ARTS & CULTURE
THE ROLE OF THE ARTIST IN COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT Theatre director, educator, writer and AND INCLUSIVITY
actress Gcebile Dlamini uses her talent and artistry as a vehicle to address social issues and help bring positive change.
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er most recent theatre production – The Stories We See – saw her working alongside BigBoy Ndlovu, with whom she has a formidable creative collaborative partnership. “I have been working with BigBoy Ndlovu as a choreographer since I was at Outreach Foundation. We both worked on a piece, In My Mother’s Womb, with the Johannesburg Society for the Blind (JSB),” Dlamini tells Spot-On. The pair yet again demonstrated true craftsmanship and activism working with participants from Thembalethu Child Welfare and JSB. The production featured participants with visual impairments, tackling and reflecting on inclusivity and raising awareness about blind and partially sighted persons, says Dlamini. The creative process began in February 2022 and gradually matured into a full theatre production, being showcased in five different community spaces and theatres in Johannesburg during May and June.
CREATING MEANING AND UNDERSTANDING In staying true to community development and creating meaningful partnerships, Dlamini and BigBoy partnered with ASSITEJ SA, Market Photo Workshop and Goethe-Institut SA to bring the production to life. Dlamini explains how art can be used as a force for advocacy and says the role of an artist is not only limited to making people aware of issues around them but also educating the masses on how to face those challenges. Painting a picture of how impactful the project is, she mentions how – through process-led workshops – the team came up with a moving production that speaks to the realities of the cast members that is relatable for wider society. Considering how paramount the story is, one can only imagine the intensity behind the cast learning to fully embody the characters and be instruments to shift minds.
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other modes should be included in all schools, her response was a definite yes.
A BIGGER PICTURE
A PLAY ON REALITY Through the lead character, Luthando, the play takes us on a journey of the stories she sees as she learns sign language. She is intrigued to teach and make the different participants from Thembalethu learn through sound, sticks and the different stories told by the visually impaired. This speaks to education and how the play not only teaches the audience but the process begins with the team and cast. But it doesn’t end there. Through assimilation, the story also reflects that the sticks of the visually impaired become a reflection of spirituality, acting as eyes for the visually impaired, used by the youth to take the audience on a journey in search of direction, knowledge, understanding and inclusion of the stories being told. When asked how important is it that the production and story genuinely reflect the experiences of the cast, Dlamini says because the intention is to teach the cast, it really needs to reflect their research journey, their understanding, and what it means for them to be performing this reality of their community. When asked if she thinks skills such as sign language, brail and
“That is the bigger picture to the project actually. It’s something on the move in our NGO. We have already approached a few government organisations.” Dlamini's highlight in the journey was in their first performance, when an audience member claimed that there was only one blind person on stage: “I knew, as a team, we achieved our goal of inclusiveness. That we are all the same and we need to work together to make the world include everyone.” Staying true to the idea of an all-inclusive society, Dlamini explains, “We aim to make this thoughtprovoking production accessible to as many people in the City of Joburg as possible, where they will be able to critically engage with the work. We want this production to be a moment for reflection, with a session for dialogues after each performance.”
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