– say talents being undervalued

By Shauna Jemmott

GUYANESE performing artistes say they are frustrated by several challenges they face in seeking to accomplish their purpose in a profession that reflects their true passion, so some are extending their borders in a bid to find greater appreciation.The Guyana Chronicle on Monday spoke to several professionals in the field and they all painstakingly expressed major concerns.

Talents of performing artistes are being undervalued by many, and get restricted to a comical circuit craved by a large segment of the local audience, while there is hardly any formal training accessible and no union to intercede on behalf of the artiste.

Producer, Director and Executive Director of Artistes in Direct Support (AIDS), Desiree Edghill told the Guyana Chronicle Monday that apart from a lack of adequate support for productions from the business community, it is compulsory that producers pay 36 percent of the monies taken from their gross ticket sales for production at the National Cultural Centre (NCC).

“The 36% taken from our gross ticket sales – 20% NCC surcharge and 16% VAT – therefore not enough plays (are) being produced because if you don’t sell out the show, you can’t pay your bills,” Edgill explained.
The actress also listed other challenges as undervaluing of their talent and little recognition for the work they do since “there are no awards given to us except for those who participate in the drama competition that the National Drama School has every year.”

“Most actors, actresses and directors, if not all, have day jobs because they can’t live off of the performing arts, so directors have to work with people’s time schedules, which sometimes causes rehearsals to be late into the night when people are tired from a hard day’s work.”

Apart from that, some actors are involved in two or three plays in one season, and while they can’t really give their all to one character, “performing artistes themselves have no respect for each other’s time.”

Edghill said that while she herself does not settle for less than what she establishes as the value for her talent, “there are instances where some actors take less just to get onstage, sometimes for the popularity, so producers take them so that they can get a bigger bang for their buck, and less talent fees to pay out.”

NO ACTORS UNION
“We don’t have an actors union to bargain for us so producers look for cheaper talent and throw in a few or one big name to help fill the houses.”

In addition, actors in need of serious medical attention now have to move to fundraisers through public promotions and telethons, instead of having a solid foundation to support their health and other needs.

AAA
Edghill said the Actors Action Association (AAA) will soon be registered and an ‘Actors Fund’ launched, especially considering the challenges faced in getting financial assistance for pioneer Henry Rodney’s medical expenses.

Meanwhile, Producer/Writer/Drama Instructor Kojo McPherson told the Guyana Chronicle one of his major challenges lie in unreliable internet connections. He said the speed and reliability of a stable connection greatly affects his work as a consultant.

“I have to be able to conference call and share large amounts of data with clients and collaborators. This has always been challenging but it’s gotten much worse with GTT’s schizophrenic connections,” McPherson told this publication.

He said producers having to often pay to “get locally produced content to air is a major deterrent.”

LITTLE FORMAL TRAINING
McPherson also expressed concern that Guyana does not offer higher levels of education and training in the performing arts and as such, if performing artistes desire to further their education or training in the field they cannot do so formally in Guyana.

“And that spills over to much of my crew…it affects the effectiveness of my crew and local collaborators because there is so little formal training that is accessible,” McPherson said.

Historic winner of the Guyana/Caribbean Prize for Literature, Harold Bascom has always expressed concern about the wellbeing and respect of local professionals in the field. He said audiences tend to limit their desires to a commonplace and reckless kind of drama and many times prevent producers from experimenting with varying drama styles.

Bascom, who now resides in the USA recalled his experience as a producer here in 1996 and beyond. He said those were times the arts received greater response.

When I produced in Guyana the performing artiste on the whole felt appreciated as there was a receptive Guyanese audience for dance, drama and comedy as well. Things have changed.

BANAL and IDIOTIC
“As a Guyanese playwright, however, the thing that got to me and pushed me to leave Guyana was the level of the average audience member. I could not write for them any longer if I wanted to elevate myself as a playwright. The audience was not growing into any deeper appreciation of the arts, and craved only the banal and the idiotic.”
He said the local audience cared not for depth and interpretive theatre, for which he has developed a passion. The banal and the idiotic were not what he wanted to deliver, and “I never did deliver that kind of stuff,” Bascom said.

“I began at the NCC by writing what I called ‘mirrors’. I wanted to mirror the society, warts and all, in order that the grassroots audience member can see his/her negatives, and greatness, and remedy them or enhance them. But the Guyanese audiences milked my serious plays for comedy. After a time I could not cater to the Guyanese audience any longer, and so I decided to exile myself, Bascom said.
He said, sadly, performing artists who have similar desires and have stayed can become frustrated, “since the audience she/he must perform to, does not appreciate anything (that) wants to grow beyond the banal and the common.”