I FOUND the theatre festival organized by the National Theatre Arts Association of Zambia (NATAAZ) last week at Lusaka Playhouse refreshing, energizing and thirst-quenching; while others reminisced, and recollected on memories by meeting old friends, others too enjoyed the lively performances.
The Zambia Adjudicators Panel (ZAAP) president Enoch Chiwati summed up the fiesta as having been of high artistic qualities; I agree with Enoch even though later I developed lofty feelings with Kalonje Njovu observations, “There is usually no need for plays with classic, elaborate and complex stage sets in a festival of this kind as the case was.”
Admittedly, most plays had detailed stage sets, but when finally Africa Directions took first three prizes for stage set, best director and best production – I had no doubt the youthful Eric Kasomo, author and director of Sheds of my Village deservedly worked very hard.
It took lots of efforts to recreate a block of classrooms on stage, perhaps I was seeing this for the first time; the last convoluted set been in 1984 when Thelma Edwards produced Old King Cole at Chingola Arts Society – in the latter there was an aircraft, and a ship on stage!
Sheds of My Village is simply a story reflecting on the conflict of modern teachers sent to work in rural areas where they are pitted against rural lifestyles.
Most daringly, the recreation of the head teacher’s office alongside a block of classrooms illustrating learning rooms was as poignantly stirring as it was touching. The trio of ZAAP adjudicators; Norah Mumba, Samuel Kasankha and Haabenzu Hamusankwa could not disagree that this was not the best set.
I know Eric Kasomo as one who works very hard under all odds to achieve his goal, this time round; he got it without much ado!
I felt serious concerns came from Kalonje Njovu; Kalonje is that mid-aged theatre administrator, actor and events planner with unique and vast organizing skills coupled with immeasurable experience. He merely showed up to be part of the audience, then through his scrutiny, he observed salient issues as we discussed over a couple of drinks at the bar.
“Festivals like NATAAZ’s organised ones are essential and critical, but the theatre groups’ choice of plays they enter in these festivals is tricky, and should be relooked at,” Kalonje commented.
Kalonje went on, “Highly classic plays with detailed stage sets cannot be entered in international festivals as it is not easy to carry the set about,” adding that festival plays should specifically be a well tailored script with immediate dramatic effects in comparison with long winding themes.
Kalonje is right. With the experiences drawn from the Yezi Arts Promotion and Productions’ April International Theatre Festival where Kalonje is a manager, cites the simplicity with which visiting groups from Botswana, Malawi and Zimbabwe attain.
“Plays from these countries are simple, but effectual and successful, many times without even basic props, but simple widgets that enthuse and excite the imagination in the audience.”
As my friend put it, Zambia’s organised theatre starts with scripts, good scripts for that matter; the more we have badly written scripts the more we fell to run superior theatre festivals. This means either theatre groups, or and through NATAAZ should invest in scriptwriting workshops for their members. Once our playwrights learn how to summarize a topic, and place characters accordingly with appropriate language, and all the rudiments that go with drama, beginning, middle and resolution, conflict – it will be easy to tackle any theme be it political, cultural, economic and otherwise.
Plays, essentially, are supposed to be entertaining at the same time offering believable opinion to the public.
Officiating during the festival National Arts Council (NAC) chairperson Mulenga Kapwepwe implored the theatre artists to forge ahead in spite of the hardships. Earlier Lusaka Theatre club veteran actor and member Chris Mulambwa expressed pleasure in hosting the festival. NATAAZ chairperson Boyd Kaimbi Chibale expressed gratitude that participants had exerted their very best, and put up good performances, which made the festival an echoing success.
At the close of the festival, Adrian Chipindi, presently confirmed as director at NAC said he was pleased the festival had gone on as planned. He presented awards and certificates to deserving groups.
Interestingly though Bantu theatre was nominated for best director and best production of Francis Malunga’s The Pastor and the Harlot many of us watching Maureen Banda were convinced that she was a darling, and daring actress, and when she scooped the best leading actress award most of us were unsurprised.
As the title suggests, The Pastor and the Harlot is a minimalist drama with a theme that cuts right through a man of God’s abode struck by an intruding prostitute.
Maureen Banda was cunningly, sneakily and artfully apt in her role to a point where I highly believed she was a wayward girl, but nay when I rubbed shoulders with her after the play; she is a young girl making efforts to explore her acting skills as she waits to get into tertiary college.
Indeed in the Leo Simukoko and Francis Malunga’s co-written play The Pastor and the Harlot – the two deserved the award for scripting a two-cast play as these are not easy to sustain; the play was highly humorless full of wit and serious. It reminded me of John Kani and Athol Fugard’s The Island, Sizwe Bansi is Dead and our own Light Musonda’s one-man play Love-Knot, and duo-cast A Man as Good as Me – these are believably brilliantly, first-rate and outstanding plays.
Newly formed Tapeza theatre won best sound effects and costume with Chamunorwa Masuka’s Born of the Ribs, whilst due to lack of proper cast arrangements adjudicators were not furnished with real and cast names. For instance the best supporting actress award went to the girlfriend and secretary in Metero theatre’s play The Fig tree in the Wrong Field by Bizwel Mudenda, and that of the best supporting actor to Jericho in Born of the Ribs.
The best actor award went to Grant in Metero theatre’s play – this clearly shows there was poor presentation of scripts and casts to the adjudicators, which I believe NATAAZ need to work on and improve upon.
The adjudicators agreed not to award for the cameo role and lighting credibly saying no group deserved it – most parts were longer for cameo roles. A cameo role is a devious part, often unspeaking but generally attracting attention.
Though I am writing this column with a bout of malaria, and in bed in my bedroom; memories are still fresh, and pleased that during the Lusaka Playhouse festival I met old friends among them Bright Banda, Samuel Kasankha, Irene Ngoma, Saul Sakala, Isaac Kalumba, Edward Lange, Gift Muneka, Mutale Macholowe, Kaonje Njovu, Angela Nachilongo, and loads of other friends.
@@@
Chingola Arts Society (CAS) to maintain their unbeaten record closed the year 2014 a fortnight ago with their usual Christopher Banham awards in which the usual names conspicuously like 2010 Ngoma Award winner Kate Lungu were surprisingly missing!
Kate is a darling actress at CAS, but this time round Memory Kasweshi took centre stage as the leading actress with Memory Kunda as the best supporting actress – congratulations too to Memory Kunda for wedding David Funga last weekend. CAS is optimistic David will not stop Memory from theatrical activities.
Lizzy Alwisho took two awards, for best cameo and being the best at lights, while the best director award went to Victor Musambo. Bwalya Chikwanda junior beat all others in sounds, while for best properties the cast of Chopwe was voted as the best.
Chopwe, is an adapted Norwegian story that takes place on a farm where a hard working farm worker is intoxicated, and duped into believing the premises were his farm. It is how he executes his role as the farm owner that invigorates this drama. Chopwe reminds me of Monty Phiri and the late Lucy Rose when the duo produced in Ndola in 1997.
The best actor award went to Brave Chishala, while the supporting actor award went to Elias Chabushiku. Hope Chansa scooped the best costume award.
For the best script The Demon of the Past by Evans Kalandanya was declared the best among those CAS staged during the year, and these included Chopwe, Evans Mulenga’s Co-habitat, The Danger of Silence by Roderick Musonda and The Councilor’s File, by Evans Kalandanya.
For the adjudicators’ award Queen Mumba got the award while James Malama got the best producer award as Davies Chama walked away with the best stage manager.
I missed most of CAS’ theatre activities, and this gives me an impression someone is not good at communication; I need to know what is going on if I am to write about CAS and other theatre groups. Therefore, come 2015, let Bwalya Chikwanda implore his team to get someone to keep us on our toes, otherwise CAS may not remain the same.
From next week, I will be churning out this column from my newly acquired laptop, and hope to go an extra mile in covering theatre activities; to all the readers of this column, enjoy a prosperous New Year.
John.kapesa818@yahoo.co.uk – 0955-0967-0977-710975
