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Minister of Culture, Youth and Sport Dr Frank Anthony highlighted at the event that drama is used to address social and economic issues and is done through plays, poetry, songs and dances.
The festival is not only a competition, it is meant to reward the best performer, while providing them with training, so that they can elevate themselves to a level of competence.
Digicel, which is the major sponsor of this festival, has been on board with the initiative from the start. The company’s Head of Marketing, Ms. Jacqueline James said: “Drama is a door that is open to youths,” and Digicel is always happy to be on board with the ministry to provide exposure to the youths.
The ministry has been working very closely with the National School of Drama to promote training, and as part of this initiative, a course called ‘The introduction to the elements of stage craft for drama instructors’ was offered. The course was taken by all the students of the Drama School as well as some practitioners and teachers. Forty of the students passed the examination, 23 of whom attained distinctions. These students were assessed under three main areas: stage management, live performance and a written test.
The course is a network of training that provides advanced training to the students which will influence their employment and income capacity. The graduates will be working as mentors in guiding the participants in the National Drama Festival 2013 in their plays and performances.
The course also includes Caribbean Secondary Examination certificate (CSEC) and Caribbean Advanced proficiency Examination (CAPE) theatrical arts programme, and although this subject is offered in some schools in Guyana, it is not a subject that is given much attention or importance, and is often thought by unqualified teachers.
The introduction of the subject at the CAPE level in schools has not been done as yet, but is expected to within a year’s time under this network. The Associate Degree and then the Bachelor’s Degree in drama are also expected to be developed and will be offered at the National School of Drama.
Dr Anthony said that last year there were 52 plays in the National Drama Festival and this year the expectation is that there will be more. He also said that the drama industry or the art industry on the whole is one of the most renewable and sustainable industries in the world.
He is optimistic that the National Drama Festival will be expanded sometime in the future and expressed his desire of seeing companies formed to promote Guyanese plays and arts to other countries.
The 2013 National Drama Festival is definitely on and Guyanese will be in for a treat, with top quality performances, some 70 awards and millions of dollars in prizes at the finals slated for October this year. The major sponsor is DIGICEL, which has an ongoing relationship with the Festival.
This was the assurance given by Director of the Festival, Mr. Godfrey Naughton who gave an overview of the festival, the third such in three consecutive years, at the launching of the Festival last evening.
Drama Festival 2013 was launched by Minister of Culture, Youth and Sport, Dr. Frank Anthony at the National Cultural Centre, Homestretch Avenue. Dr. Anthony, apart from launching the Festival, also participated in the distribution of certificates to some 40 young and talented artistes training as mentors, and who will be tasked with training and honing the talents of groups of persons within the various communities who will be part of the festival.
Meanwhile, invitees were given a sneak preview into what lies in store, by the mentors who regaled the gathering with a few colourful and spirited drama performances.
Even though the programme was said to be very intense, the mentors performed creditably, and many of them emerged with distinctions, some, as many as three.
The most outstanding performer was Nickose Layne, followed by Ayana Waddell, Andrew Kendal and Tamika Caldeira.
Minister Anthony, noting that the Ministry of Culture Youth and Sport has come a long way in the making the Drama Festival what it has turned out to be, congratulated both the facilitators and mentors, some of whom were from as far as Essequibo and Berbice. He acknowledged their dedicated involvement in drama training in Guyana and called on all concerned to work towards the continued success of the Festival. He recalled that last year there were 52 people in the Festival, which he considered to be magnificent.
Calling on the stakeholders to work towards making the Festival an international feature, Anthony said: “This Festival is just the manifestation of a larger vision we have. It is a point where people can come, and showcase their dramatic skills. We want to see professional companies coming forward and exporting such talent to the rest of the Region.”
“We have many aspirations for the Festival: Job creation; making it a creative industry and one that could ultimately contribute to the boosting of the country’s Gross Development Product (GDP).” The boundary is limitless, he said.
He said by doing so, not only will it bring exposure to the artistes/actors, but it will boost the country’s economy and will also showcase Guyana’s rich culture.
