Charles Austin hosts drama festival

23 Apr, 2017 - 00:04 0 Views
Charles Austin hosts drama festival Charles Austin Theatre assistant artistic director Nicole Jamu (left) with Michael Khethani Banda

The Sunday Mail

Takudzwa Chihambakwe
THE Masvingo arts scene is blazing in 2017 as various players in the sector are pushing for the province to be a force to reckon with in Zimbabwe’s arts and culture corridors.

One of the epicentres for this artistic renaissance in the province is Charles Austin Theatre.

Not only is this venue a host for many arts genres, it is also pushing for the development of theatre in the province.

After starting the year with some training courses and an investment in film, theatre practitioners at Charles Austin have come up with a drama festival for tertiary schools, which is set to take place next month.

“The tertiary drama festival is a youth arts festival that seeks to promote diverse drama performances with the goal of artistic growth,” said Charles Austin Theatre artistic director, Khetani Banda.

“This festival is aimed at learners in all tertiary institutions across Zimbabwe and is one of the theatre’s initiatives aimed at promoting ingenuity and youth engagement in the arts industry,” he said.

Banda highlighted that the festival will run under the theme “Create”.

“The festival will run from May 4 to 6, 2017 under the theme ‘Create’, which is an open theme that will open doors to endless artistic presentations that will run as theatre productions for the festival duration of an hour each.”

Official invites to the Tertiary Drama Festival have already been sent to most of Zimbabwe’s universities and polytechnic institutions.

Banda also revealed that adjudicators for the festival will be theatre gurus from the region and abroad, while theatre guru, Doug Hill, will be patron for the event.

“The tertiary drama festival will be a competition that shall be adjudicated by some of Zimbabwe’s best theatre practitioners and guest adjudicators from the continent and even abroad.

“Twelve theatre awards will be up for grabs, with the top ones being Best Actor, Best Actress and Best Production. The patron of the event shall be theatre guru Doug Hill,” revealed Banda.

The Charles Austin Theatre recently held the first edition of the Primary Schools Drama Festival for primary schools in Masvingo urban, which also aims at promoting youth engagement in the arts industry as a whole.

“We are expecting the same momentum we had during the primary schools festival to continue as we get ready for the tertiary schools festival.

“It is our wish as the Charles Austin Theatre to showcase young talent and create opportunities for young people in the arts industry,” highlighted Banda.

The Charles Austin Theatre hopes to propel the festival’s most outstanding performances to celestial heights through the regional and international connections it has accumulated over the years.

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