Tomorrow is closing date for entries to the 2013 Season of the National Drama Festival and preliminary competitions will begin in Linden, Berbice and Georgetown, beginning October 1. In preparation for this theatrical festival, the organisers hosted two outreach programmes in Linden and Berbice. The workshops were aimed at youths who had an interest in drama and it was reported that well over 200 eager would-be dramatists showed up for both programmes. According to director of the festival, Godfrey Naughton, the activities focused on enhancing production capability with special emphasis on script and technical design development. It had been observed, he said, that the outlying districts had technical design weaknesses in the plays they presented at previous festivals. This placed them at a disadvantage on the massive National Cultural Centre stage, with its vast technical facilities. The outreach programmes by the National Drama Festival were not only to advertise the festivities, but prepare applicants for a more professional approach to the art form. Programmes were held over the months by way of collaboration among the drama festival, the Ministry of Human Services and the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport at the New Amsterdam Recreation Club; Timehri Community Centre; Kuru Kuru; Canal Number 2 ,West Bank Demerara; Johanna, Black Bush Polder, Corentyne and the Multi-Purpose Centre in Cummings Lodge, East Coast Demerara.
The festival promises a collection of prizes worth $6 million with additional incentives. Successful plays will be selected and brought forward to the final, scheduled for October 18 to 26.
