The curtain came down on the 2013 National Drama Festival on Saturday evening with the hosting of the awards ceremony at the National Cultural Centre, amidst a call by Minister of Culture Youth and Sports Dr. Frank Anthony for the holding of village and regional drama festivals. This would allow winners to advance to the National Festival, and encourage the emergence of more groups and more plays.

Minister Anthony posited that by restricting the number of plays one person can be in would encourage others to participate. He stressed that the ministry was pleased with the success of this year’s festival, noting that this would not have been possible without the support and participation of the performers. The minister emphasised the need to look at what was done, whether correctly or not, and for participants to work on further improving those elements.
He expressed his satisfaction with the fact that some of the students who recently graduated from the Drama School were involved in the festival as playwrights, actors/actresses, technical personnel, producers and directors.
He highlighted the ministry’s focus on the development of drama in Guyana which is evident in the amount of money being invested in the festival. In this regard, he said the ministry would like to employ several from the drama school to be trained in various areas such as lights and sound. The spin-off of this would boost the investments being made into the National Cultural Centre (NCC) to enhance the lighting and sound systems.
He observed that the way business is done at the centre has to be changed, and threw out an invitation to the performers to meet with him to discuss what could be done to improve the festival.
Chief Judge Al Creighton, in his report, emphasised that this year’s festival was better than last year’s in terms of production and creativity, and while the festival is a contest, it is also a training tool that encourages the production of new plays of which there were many this time around.
While he recognised that there is great value in plays that have already been written, Creighton noted that one of the challenges was time, and suggested that time limits be set for the junior and debutant plays. He also noted that the panel of judges observed that too many performers were cast in too many plays. He stated that a limit should also be applied here since this would allow for more persons to become involved.
Overall, the judges found that the drama festival attracted a wide cross section of performers, however, the reputable secondary schools are still not participating in the festival.

Director of the Festival, Godfrey Naughton, noted that the festival was a product of hard work, and at the same time it offered a glimpse of the resources that are available, and where those resources can take the theatre industry. He noted that over the years, the enthusiasm of the artistes has been noticeable, and the need for them to go into the field was even more noticeable. This realisation saw several training sessions being held around the country. Naughton explained that teachers were targeted to be instructors and mentors. The just concluded festival saw better productions in terms of the technical aspects.

SOME OF THE 2013 NATIONAL DRAMA FESTIVAL AWARDS
Open Category Full Length Plays

Best Production

Watch De Ride 2-Justice – H & T Theatre Arts Group

Best Production First Runner Up – ‘Anybody See Brenda- – The Theatre Guild of Guyana
Best Production Second Runner-Up – ‘When Chocolate Melts’
Best Director – Ronald Hollingsworth & Sheron Cadogan-Taylor – ‘Watch De Ride 2-Justice’

Best New Guyanese Stageplay – ‘When Chocolate Melts’ written by Neaz Subhan

Best Actor – Mahadeo Shivraj – Watch De Ride 2-Justice;
Mark Luke Edwards –Anybody See Brenda

Best Supporting Actor – Sean Thompson– Watch De Ride 2-Justice
Best Actress – Melissa King – Watch De Ride 2-Justice
Best Supporting Actress – Sonia Yarde– Watch De Ride 2-Justice

Open Category Short Plays

Best Production – Before Her Parting – The Theatre Guild of Guyana
First Runner Up – Mommy – Queen Of Arts Productions

Best Actor – Kijana Lewis– Before Her Parting
Best Supporting Actor – Paul Budnah – Farepicker
Best Actress – Colleen Humphrey – ‘Farepicker’;
Nicola Moonsammy –‘Mommy’
Best Supporting Actress – Sonia Yarde – “Before Her Parting “
Best Actor – Joshua Griffith – Mara’s Faith
Best Supporting Actor – Colin Primus – Bamboo Alley
Best Actress – Shantel Mclean – 3rd Degree Graduate
Best Supporting Actress – Stacy Semple – Third Degree Graduate

Secondary Schools Category

Best Production – The Lost Hope – West Demerara Secondary School
First Runner Up – Massacuraman – Berbice High School

Best Actor – Ezekiel Fraser – A Flower without Petals
Best Supporting Actor – Shemroy Reynolds – A Flower without Petals
Best Actress – Hebron Edwards – The Lost Hope
Best Supporting Actress – Jelena Dos Santos – I Should Have Known

Debutants category

Best Production – ‘Mara’s Faith’- Bethel Gospel Hall Youth Group
Best Production First Runner-Up –‘Third Degree Graduate’ – the Surmounting Thespians

Junior Category

Best Production – ‘Creative Burial Ground’
Best Director – Nkosi Layne – ‘Creative Burial Ground’