Pardon me for being repetitive, but with the recently concluded graduation of artists across their respective fields under the newly formed Institute of Creative Arts; and the National Drama Festival’s first set of plays to be staged in less than a month, I feel it is my duty to return to arts and its place in our future.
First off the Institute of Creative Arts that marries the various artistic institutions in Guyana points to a commitment by the government that artists must take note of. And if necessary, remind the powers that be from time to time to remain committed.
Second, it may well fall to the artists to educate the average Joe/Jane about what real drams is. It has become very hard to please the Guyanese audience and the phrase “Everyone’s a critic” has proven to be literal here. It is a de facto motto that every Guyanese has an opinion and we make it heard loud and clear. However, artists should not allow their standards to fall just to please the unappreciative, but instead educate them to build a new respect for their artistic endeavours.
Comedy sells well, more so when it’s bawdy. But drama is the solid rock on which good theatre stands. While comedy is not quite sinking sand, it does shift.
It often disappoints me that plays such as Jennifer Thomas’s Front Yard, Sharon Cadogan-Taylor’s Shattered Dreamz, Colette Jones-Chin’s Virtue and Harold Bascom’s Makantalli to name a few have played to dismal attendance when the theatre houses should be filled to the brim. These are all incredible plays. It makes me wonder if we have lost something as a society.
I for one have never warmed up to satirical plays, see them as vines strangling real theatre and true art in Guyana. The National Cultural Centre was built for so much more, yet can only be filled as long as these funny little comedy shows are produced.
The National Drama Festival gives many the opportunity to see more than just the ‘ha ha’ shows. By the way, I am not bashing comedy, it is also an art form. And clearly the material for it is abundant given the politics and societal issues in Guyana. But I am saying it should not be the only art form we attend and notice; the only art form that sells.
The National Drama Festival gives us more. It provides the opportunity to see talent in various forms. It is the debut of many Guyanese actors; the shining moment for directors and writers.
What is produced, or should I say should be produced after the festival is an open curtain to investments in plays and the arts, in talent, in the festival, in the production of shows and in the arts on a whole.
Because of their past experiences with the National Drama Festival and the Government of Guyana some artists have signalled their intention of boycotting this and future festivals. I know of a few persons who are steadfast in this. But can the new Institute of Creative Arts be the catalyst that brings about change?
A question we should think about is whether Guyana can compete in Caricom as we now approach our fiftieth anniversary as an independent state? Can it be reformed? Or should we just throw our hands up and send in the clowns?
