THE National School of Theatre Arts and Drama (NSTAD), which falls under the domain of the Department of Culture’s “Institute of Creative Arts” (ICA), is about to graduate the first batch of its students who will be advancing from the Institute with a Certificate or Diploma in Creative Writing.

This means, that in just a few weeks, NSTAD will begin accepting students for the new academic year. This further means that a unique opportunity for Guyanese writers has presented itself in the form of a formal education, for those who are interested in becoming creative writers, those who are interested in becoming better writers by honing their skills in one or more of several fields of writing (Poetry, Prose, Playwriting, Creative Non-Fiction, etc.), and those who are seeking a stimulating and artistic environment that will be cohesive to writing and fuel their particular artistic endeavours.

This programme at the National School of Theatre Arts and Drama is unique and important because it is the only post-secondary institution in the country to offer formal classes in Creative Writing. This is something that even the University of Guyana (UG) has failed to do, and one important initiative the Ministry of Education needs to look into, as soon as possible, is to identify how elements within the NSTAD’s Creative Writing programme can be adopted by UG or, how a merging of students from the two institutions can be developed so as to allow UG students to study Creative Writing as electives or as core courses through the NSTAD programme.

It has taken a long time, but now that it is finally here, it is important for writers to take advantage of this only Creative Writing programme. While the programme is new, with areas for further development and improvement, it is so much better than the barren stretch of emptiness, pertaining to a formal education in Creative Writing, which was available to local writers before. In the past, writers were at a loss for ways of meeting fellow writers, teachers of writing, and avenues for expressing their writing – problems that are all remedied by a Creative Writing course of study.

However, persons desirous of becoming students at the National School of Theatre Arts and Drama, need to take several things into consideration before a decision is made to study for the Certificate or Diploma in Creative Writing.

1) ALL CLASSES ARE TAUGHT IN THE EVENINGS
Classes in both the Creative Writing and Drama programmes are taught between 17:00- 21:00hrs, from Monday to Friday. Some days might require students to be present for classes for the entire four hours, while on other days, students may be able to do as little as two hours per evening, depending on which courses they choose to do. The classes are in the evening in order to cater to the majority of students who are working people, and would not be available to make it to classes during the day. While the lecturers tend to be very flexible and accommodating when it comes to the shifting around of certain hours in order to ensure that students can be present for as many classes as possible, anyone who is interested in joining the programme still needs to be okay with the arrangement of classes being held in the evenings.

2) THE STUDY PATHWAYS ARE BROAD
Sure, you might be interested in writing Poetry only or Plays only, but the Creative Writing programme seeks to introduce students to a variety of disciplines and elements of writing, while also seeking to further develop your skills in your preferred genre of writing. Therefore, the courses in the programme include the main genres (Poetry, Prose, Playwriting, Creative Non-Fiction, Writing for Radio), but also include other courses that can broaden one’s appreciation for, and the application of, Creative Writing. These include: Creative Writing in Education, History of Literature, Research, and students can also choose to do any of the courses from the Drama Programme, such as Directing, Acting, Production, etc.

3) TEAMWORK IS ESSENTIAL
Writers are known to be solitary creatures, and for a great majority of the Creative Writing Programme, students have to do individual work. However, there are times when students will have to work in groups – especially when it comes to reading the works that have been written in classes and receiving feedback from peers. Criticism is essential to the creation of good writing and, therefore, learning to receive feedback from both lecturers and peers, and operating in a group in order to help each student to create their best possible work, are essential attributes that can benefit students greatly in their Creative Writing classes.

4) TUITION IS FREE
I truly do not believe that this aspect of things needs any further elaboration. However, I do get the feeling that not charging tuition to students might be a temporary aspect of the programme, geared towards encouraging more students to study Creative Writing or Drama. Therefore, it is advisable for prospective students to take advantage of this opportunity now, while it is free of cost.

Of course, as a learning institution that wants to be successful, NSTAD and students who study there must ensure that collaborations and discussions between students and lecturers and administration are held, in order to ensure that the best results can be achieved for all involved and in order to escape the pitfalls that have affected UG.

Such discussions have already been started in the past with thoughts on important courses that can be added to the programme, better use of the hours in the week to achieve the goals set each semester, and even thoughts on accreditation and publishing work written by the current students, must be continued and sustained by new students in the Creative Writing Programme. More information on enrollment will be found on NSTAD’s Facebook page in the weeks to come.