22 May 2010 | |||
Fifteen novice playwrights took to the stage as part of the New Playwright's Festival which ran from 10-12 May at DUT's Courtyard Theatre. The festival mounted for the first time this year, aimed at exposing the talent of young scriptwriters before a live audience, where significant feedback added value to the artist-audience communication. Drama Studies Lecturer, Debbie Lutge said the festival was initiated to nurture creative growth formed through the artistic engagement of public perceptions and in sharing in audiences' critical expectations. The focus remained on developing and fine tuning the storyline together with providing crisp, clear concepts and plausible dialogue. She said: "Students were delighted with the positive feedback they have received, and have expressed their support for the festival, terming it an 'excellent initiative'. The inspiration behind the festival was to provide a platform to showcase new voices. The phenomenal response showed public affirmation for a forum I believe will encourage future writers to more prolific writing of even greater caliber." Lutge said the entertainment industry lacks anthologies of short South African plays and there is a need for new voices with new artistic identities derived from free and independent South African art. "There is a need for us to record our passage into the future, to capture our stories and publish them. The father of township theatre, Gibson Kente, wrote numerous plays during the apartheid era. Kente however, lost many unpublished manuscripts in a fire. It was a tragic loss of valuable work. To prevent such tragedies from reoccurring, it is a fundamental priority that we document and publish our stories." Painted Faces, which focuses on sexual abuse, a collaboration between Sharlene Chetty and Genbia Hyla, was one of the scripts that touched the audiences' imagination. The dialogue subtly layered the depth and raw emotion surrounding issues arising from sexual abuse, exposing the discomfort a society feels confronting buried memories. Chetty said: "The audience was touched by the script; it focused on the long term mental and psychological effects on victims of sexual abuse and their family system. I hope to take the play to the Musho Festival next year. Reviewers said the piece was phenomenal and that I had a remarkable script. The story also inspired scriptwriter, Thumelo Khoza, who wrote a poem titled Velvet Gown. The love poem is written to Isabella, the main character and captures the various emotions within the play". Playwright and reviewer, Allen Auld said: "Each play was a personal statement, an observation, of life as seen from their perspective. The narrative, writing and dramatic form of each play expressed insight and potential for many to develop into thought provoking drama." Co-ordinator of the Faculty of Arts Writing Centre, Andrea Alcock said students engaged academically and thoroughly, as was evidenced by the depth of the research taken either from real life or from observation. This allowed them the high standard and authenticity achieved". She said: "Painted Faces was incredibly moving and touched a personal chord. I thought the fact that the writers didn't only deal with the actual victim of the abuse as a subject but addressed the effects on the whole family, was very mature and something that needs to be spoken of more." The plays, all well received, ranged from hard hitting stories about child soldiers to personal journeys on relationships, from gender comedies to political ironies, from exposing the worlds that exist between dreams and reality to taxi ranks, heroes, and African musicals. Pictured: Drama students participating in the New Playwright's Festival, which ran from10-12 May at DUT's Courtyard Theatre, anxiously wait for feedback from the script viewers and audience's feedback | |||