By Jairo Rodrigues
One thing that stands out about Gerard Gilkes is that he loves a challenge. Perhaps that’s why he chose teaching as a profession and why acting has become so integral to his life.
Gerard Antoine Gilkes began his professional acting career in the year 2007, and in this year’s national Theatre Guild Awards held in February, Gerard was bestowed the accolade for best actor in a full length play (Makantali) in 2011.
Makantali – a Guyanese play directed by Malcolm De Freitas, which is based on the actual story of the life of a porkknocker, Gerard said, was his most accomplished play yet.
Some of his other notable performances were as Lyons in the play Fences by August Wilson. He has also appeared in Merundoi’s street theatre and Comedy Jam skits.
When asked how he felt when he won the award, he exclaimed “WOW! Just wow! It felt exciting. I felt as if I achieved it, but I was hoping for a little more competition – I was only up against one other actor and the competing play was not as serious. Makantali is diversified; it’s an all-rounded play. But I’m still enjoying the feeling!”
Gilkes stressed that Guyanese should be able to learn their own history and that Makantali is a perfect lesson. It is a play that portrays a man living in a society of hardship who moves to the interior region temporarily to work in the gold mines and sends money to his wife and children back in the city. He finds himself in the comfort of a ‘sweet woman’ and the story progresses on from there. Makantali was actually based on a true story from which some folk songs arise.
“Makantali was one of the hardest plays and I really enjoyed it!” Gerard enthused. “…I fitted into my character. I loved it. Out of all the cast members I felt connected the most to the play because I was born and raised in Bartica….” He also mentioned that for his cast mates, the play was a learning experience, because they learned about interior life, the different vocabulary and culture.
Although he only began acting professionally five years ago, Gerard was always interested in theatrical performances. He noted that drama was very prevalent in his schools as he grew up. “At the age of seven was when I had my first stage experience attending a primary school in Bartica,” he said. He always found himself performing at Christmas concerts, speech nights and then he had his first play Adam Days.
After completing the Secondary Schools Entrance Examinations (Common Entrance) and achieving the 3rd highest grade in Region Three, he attended the Anna Regina Multilateral School where he began performing his first love: dramatic poetry — in the regional Mashramani competitions.
After years of studying and living in Guyana, Gerard took the opportunity to work in the Bahamas. It was then he realised that “the arts in the Caribbean are not up to our [Guyana’s] standards. We have better stages and theatre houses than most Caricom countries and their people rarely see dramatic pieces.” He was motivated to come back to his homeland. He stated, “the motivation was there all along. Acting made me a more outgoing individual. I am now more expressive… It helps you cope with the world outside – different situations and different levels.”
When asked who his influences were, he said, “I love local artistes: Jennifer Thomas, Henry Rodney, Linden ‘Jumbie’ Jones, and Margaret Lawrence.” He pointed out that amongst all his influences, his trainers Jennifer Thomas and Henry Rodney motivated him a lot, always inspiring him to accomplish more.
Gerard is a trained teacher who graduated from the Cyril Potter’s College of Education and previously completed Tourism at the University of Guyana. He taught in the Bahamas before he came back to Guyana to work on the West Demerara where he promoted the dramatic arts. He won Region Three’s Best Science Teacher award, before coming over the Mighty Demerara to work at St Stanislaus College. He is currently a teacher at the Chase’s Academic Foundation.
He noted that he has no social life at all because his students get the best of it. It is very rare for him to party with friends as his daily routine is to teach, then go to rehearsals, head home and the cycle repeats itself. But when asked he blurted, “I love it! I love my career.”
He said if he were asked to choose between acting and teaching he would be caught between a rock and a hard place: “the passion of drama and the love for teaching. I can’t actually [choose].”
In his acting career he is rehearsing for an upcoming play Front Yard written by Jennifer Thomas. He is also very excited about a film he is acting in alongside Bonnie Alves. He noted that he is still very passionate about dramatic poetry but he would like to write, direct and produce – he would like to be viable, a well-rounded person who can offer a better market in drama.
Gerard has a wife and a three-year-old son. He is a family man and describes himself as a God-fearing person. “I live and believe. He who humbles himself shall be exalted,” he said. He is currently at the University of Guyana pursuing a degree in Geography.
He sincerely hopes that drama in Bartica improves. He pointed out that Bartica is in dire need of a theatre house because the community centre is severely dilapidated. He would like to see a better facility in his hometown. He also mentioned that Bartica is starved for that level of entertainment and that the space needs to be brought alive. He said he would do several workshops for youths to make the space come alive. He strongly believes that the future of drama belongs to the youths and so they should be guided accordingly although emphasis should be placed on the older, more experienced dramatists like comedian Habeeb Khan. He expressed disappointment that because drama in Guyana is something that you can’t live on, older folks like Khan are compelled to work very hard even in their golden age.
