idea I've had for some time to find ways to tell peoples stories and use peoples stories as part of reconciliation and peace-building work. It was good to have some time to chat to Bruce too - a small group of us had a night out at the farm and came back yesterday morning. Definitely need to follow-up on the story-telling idea and I think I have also now got an idea of how to use it as part of another project I'm working towards with the new Bishop here, Cleophas. The exercises we did today gave me ideas for how to use some bible stories to illustrate issues of tensions and conflict... I love the way that drama and stories are so different to preaching and teaching, yet are powerful and can be very moving if they hit on things that are universal themes. If we relate to something in the story it can impact very deeply.

Whatever next

I can pinpoint one of the most significant conversations of my life. It was a couple of years ago when someone I respect was asking about my future plans. I was struggling to chose between pursuing a career in the field of development, or in the field of the arts and I shared my frustration at the dilemma. For the first time it was suggested that maybe I shouldn't chose between the two but could think of combining them instead. A new idea to me then, that suggestion led to what I'm doing now and along what has been an adventurous and exciting journey so far!

A fortnight ago I was approached by a friend who runs the small NGO, Family Impact that I've been involved with a bit, and ran some training at last month. I was asked at fairly short notice I could help out with a problem they were facing. Some of the PHHE material I had covered is designed around using animal characters as a tool to teach children about health, hygiene and community. The trainers are meant to have masks to help them with the characters. The problem was that the art department they'd commissioned to produce the masks was quoting $80 (USD) per mask and as they needed ten it was beyond their budget. So, before long, I found myself agreeing to experiment with mask-making to see if I could come up with something that would work instead.

What reminded me of the conversation I'd had 2 years ago, was that I reckon in taking on this project I well and truly combined the two fields of development and arts! As I set off on a path of experimentation which led to a process involving wire frames, paper mache, plaster of paris, acrylic paint and heavy duty varnish to create masks to form part of a PHHE programme, I knew that at a basic, inherent level, it doesn't really get more integrated than that! While surprisingly time-consuming (and hardly fine-art) I really enjoyed getting my hands dirty with paint and other art materials again. I pursuaded the team of volunteers to spend an afternoon doing paper-mache with me, to help out - a novel team-building exercise! The finished results!

So, here's an idea...

It really feels like a new season has just started. Not only does the temperature drop overnight meaning chilly mornings and evenings, but also in a non-literal way. I'm recovered from Tick Bite fever, which took me down for a few days, followed by a week of taking it easy while I ran the course of antibiotics. I've also turned a new year of being me (got really spoilt on my birthday which was lovely!) And all in all there's an air of getting back into the swing of things and wanting to make the time from now until the end of July, when I leave for a trip to the UK, really count. It's great to feel refreshed and up for it!

Oria and I were chatting about this on Monday as we met to plan and pray. It was great to do the latter, pressing in for ideas. All along this has felt like a voyage of discovery and adventure. Prayer has been central to that. I then headed to my meeting at the theatre (which I also think is the start of something) and then today Oz and I went to the theatre and one other place, to look around and brainstorm in situ together. It was a really great time of dreaming up possibilities and talking ideas.

I wrote on Monday about the Fringe theatre idea and while standing in the huge workshop/warehouse/rehearsal room at the back of the theatre we talked about that. I love this space because it has such character and when I'd had the idea for this fringe event, thought of using it as the performance space, creating a stage area within it. So we started thinking along these lines and I reckon the potential for something cool is huge. We want a cafe/bar vibe, and a playing area where there is less distance between performers & spectators as I know the main theatre auditorium can be intimidating. This will be less formal and therefore I hope conducive to a creative and dynamic vibe.

We began talking logistics and what it would take to pull it together. I now need to write up our ideas but I'm excited about the different elements we can fuse together under the banner, The Green Room which is what I want to call this event. There are ideas that I've had in mind for some time - minimal scenery and props, strong physical theatre elements, a cross-section of people and ideas, a forum for discussion and debate...as well as other funky ideas, such as Oria's idea of projecting films and pieces of inspiring theatre on one of the walls...

Another thing we decided was that we want this to be well thought out and good. Therefore we're looking at launching in October of this year, which gives time to lay good foundations and get people on board. If The Lounge is the second Friday of each month, then is makes sense for The Green Room to be on the 4th Friday so likely launch date is 23 October - watch this space!

Drama Training

Just finished 3 days training a team of guys who will use drama, rap and other interactive means to deliver a PHHE programme (Participatory Health and Hygiene Education) to kids and young people aged 4-18yrs. It was for Family Impact, an NGO. The first time I've done something like this, it's been a good experience and learning curve for me - 5hrs a day of facilitating, directing and motivating the trainers about their role. Exhausting. I have renewed respect for every good teacher or gifted director I've ever had! The material is hot off the press so it's also been a bit of piloting to see what does/doesn't work. Added to that, there's some full-on subject matter including some pretty graphic details (with images!) for the older age groups. As always I used a variety of drama games to help the process. One of the challenges has been finding a way for the facilitators to get over their own embarrassment! Nonetheless, I had to laugh after a reality check I had at around 2.30pm yesterday afternoon. What were you up to then? As for me, I was well & truly focused on describing the symptoms of diarrhoea. In very "non-scientific" terms!

Oh, and did I mention, it was as a rap? (Yes, there is a "Diarrhoea Rap" in existence...)

Nor was that even the most unpleasant part of the material!

The Bulawayo Theatre

Am excited. At last it seems the timing is ripe and ready for something I've thought about for some time and hoped to get off the ground. Things at last seem to be coming into focus and taking shape. Ever since I first walked into the Bulawayo Theatre, I've felt there is a huge amount of potential wrapped in the place - I just haven't known exactly how to set about tapping it and developing it. Suddenly, the timing seems good for taking things further... To give some background, the Bulawayo theatre is an 320 seat theatre with a very big stage in proportion to that. Apparently, the stage is about the same as at The Old Vic or the Wyndhams Theatre in London.

Anyway I was at a meeting there today, just the two staff members responsible for running it and me, to talk about the state of the theatre and what is/isn't happening there. It became obvious that with almost no manpower, not much that's interesting or exciting is coming out of the place and the door is wide open for me to be involved in doing just about anything I want really. Not many places where you get that handed to you on a plate...Amazing hey! But in addition, suddenly the timing seems right for taking that challenge. So, watch this space for new developments and ideas. So far, I am thinking of running something similar to The Lounge, but whereas The Lounge is more about music, poetry, hip hop & spoken word, this would be for finding and supporting theatrical talent - writers, actors, directors etc. I'm also starting by challenging people that I know from all my networking, to come up with some new scripts (in particular one-act plays) and then I'll work towards pulling together some productions of the new work. I was chatting over a beer with a friend the other week and we came up with the need for somehow generating something of a theatre fringe in Bulawayo. I'm keeping my eyes open for a good space to make into a performance space and this is with a view to then holding theatre & performance events that are more of a fringe feel. The intention is for lots of room for experimentation and new collaborations. In particular there is a need for new examples of collaborations where people work together from across divides of gender, skin colour and age. These things are real issues here and I intend to continue tackling them head-on because we can do better than this and I want to see reconciliation and partnerships where there is a history of disunity or disinterest. I know theatre (and the arts in general) can (and does!) bring that about. The great thing about developing a fringe is that performances don't have to immediately be on the scale of a fully-fledged production for the main stage at the theatre and it can be more

experimental.

I was in a play at the theatre myself a year ago and somehow I think that I'm not going to escape from needing to be adaptable and flexible too - I've never directed or particularly wished to...but I may find myself in the role of producer, director, actor all at once in the coming months! And believe me, it'll be nothing to do with wanting all the glory for myself!