The Sunday Mail
Takudzwa Chihambakwe
THE year 2017 was a shaky one for the theatre fraternity as highlighted in the last edition of this column.
However, 2018 has started on a different note with some organisations such as The Signs Theatre Company already calling for auditions in preparation for an Easter Musical.
Other thespians are already globe trotting in a bid to increase their knowledge base and ultimately return home to improve the state of affairs in the genre.
One such thespian who has kick-started his New Year in the land where all dreams are known to come true, the United States of America, is Tafadzwa Muzondo.
The award-winning Zimbabwean producer, director and actor was participating in the International Society for the Performing Arts (ISPA) 2018 Congress held in New York City in the USA from January 9-11.
“The opportunities presented by this global fellowship exceeded my personal and professional development as a creative practitioner and social entrepreneur,” said Muzondo.
The theatre practitioner, is also the treasurer of Zimbabwe Theatre Association (ZiTA) and Founding Chairperson of Association of Community Theatre Artists in Harare and also volunteers in arts and cultural activities.
“Interacting with heads of leading production and promotions organisations across the world made me put Zimbabwe on the international map for the right reasons as I appreciate arts promotion strategies from developed and developing countries. I already intend to share this experience with interested artistes in a series of workshops targeting college students, community artistes and other social enterprises or community development movements upon my return.”
Muzondo added that this is not only a turnaround point for him but the entire theatre fraternity.
“This opportunity means 2018 has started on a high note for me as an artiste, EDZAI ISU as an organisation and the arts industry in general as I met prospective partners for short to medium and long term projects,” he added.
Muzondo also shared how he got involved with ISPA.
“There was a call for applications under their global fellowship programme and I realised I had what it took so I applied and when I was accepted I was thrilled to realise that my work in the arts had made me get appreciated as an arts leader alongside other leaders from all over the world.
“I was elated to find out the calibre of arts leaders that I am set to interact with in this programme.”
Among a host of activities and workshops the fellows participated in, Muzondo highlighted that the arts management seminar was the best.
