The Lloyd N’ De Arts Production company, centred on theatre production, pageantry and events management, was officially launched on Saturday at the St Joseph’s High School.
The company, which comprises a group of musicians, directors, poets, playwrights, dancers and choreographers, has been in operation for about three years.
At the launch, Lloyd Thomas, the managing director of the company and Theatre Arts teacher at St Joseph’s High School, stated that within the three years that the company has been active, they have become a force to be reckoned with in the theatrical field. “Like the name suggests, it is myself and the performing arts, a statement that holds great significance from conceptualisation to realisation,” Thomas told the gathering.
He added that the company has developed their directive and team to capture the attention of the Guyanese public. “Distinctively, we have developed our team and mandate to suit our Guyanese people and as such, we are proud to present ourselves as a registered business,” he said.
The company comprises of three arms— the theatre group, the Miss Cultured Guyana Pageant, and the events management and planning body, which caters for events.
Miss Cultured Guyana is a unique style of pageantry in Guyana which focuses on young women to give them a voice in society by fostering social cohesion. The pageant has seen three young women being crowned, in 2016, 2017 and 2018. The delegates in the pageant would have attended cultural studies classes and completed community projects.
As part of the theatre group of the company, the student attachment body was formed, allowing CSEC and CAPE students to sit the theatre and performing arts exams. When the programme was initially started in 2015, five students sat the Theatre Arts CSEC exam and walked away with two Grade Ones and three Grade Twos. Over the years, the numbers of students sitting those exams have grown significantly and the pass rate has increased, according to Thomas.
Thomas further stated, “Today is another chapter for the company, though persons may see it as reversing the process, we are cognisant of the same, however, we are here today because of another project initiative”. He added that the students of the St Joseph’s High School sixth form class, in an attempt to display their ingenuity to conceptualise, create and execute a planned business project, hosted the event.
Director of Culture, Tamika Boatswain, who was a guest speaker at the launch, told the gathering of the government’s efforts and plans to aid companies like Lloyd N’ De Arts Production.
Boatswain thanked the organisation for the invitation and stated, “It is efforts like these that help us as decision makers to understand the needs of organisations such as this. The Government of Guyana, over the past four years, has been committed to the development of the arts through various ways, including funding and community support.” Boatswain added that through the Guyana Fund for Culture and Creative Industries, $20 million is available to cultural practitioners seeking grants to develop the arts.
The director applauded the efforts of the company and others like it that push for the development of the arts. “The role of the arts in the development of younger citizens cannot be overstated. We do understand that there are challenges but if we continue to endeavor to make it better, it will be,” Boatswain said, ending by wishing the students set to sit the upcoming examinations good luck.
