GODFREY Naughton has been in the entertainment industry for well over 50 years, having done some 250 major productions since making his debut as a youngster on May 22, 1966.

He wrote some of the plays, most of which were grand productions staged at the National Cultural Centre, and today, even at 70, Naughton is not ready to back down any time soon.

In fact, with so many years of experience, he has just what it takes to lend a helping hand to those interested in the field.

In a recent interview with Buzz, he joked that it would take an entire day to relate all of the details of his life.

Born in the Pomeroon, and with an affinity to the countryside, he has a focus on helping to build the talents in those locations. So, almost like a pioneer in getting things done, he would have already made his rounds in Linden, Berbice, Essequibo, and other locations.

“I was chosen by the Ministry of Culture to be the first director of festivals. So we ended up with a National Drama Festival, which turned out to be the largest in the Caribbean ever,” Naughton, who is also part of the National School of Theatre Arts and Drama, reflected.

With vast experience in teaching drama, production, stage management, and other aspects of the performing arts, the past years he has been focusing on “transferring my knowledge; to pass on to younger people and make it easier for them to build on what we’ve done.”

And he’d usually have no problem doing this because he certainly enjoys telling a story and knows how to make his listener enjoy it as well.

“I grew up in a household with a father who was very talkative. He was a pork knocker, a trade unionist, politician (he left all those things before he died)…he was very entertaining, so I found it easier to tell people a story in an entertaining manner,” he shared.

It was related that even though the story line in Makantali, which is one of his latest productions, was told countless times before, and the play done over and over again, he worked to make his latest production a little more “colourful” to cater to the younger folks who have a shorter attention span.

He would conduct workshops and teach classes with persons who need his assistance.

“The Ministry of Culture is doing a lot of work with hundreds of young people in youth groups across the country. I am predicting that there will be a huge explosion of talents in many different areas. They are going to break out because I see the amount of work that’s being done,” he pointed out.

As such, he said one of his future plans is to get the drama school formalised again so that there can be regular batches of people being taught throughout the country.

“So we can take care of all the talents we have around us, not only in Georgetown. We have to reach out. Guyana is not only Georgetown and Demerara, and that’s why I’m going to put my last ounce of strength into it.”