Dear Editor,
In reference to Terry Gajraj who publicly complained about the fact that he has not been recognized by our government as a Guyanese singer performing extensively in North America and Mahadeo Shivraj who similarly complained of the fact that he has produced some seven full length commercial films without any government support, both of whom I have worked with and I welcome them to the club. I have lived and worked in Guyana and I am yet to receive funding from our Governments, in spite of submitting a number of professional proposals for any of my productions, save and except when the Ministry of Tourism, under Geoffrey DaSilva, commissioned me to produce a musical ‘Guyanese Roots and Rhythms’ which I wrote and directed for World Cup Cricket in 2007, staged at the Sophia Exhibition Centre.
I am appreciative of the fact that I have received an award from the Guyana Cultural Association of New York as have so many of us in and out of Guyana. I have also received a Lifetime Achievement Award for Theatre Arts from the Ministry of Youth, Sports and Culture in 2014 and a Women of Distinction Award from the YWCA. I am yet to receive a National Award for my 42 + years as a producer and co-producer, having staged a myriad of productions, 250+ to date, ranging from classical and jazz concerts, comedic and dramatic plays, TV sitcoms, the popular Link Shows staged annually (1981-2022), youth theatre workshops, over 12 overseas tours to the Caribbean and North America, from 1983-2007 and the list goes on…so welcome again to the CLUB. I am forced to wonder, however, who or what committee decided on the ‘Creative Arts Awards’ recently made by the Theatre Guild of Guyana, not because of the persons who received them, but because of those who did not and should have.
Kind regards,
Gem Madhoo-Nascimento
Director
GEMS Theatre Productions