My Employment/Residence Permit

It's been a long time without any blogging.  One thing I must record though is that after a lengthy, laborious & time-consuming process I am very excited to report that, as of last month, I have a work permit/residence permit valid until 2012 to live and work in Zimbabwe! No mean feat.  After 2.5 years as a tourist, living with a constant degree of uncertainty about my status in the country, it's a relief to have the security and freedom of this.  However, I also acknowledge the lessons in trust and faith that I've learnt over the last 2.5 years! It's always worked out, even if it's been a little hairy on occasion.

I'm equally proud of the route to this, painstakingly working with the systems of bureaucracy and refusing to take "short-cuts" at any stage, despite the frustrations (and my own impatience!)  Such permits are not easily awarded and I am very grateful to everyone who assisted me along the way.  I will do you proud!  I'm also excited as this marks an official start to my partnership with Siyaya Productions and Sabela Music Projects (SMP).  We've been in partnership for some time now in an unofficial capacity, both committed to the Arts industry in Bulawayo and Zimbabwe and throughout the region as a whole, but now we have a more formal partnership.  I look forward to our collaboration together!

Thanks to everyone who's prayed about this process.  It's a minor miracle really and certainly inspires me to be here in Bulawayo, committed to the arts and artists for the next two years.  I'm excited about all that lies in store!

Green Room Workshops with Giles Ramsay

I must just tell about some recent, exciting developments for arts and especially theatre in Bulawayo that have taken place in the last week!  

The team behind The Green Room is delighted to see a new link established with the organisation, Developing Artists, led by UK theatre director Giles Ramsay  (http://www.gilesramsay.co.uk/).

After some initial contact and discussion in London about the work of Developing Artists and The Green Room, Giles and I felt there was potential for partnership opportunities that were worth exploring. The first stage in this was Giles came to visit us in Bulawayo (his first time to Bulawayo in the 11 years that he's come and directed in Zimbabwe!) He offered his services and expertise to us and to the artists and performers of The Green Room, which was a great bonus and cause for celebration!

In advance of his visit, we'd organised to hold a 2-day workshop on "Acting and Devising" at The Bulawayo Theatre, which Giles then facilitated.  About 35 people attended the workshops last Thursday and Friday and responded really well to the exciting teaching and experimentation process.  The audience on Friday night also saw the fruit of the creative process as the workshop culminated in an exciting "work-in-progress" performance at The April Green Room event on Friday night.  In addition Giles also got to see a fair bit of the arts scene in Bulawayo and what we're up to here during his 5 days with us.

All in all the feedback was very positive and what was also great was that it brought together a host of performers and actors to work together over the two days and perform together during The Green Room.  We're all about new collaborative and creative relationships! We really hope that this will lead to new working partnerships on various projects in Bulawayo in coming months...

In the light of the productive and successful start we've made, we've already started discussing further ideas for future collaboration with Developing Artists.  Everyone involved sees what's been already achieved as a great outcome in itself, but also, excitingly, as the start of something to be developed further in coming weeks and months.

Oscar win for ‘Music by Prudence’

I was so excited to hear the amazing news of the success of a documentary about the band "Liyana" and Prudence Mabhena. I've borrowed the text below from The Bulawayo Morning Mirror.  I've seen "Liyana" perform and saw Prudence when she came to see Zambezi Express at The Bulawayo Theatre last week!

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“Music by Prudence,” a film by Roger Ross Williams, has won an Academy Award in the category of Short Documentary.  The 33-minute documentary stars Prudence Mabhena, a talented young woman from Zimbabwe suffering from arthrogryphosis, a rare disorder that severely deforms the joints of the body. Despite overwhelming odds, Prudence, who sings in five languages, is sharing her astounding talent with the world.

Prudence and some fellow students and musicians are members of an Afro-fusion band called Liyana (“it’s raining” in Ndebele). All eight of its members are disabled. Marvelous Mbulo has muscular dystrophy. Farai Mabhande shares Prudence’s disorder and plays the keyboard with twisted fingers. Prudence, the band’s only woman, cannot hold a microphone, so it’s mounted to a metal stand that reaches under her chin. With just a head, torso, and tiny arms, Prudence weighs no more than 50 lbs. But the sound that pours out of her is rich enough to fill a stadium, and it is haunting.

Meet Prudence Mabhena, 21, the hero of our tale.

Prudence lives in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe, and for a long time almost no one knew about that hauntingly beautiful voice. No one knew the strong, resilient woman who owned it. They were unable to overlook her body: crippled and deformed with a debilitating condition called arthrogryphosis.

When Prudence was born, her paternal grandmother wanted her dead. In Zimbabwe, disabled children are believed to be the result of witchcraft. In extreme cases, families kill them – to remove the “curse” from their family. Prudence’s mother kept her and fed her. Cast out of her husband’s (Prudence’s father’s) home, she brought the baby to her own mother’s rural home. Four years later, she left.

All eight members of Prudence’s band Liyana are disabled. – Photo: Errol Webber

“Music by Prudence” traces the path of this little girl, and her remarkable transcendence from a world of hatred and superstition into one of music, love and possibility.

The child was raised by Rachel Ncube, her maternal grandmother. Grandmother Ncube taught her to sing. A working farmer, she would strap the little girl to her back as she worked the fields. But when Prudence turned 7, she knew she couldn’t school her. So she sent her to live with her father and his new family.

There, Prudence fell prey to neglect and isolation. Her stepmother refused to touch her and called her a worthless, helpless “ant.” She was despondent enough to attempt suicide – twice.

There is a haven away from this pain: King George VI School and Centre for Children with Physical Disabilities (KG6). Privately funded, KG6 struggles on the brink of destitution. Yet every year, hundreds of disabled children blossom and thrive.  Prudence gets a scholarship to KG6, and her new life begins.

Bulawayo provides the film’s colorful backdrop. Like the rest of the country, Zimbabwe’s second largest city is largely dysfunctional. Water stoppages and electrical blackouts are daily events.

Roger Ross Williams and Elinor Burkett collecting the award!

Allen Sibanda Artwork

"Crossing the Line" ($30)

"On the Move" ($30)

"Manifestation" ($20)

Three mixed-media pieces by my friend Allen Sibanda that I absolutely love.  Am slightly sorry that these particular ones I have to deliver to another friend of mine, as I'd quite happily keep them myself!  I love the way Allen uses collage techniques and creates such beautiful forms and figures.  And all of his artwork seems to tells some individual and intriguing story.  I had the fun of spending a few days in his studio last year, setting up my easel and rediscover the fun of painting for myself.

Prices are in USD. If you are interested in this kind of work I may be able to help with transportation and processing payments.  Contact me, or Allen directly, on Sibandaallen@hotmail.com for further info.

Green Room - first 2 months

Apologies for the time lapse with news about the Green Room, it's off to a very good start.  Here are some pictures to fill in the story over the last 2 months.  The week of the Green Room launch we spent a bit of time at the theatre getting the workshop space ready.  Already the guys at the theatre had painted us a big black circle on the floor to be our stage space and two  artists from the national gallery had helped me to create a large folding screen as a flexible 

piece of scenery.

 

With a bunch of friends volunteering to help, we then painted 3 walls at the theatre that needed a re-vamp.  Two in the bar area and one large wall in the workshop that we had decided would be perfect for projecting films & images onto.  Despite the heat of the sun on the roof we did a good job, had fun and I think impressed the theatre staff with our dedication!

Setting up on the launch day was fairly straightforward.  Similar to the Lounge it involves collecting and setting up PA equipment, lights, tables & chairs, a projector and signs directing people to the venue.  The space look great, decked out with all the fairly lights and candles and then with images projected on the wall.  The bar area also looked cool.  As we've known all along, it is a very funky space! 

These are a few snaps from the launch night, showing some of the performances.  We aim to have a programme of 3 live theatre pieces and also a film item. Ideally we want to represent theatrical diversity and to introduce new styles and forms of theatre.  We also believe in the need for a varied programme to be entertaining escapism, and at times a reflective and provocative look at current affairs and issues. On launch-night we had a gripping one woman piece about unwanted preganancy, a thought-provoking monologue from the perspective of an angry grave-digger in modern day Zimbabwe and lastly an ensemble piece weaving historical and modern affairs together. 

More images from the December Green Room will follow...

The Green Room

One week to go!

It's all coming together - been pretty busy lately with organising and publicising the launch of The Green Room but things seem to be coming together.  There's a fair amount to think about - venue details, publicity, acts, refreshments, design etc! But the general vibe surrounding it is good - people are positive and excited!

Trumpet

Today, excitingly, I was joined in Zimbabwe by my trumpet, which thanks to a friend, has also now made the +/- 9,000 km journey south! Having played the trumpet throughout school and to a lesser extent at uni, it's quite bizarre to pick it up again a few years, (and a different continent) on. But I'm excited about it being part of my adventure in the arts scene in Zim and feel it may actually prove pretty significant. And, if slightly late in the game, I'm realising that I may have a musical bone in my body after all!