NIRMALA Delilah Narine, the local actress who says acting is what she’s all about, is set to perform in “Masque” during the National Drama Festival that is slated to begin from today

and that will continue until November 27 at the National Cultural Center.
Written and directed by Subraj Singh, “Masque” is the second part of the Rebellion Trilogy, which is a single story divided into three postcolonial, experimental one-act plays that each focus on the post-colonial experience of the three main ethnic groups from Guyana.
Masque is both a sequel to last year’s “Laugh of the Marble Queen” which focused much on the African post-colonial experience.

Providing a sneak peek into the play, Narine told this newspaper that the show will highlight the effects of colonization on a tribe of indigenous people and will present other important themes like feminism, identity, the environment, religion and the supernatural, power and authority, reality and the unreal, love, blindness, family and the past versus the present.
“Set over 500 years ago in the interior regions of Guyana, during the time when the country was still being overtaken by European Colonization, the play opens with a white woman being abducted by a tribe of indigenous people.

“Kita, daughter of the Chief, is bitter and wants the white woman dead as retribution for all the travesties committed on their village by the white man. Kai, her brother, has recently escaped from European bondage, and yet, is intent on spearing the white woman’s life. Thus begins a mighty power struggle between two opposing people with two opposing ideologies.
“Things get more complicated with the arrival of the ghost of their dead, vengeful mother and the interventions of their blind, aging father. As the Europeans begin to march on the village once more, Kai, Kita, their entire village, and the white woman who stands in the center of it, all must make decisions to save themselves from an oncoming destruction that exists both outside the village and within.”

Nirmala will also be performing in “Obeah Koxsen,” a play that experiments with Guyanese tradition of the use of obeah as a means of keeping a woman out of a man’s life.
Nirmala, 28, who hails from Leonora, West Coast Demerara, began in the acting field by taking part in the annual drama competitions between the ‘houses’ at school. “Since age two, I’ve known that I wanted to become an actress. I remember this instance when our teacher was asking each of us what we wanted to become when we got older and I was too embarrassed to say an actress for fear of being laughed at.”

Today, with just a relatively short time in the acting fraternity, Nirmala has already starred in some major plays and movies and won herself several awards.
The young actress, who speaks fluent Spanish, participated in a Carifesta drama workshop and performed her first play, “Moon on a Rainbow Shawl,” at the National Cultural Centre. From here on, she’s been acting in numerous plays and movies including “Watch The Ride,” “Virtue,” and “The Colour of Race 2.”
Nirmala’s inspiration comes from the veterans of theatre in Guyana including Habeeb Khan (now deceased), Henry Rodney and Ron Robinson. It was Rodney and Robinson who facilitated her training at the Carifesta workshop, and ever since then, she’s been fond of them.

She has already won the Best Supporting Actress award for “A New Beginning” in 2011; and the Best Actress Award for “Virtue” in 2012 at the Theatre Guild Guyana Awards ceremony. She came in as the 3rd place winner for the first play she wrote called “Imprisoned” at the National Drama Festival Awards in 2012, and was the Best Graduating Student in Production from the National School of Theatre Arts and Drama. She has also won 2nd place for her short story “The Dare” in the Jubilee Writing Competition.
Nirmala, an entrepreneur in the retail business who does television ads and voice overs, is also a member of the Theatre Guild of Guyana, an associate member of The Re-Actors, and a member of the National Drama Company.

An Actor’s Union
Nirmala says that the acting fraternity in Guyana would be enhanced if producers ensure that actors are paid adequately and timely for their work.
Furthermore, the government can help by creating initiatives that could help to utilize the skills of actors while providing them with more opportunities. “An actors’ union is something that is necessary so that actors’ rights can be better represented and interests protected.”
Nirmala said the National School of Theatre Arts and Drama (NSTAD) helps greatly with the training of actors.