Time flies, and Ken Corsbie, arguably the most talented and versatile Guyanese creative artists of his generation turned eighty recently. Ageing is not a phenomenon that you associate with Corsbie. During his years in Guyana when his performing talents as an actor and storyteller lit up whichever stage he graced, Ken Corsbie was an ageless, energetic busybody; He always appears immersed in and animated by some absorbing creative pursuit and you got the impression that time would have to quicken its own pace if it was to catch up with him. He was perpetual motion.
Still, time flies anyway though the good thing about time and Ken Corsbie is
that its passage affords a pleasing review of an outstanding career spent mostly in the business of entertaining people and littered with the kinds of accomplishments that makes him a giant of Guyanese and Caribbean creativity. He was a theatre man to the bone.
Profiles of Ken assert that his origins are rooted in a bewildering multi-ethnicity………… “a product of Chinese, African, Welsh, Scottish, and South American Indian descent;” a mixed-up man, in an ethnic sense, that is. It is not surprising, therefore, that both the style and content of his myriad creative offerings cut across lines of race and culture appealing to what he describes as a “very multicultural, multiethnic, multiclass” Guyana. Corsbie’s theatre is a social and cultural treasure if for no other reason than the fact that it responded to the notion of multiculturalism that lies at the heart of the national ethos.
Ken was a Georgetown boy. He grew up in the city, experiencing a generous sampling of the typical pursuits of an urban Caribbean boy. His years as a teenager and the talents that he was to share with Guyana, the Caribbean and the world in his subsequent years, were shaped in part by a group of like-minded youngsters who styled themselves “Next Door Yard.” It appears that they did a great deal together, exploring theatre, participating in musical competitions, establishing their own steel band, and even learning ballet. Corsbie and his colleagues are even credited with introducing basketball in Guyana after watching the Harlem Globetrotters movie “Go Man, Go.” He played cricket too and later, in his production Cricket In the Jungle, he infused a generous measure of both skilful theatre and thoughtful humour into the game.
Fifteen years of amateur theatre in Guyana saw the talents to Ken Corsbie rise to national prominence and by the time of his departure for England to pursue a three-year course of study in drama and radio/television communication Corsbie had become the local Artistic Director of Theatre, Guyanese will perhaps best remember Ken Corsbie for his two uniquely entertaining productions, “Dem Two” and “All Ah We,” parochial theatre at its best. The national popularity of both productions was unquestionable; the former was performed by Corsbie along with his ‘spin twin,” actor and poet, Marc Matthews; the pair is joined by another highly talented Guyanese actor, Henry Muttoo widely regarded as the Caribbean’s finest theatre designer. Its creative quality apart, Ken Corsbie’s productions afforded numerous opportunities to bring other talent to the stage.
Corsbie left Guyana for Barbados in the 1980’s where, as Regional Coordinator the Theatre Information Exchange he interface and worked with the creative cream of the Caribbean. Thereafter he spent several years travelling the region as a ‘one-man’ entertainer, storyteller, writer and director. Dur-ing those years he served as an Ambassador for Guyanese theatre in the region, Best known perhaps for his storytelling talents Corsbie has delivered more than 200 performances of story, song and poetry throughout the English speaking Caribbean. He has thrice taken his storytelling talents to the stage at Festivals in Louisville, Kentucky and has performed at various creative gatherings in the United States and Canada. That apart, Corsbie, who, by now has more than earned the title of doyen of Caribbean theatre produced more than fifty radio programmes on Caribbean arts for the Caribbean News Agency and radio documentary programmes for the Caribbean Broadcasting Union.
Additionally, he has co-written and narrated 13 half-hour television documentaries on the arts and culture of the Caribbean for the United Nations Educational, Cultural and Scientific Organization. (UNESCO)
Corsbie was the driving force behind both the first and second Caribbean Storytelling Festivals in Barbados and the creation of Theatre Information Exchange (TIE) an association of theatre activists from across the region. Membership of NSN (National Storytelling Network), LANES (New England League of Story-tellers), New York Storytelling Center and EARS the Louisville KY Storytelling Guild attest to his global role as an entertainer and communicator. He has also produced a number of CD’s the content of which illustrates the range of his repertoire.
Of himself Corsbie says: “In Guyana, my home country for most of my life, and in all the English speaking Caribbean islands and territories, I have been storyteller, humorist, journalist, radio announcer and producer, theatre designer/director/actor. Living in America since 1996, I bring all of these experiences and skills (and athlete/dancer) to my performances/ workshops. I bring too, the sounds of sea and rain forest, heat of sun, accents of island voices, rhythms of calypso and carnival, humour and sometimes humbug of living and loving in the Caribbean.” Of Corsbie the well-known Barbadian social/ political commentator Oliver Jackman wrote: “With words and gesture, Ken makes our region glow,”
Insights into Ken Corsbie’s rich and varied career reveal the extent of his monumental contribution to Guyanese and Caribbean communication and creativity. He has churned out more than 200 performances of story, song and poetry throughout the English speaking Caribbean, produced 52 radio programmes on Caribbean arts for the Caribbean News Agency, and co-produced 30 half-hour documentary programmes for the Caribbean Broadcasting Union Radio. Corsbie has served as narrator and co-writer of Caribbean Eye, a UNESCO-sponsored series of half-hour television documentaries on the arts and cultural aspects of the Caribbean, produced by BANYAN of Trinidad. Corsbie was also the Director of the first and second Caribbean Storytelling Festivals in Barbados and Coordinator of Theatre Information Exchange (TIE), an association of theatre activists throughout the English speaking Caribbean. He is the holder of numerous awards for his contribution to the promotion of arts and culture in the region including the Arrow of Achieve-ment from the Government of Guyana.
In 1994, Corsbie moved to the United States where he now resides permanently. He still travels to the Caribbean. Last year he performed “This Mango Sweet” at the refurbished Theatre Guild Playhouse, Georgetown, Guyana where several years earlier he had also commanded the stage. He also conducts workshops on storytelling, frequents universities, conferences and special events across the United States telling stories.
