Working to preserve the love for theatre
A full theatrical experience involves witnessing the lights, the costumes, make-up, sights, sounds and true dramatical performance. The National Drama Company strives to achieve this with every production and is committed to fulfilling the delight of theatre lovers all around Guyana.
The National Drama Company has a host of upcoming productions and new endeavours, from a series of workshops to continuously hone creativity to radio performances for Guyana’s children. The National Drama Company is working to preserve the art of drama.
Al Crieghton, a director and member of the NDC, spoke on the base values of the NDC, which has largely led to their dedication to the craft. As he stated, “The company came out of the concept of training in drama. Particularly because of the nature of the discipline of drama and theatre, which is something creative and it is part of an industry. And it’s something that people are trained to do.”
Completed projects and new productions
Al Crieghton spoke to the Pepperpot Magazine on the company’s completed projects and how they shaped future productions. “The last completed project was the radio performance of ‘Anansi’. We have been doing a number of things for the government,” Al said. “We did the emancipation dinner and concert at the State House. It had an artistic title, ‘August Marnin opening of the day’. We also did the commemoration of the 1863 Slave Rebellion on August 18, which was another national event. And we also performed at the 1823 Biennial Cultural Festival and Concert. Which was another ministry of culture event.”
Ayanna Waddle could be described as a link between drama, theatre to education. As a member of the NDC, she deals with the radio aspect of getting the company’s plays aired. The National Drama Company is hoping to launch its most recent radio production, ‘Anansi’. But they are already thinking about what’s next in that regard. ” The same way we dramatized Anansi for radio is to do that with the English B text, novels and poetry they are currently studying in school as per the curriculum,” Ayanna said.
President of the NDC, Tashandra Innis believes in the continuous development of the company’s members in all of their artistic fields. “It is not just for the NDC to do a production and just relax after a production. Part of the workshop is to ensure that we keep with our talents. Ensure that we know what we have to do for each production and remain versed in those areas,” Tashandra said.
One of the things that the NDC is most definitely working towards is the development of their workshops and continued collaborative efforts with the government of Guyana. The play ‘Laugh of the River’ and the reintroduction of workshops in the art disciplines of dance, music and acting and creative writing could be expected from the National Drama Company.
Preserving the love of theatre
The act of learning lines, getting dressed and, making one’s self into the embodiment of a character and putting on a play is what drama is all about. But the love and appreciation for the art form seem to be dwindling after the hiatus caused by COVID-19 and the introduction of new forms of entertainment.
Tashandra explained that the NDC will continue its performances despite the art form not being where or what it used to be. As she stated, “It’s a dying something, in my opinion. Persons tend to stray away from drama and theatre in the whole. We find persons are more interested in the ‘slap stick comedy’. The art form that we try to push forward is more of a learning something you can gain from it. That art form is dying, but we are pushing it still,” Tashandra said.
Al Crieghton, who has been emersed drama and theatre arts for several years echoes Tashandra’s sentiments. As he expressed that drama and theatre in Guyana is fading, “It’s waning, it’s fading in a sense. Because it is not easy to put in a play in Guyana today. When I look around and think about the production of plays on stage, I don’t see things on the horizon. It has fallen off. It fell off during COVID for obvious reasons, and I wouldn’t say it has recovered since the reopening of the society.”
But the NDC continues striving to maintain the same level of craft and authenticity. Al stated that plays such as Suada have been productions that are not only on an international level but push the boundaries of theatre in Guyana. “The company has at the heart of it’s policy innovative theatre, vanguard theatre,” Al assured.
