– Mark Kazim explains how he “stumbled” upon a career in theatre and why he is now one of its leading advocates

By Telesha Ramnarine

Mark Kazim never had drama or theatre on his mind, but after “stumbling” upon it in 2008, as a result of being bored and wanting to try something new, he now finds that his life would be empty without it.
In fact, he is so engrossed in the field that he is now being used by the National Drama Festival (NDF) to mentor anyone who is interested in drama. And he has become so good that he has already won the “Best Mentor” award from the NDF.
Kazim attended Smyth Street Nursery, Ketley Primary and West Demerara Secondary Schools. After leaving the University of Guyana with a Degree in Computer Science, he chose not to follow any professions in this field. Instead, he went right into sales and marketing.
His first job was at the Guyana Broadcasting Corporation and then he moved to the National Communications Network (NCN), where he remains to date. “Back then, that was the thing to do; you had to get involved with technology,” he said in an interview a few days ago.
In 2008, though, he wanted something new to do with the extra time he had on hand and so decided to follow up the advertisement that was in the newspapers from the Ministry of Culture inviting persons to sign up for drama classes in time for Carifesta.
“They had drama courses, lighting, stage designs, stage settings, directing, acting, sound; everything to do with theatre. They had a workshop so I thought of doing directing as I felt I could be a good director.”
That class was full though, and so Mark took someone’s advice and signed up for acting instead. Little did he know what was in store for him.
The class was tutored by veteran entertainer Henry Rodney, who, out of a class of 150, chose Mark and about 12 others to form the Henry Rodney Drama Group. His first play was Makantali at Carifesta X.

“It all started there. I stumbled upon this career; it just happened and I love it. I don’t know what I would be doing without it. I think it’s molded me in ways I never thought possible. Drama and theatre helps you become a rounded person. The things you learn from it you can use in any aspect of your life, no matter which field you get in,” he stated.
So far, Mark has participated in plays like Virtue, Till ah find a place, For better for Worse, Shango and the Golden Scheme, Imprisoned, Playing Chess with a Blind Man, Nothing to Laugh About, the Link Show, Snapped, Woman-In-Law, Miramy, 83 Million Gees, A Jasmine For a Gardener, Choices, Into the Night, A Bitter Lime (To be Released), Merundoi, Ah Different Kinda Thing, Bare Rickaticks, and Uncensored, among others.
He is also part of the Reactors group which has become very popular on E1, thanks to E-Networks.
Mark is enjoying this aspect of his life so much that he plans to drop everything else and focus on this. “I am considering making this my only career. I think of it as a career. I have two careers but I want to make this the only thing I do very soon.”

But Mark is concerned that entertainers do not benefit much from their talent in Guyana, one reason due to pirates. “We just don’t want to entertain but we want to be paid for it. For instance, right now, our shows are put on DVDs and sold without our knowledge. So we plan on stopping that. We are going to try different things so that we can make something for our talent and not just the pirates.”
Mark also believes that the government can come on board to assist the local entertainers. “A lot of Guyanese don’t respect their own. The thing about Guyanese entertainers is that we have raw talent; we don’t have people to shape us and mold us into becoming good actors. What we have is what we have. We need a concentrated programme backed by the government to package our entertainment.”

In fact, it is his desire to be remembered as someone who helped make a difference and who paved the way for betterment for those entertainers who may come after him.
An aspiring director, he also plans to pursue a drama school since mentoring has become his passion.
Mark has advice for people who do not really know what they want to do with their lives. “I think we don’t know what we’re actually capable of until we try something. I have friends who don’t know what they want to do with the rest of their lives and I don’t find it strange because I think if you don’t leap out there and see what you’re good at, then how would you know? So I think that’s what happened with me. I had no idea. I just tried something new and it worked.
“I want to reach out to the people who think that they want to do something with their lives. I’m saying just go for it. If you want do it, don’t let anybody stop you. Of course if it’s illegal, no. But if you want to do something with your life, if you have a passion for something, go after it; be positive about it. Don’t kill your own dreams. You don’t know what you have a passion for unless you’ve tried a few things.”