Ttc newsletter march 2017

M A R C H

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Tarumbeta!

The Quarterly Newsletter of The Theatre Company of Kenya

The contributions made to our cultural heritage –with an emphasis on literature and theater– invariably lead to children exercising their imaginations and finding greater meaning in life.

Francisco Hinojosa MARCH Contents 1. World Day of Theatre for Children Message 2 2. WDT Nkuru 3 3. WDT Mombasa 4 4. What is ASSITEJ? 5 5. Mwiki Project by Catherine Enane 5 6. New Studio 3 7. TTC at Karen Village 8 8. Dance Workshop at Movement Medicine Retreat at Ol Ari Nyiro by Jose Gichinga 9 9. A few things the arts can learn from the politics industry by Kingwa Kamencu 11 10. The Spirit of Adventure in Performance

by Keith Pearson 13 11. Review of Beginner’s Luck by Joshua Mwai 14 12. Fake it till you make it! By John Wasonga 16 13. Talking Points 17 14. TTC Studio at Karichota 19 15. About TTC 20

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A Man You to Like Zimba tour b and S we outh Africa May 2 017!

DECEMBER 2016

2017 World Day Message - World Day of Theatre for Children With no previous experience except for having frequented the theater as a boy, at the age of seventeen I directed a play with a cast of friends and classmates. It was presented informally at our high school and also in a more suitable space, open to the public. The play was called Dress Rehearsal: it touched on the subject of drugs and above all, as its title suggests, the mise-en-scène. It was written by my father, whose innate vocation as an actor was cultivated while he was a young man through scattered performances for local charities. Neither he nor I continued down this theatrical path, although I did become a staunch reader and watcher of plays. Curiously enough, I would later reencounter drama a different way: some of my stories written for children have been adapted for the stage over the past twenty years or more. In the beginning, if the troupes were formal, I would ask that they send me a copy of the adaptation for my approval. But as time passed, I preferred not to, giving free rein to those who do their job with the awareness that during the transit from narration to drama, something has got to give. Sometimes I have attended these performances. Others, I have learned about them through the press, or a webpage. Sometimes the literal content of the text is respected. Others, it acts as a source of inspiration for the creation of a new work. The Worst Lady in the World is the story of mine that has been staged most often, whether as a monologue or a marionette or shadow-puppet show, whether as a dramatic reading or a school play or a full-fledged professional performance. The director of a theater company once told me that they had to rescue the actress in the lead role from an enraged audience of young people who saw in her the true embodiment of evil: reality and fiction had melded in their collective imagination. I have also born witness to the demands, during a performance, that some children familiar with the story make whenever the actors follow a script that takes liberties with the original.

A story well-told on stage doubtless captivates the children in the audience and somehow transforms them. Leaving the theater after a show, the world seems different: it has been touched by a performance that allows members of the audience to see beyond the surface. And frequently, a cathartic reaction takes hold upon seeing themselves projected through certain characters or situations. Unlike the solitude of reading, once a story makes the leap onstage, the experience changes: now it is something that is happening before our very eyes, something we may share with others. We are no longer the sole witnesses. The tale comes to life beyond our imagination and somehow, transforms us into protagonists, because we entrust the characters with our emotions and fears, our desires and frustrations. Once they are staged, fiction, music, dance, song, poetry, games, magic, and juggling are all harmonically assembled, along with the resources typical of the theatrical arts: wardrobe, lights, scenery, makeup, props. The contributions made to our cultural heritage –with an emphasis on literature and theater– invariably lead to children exercising their imaginations and finding greater meaning in life.

Francisco Hinojosa (Mexico City, 1954) is one of Mexico’s leading authors of children’s literature. Soon after completing his literature studies he began writing poetry, before turning his hand to short stories and novels for children. In 1984 he won the IBBY Prize for his book La vieja que comía gente (The Old Lady Who Ate People), and he has published ten other books with FCE. This year he was selected by Mexico’s National Council for Culture and Arts (Conaculta) as ambassador to represent and promote children’s and young adults’ literature in Mexico.

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DECEMBER 2016

celebrating World Day of Theatre for ChildreN – IN NAKURU by joseph gichinga The Mkuki show happened at Menengai Social Hall, being the main kid’s show of the World Theatre Week- Nakuru, this year’s theme being Take a child to the theatre so as they can see, hear, feel, think and imagine. We started by mobilizing the kids in the area going from one estate to another inviting them to workshops and later performing with them. The workshops run by the performers were used to teach kids the songs and dances which were in the play so during the performance it got them involved because they all knew the responses for greetings and songs and became part of the performance.

Also during the workshop we divide the kids into two groups Watangala for chief Nyipir and Watungulu for Ngipir the younger brother and during the show the kids would support their “master”. We had a total no of 212 kids but after the workshops some left for their afternoon tuition and we remained with about 150kids.

The week has been a busy one with a series of theatrical performances. The Mkuki show was a combination of Music by Simor music percussion by Atubaka, dance by the amazing Dance Theatre Team and acrobatics by the magical Afrique Jugglers. The story was narrated to us by the Players Theatre chairman Francis Gachao. Joseph Gichinga of The Theatre Company of Kenya was the director and choreographer.

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DECEMBER 2016

celebrating World Day of Theatre for ChildreN – IN Mombasa

BY JOHN WASONGA Lessons from the wild is a children's theatre performance based on fictional cartoon characters. The play reaches out to children to live in harmony with each other. The play features dance, song's and games for the children. The kids are constantly involved in the playoffs which keeps them following. The Theater Company involved partners in this production as it marked the world theatre week. The performance which lasted an hour felt like twenty minutes with both the kids and parents requesting for more.

The actors included: Diana Kameta Mercy Dali, Jumapili, Nelson, Elizabeth Kaschana, Malenga 001 and Krispy the Poet.

The event was a successful one. parents came with their kids. the kids were so many, the whole amphitheatre was full...we all had fun. The actors, director and the producer all did a great job…can’t wait 4 another event...big up Theatre Company.

Ohms Law Montana, Rap Artist

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DECEMBER 2016

WHAT IS ASSITEJ? http://www.assitej-

ASSITEJ unites theatres, organisations and individuals throughout the world who make theatre for children and young people.

ASSITEJ is dedicated to the artistic, cultural and educational rights of children and young people across the globe and advocates on behalf of all children regardless of nationality, cultural identity, ethnicity, or religion. ASSITEJ brings people together so that they can share knowledge and practice within the field of theatre for children and young people in order to deepen understandings, develop practice, create new opportunities and strengthen the global sector. The members of Assitej are National centers, Professional Networks, and individuals from around 100 countries across the world.

www.assitej-international.org

THE MWIKI SANAA PONYEVU PROJECT

BY CATHERINE ENANE Ian Karuki, he is a nine year old silent boy, with Cerebral Palsy. He has determination and dedication in everything he does. Ian is difficulty with coordination but that's a fact that has never stopped him from dancing during the movement session. His speech is not clear but he sings and claps too.

As a child growing up, my mother would always insist on my behaviour and how it eventually determine how I fail in the parameters of what's accepted by her and the society. Most of the time, it had less to do with what I felt like or wanted. Norms and morals are set to guide and control an easy way of human coexistence however what happens to those that fall out of the normalcy. Those that are not in the same bracket of people that eat and use their right hand to do everything! I have had lots of stories of parents being disturbed by a simple fact as their child being lefthanded. Such parents would then spend more time changing and training the child to use their right hand. This would even go to extends of an obsession, which sometimes could lead the child to later on grow up with lots of resentment for his parents. Something that will later on be blamed on an evil spirit since giving birth to a left-handed would also be considered satanic.

These are commom superstitious beliefs within our societies that anything beyond our understanding and normal appearance is then seen as such. changing, but are they really?

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DECEMBER 2016

THE MWIKI SANAA PONYEVU PROJECT (contd.)

Not suprising that such a mind set started way back with our forefathers. Well you could disagree and say things, times are Up to date, parents are made to belive that giving birth to a disabled child is a punishment from God if not, it's the work of the evil one. Bringing forth embarrassment, shame and resentment towards both the parents and the child. This then results into such children being hidden in houses and stigmatised by the society.

This year as an artist and theatre coach for young people, I am on a journey with thrity ´non artistic´ special needs children between age 6-20years old, from Mwiki Primary, a local school in Githurai45, Nairobi. The school has three thousand and two hundred students and among them are the thirty children with special needs. I am running The Theatre Company's Sanna Ponyevu (Art for Healing) Project. The children have their special unit where they express and understand each other in a laugage best known to them, something i would see as ‘their normalcy’. These children express themselves with openness that's expected, the connection with need and desire.

Individualism doesn't exist among them since their minds don't operate based on judgement of actions but on intrisic feeling. I would honestly say I haven't experienced such high level of emotional connection among any other group of students, which then becomes a challenge since they communicate best with their emotions, I need to draw the line not to cross especially with the older ones...

For instance, they always help each other wipe saliva off those that drool, the older ones help serve and feed porridge to the younger ones. Often offer a helping hand to those with physical challenges. Being in such an environment as coach is thrilling, however, no doubt a big challenge.

It is rewarding when I walk into the class and I see my students clap or cheer. It then makes me more energised for I know they are excited about what I am teaching them.

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DECEMBER 2016 Let me introduce you to some of my students.

Winnie Wangacei; She is a ten year old girl who lives with autism, she is very joyful and playful. Don't bother me with lots of words is what she usually expresses, Wangeci will only talk if she really needs something. Most of her time is spent dancing and she always leads the others into singing however this is only in the mornings. ( Just like words don't bother me with pictures, maybe one day you will be lucky enough to see her beautiful face.)

Ian Karuki, he is a nine year old silent boy, with Cerebral Palsy.

He has determination and dedication in everything he does. Ian has difficulty with coordination but that's a fact that has never stopped him from dancing during the movement session. His speech is not clear but he sings and claps too.

A WARM WELCOME TO OUR NEW STAFF MEMBERS: My name is Simon Gisore Omboga, a 34 year old gentleman living with Spina Bifida. My experiences as a person living with disability has inspired me to do what I do... working with children with the aim of uplifting their lives and connecting them to their dreams. I also love to create awareness about disability; such that the society is able to understand, accept and support people living with disabilities.

Benson Obiero is a professional actor, with experience, skills and knowledge from stage to screen TV performances.

Benson has also been involved in Community Development work through art, (PET), Participatory Educational Theatre, community training and advocacy, this is with a number of human rights organizations, i.e, Kenya Human Rights Commission, Uraia, and Legal Resources Foundation.

Benson is also a trained legal practitioner and a Paralegal Officer, and he is mostly focused on Gender, Good Governance and Children's rights activities and programs. This is through consultancy basis and volunteering.

Other than acting, Benson is a professional singer, working in the church choir, as a choir master and also sings with Kayamba Africa. currently, Benson is involved in doing a TV drama with Dawn Pictures Production, in a program that airs every Tuesday on NTV, at 7:30pm, playing the character of Uncle Tom.

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DECEMBER 2016

The Theatre Company AT KAREN VILLAGE The Colour Festival

TTC has moved its Nairobi base to the amazing Karen Village, on Ngong Road, just past Shade Hotel. Karen Village is home to many arts companies, individual artists, restaurants, shops and so much more! We are delighted to be part of this creative excellence, and to organizing our Nairobi activities in the centre.

Our thanks to StoryMoja for hosting us for three years.

Aerial View of Karen Village

How Karen Village describes itself: Karen Village is a community to allow greater interaction of people with art, culture and heritage of Africa. Our aim is to Integrate, Inspire and Educate, thus making a change to all of our lives.

African youth will change our continent and give it a place in world history. Karen Village will work to empower youth to showcase their work and ideas.

We created Karen Village to be a place where people gather together to learn, to inspire each other, to eat, to drink to chat and share experiences.

Keith orchestrating the first ever workshop at Karen Village for participants of the Mwiki Sanaa Ponyevu Project (leader Catherine Enane.) See feature below on project.

Melody the Fashion Designer

The Pimbi Pub

Poetry Point

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DECEMBER 2016

Dance at ari nyiro By jose gichinga (Rift valley ttc rep) On 3rd March I participated in a dance retreat With Susan Darling Khan who has been teaching conscious dance internationally for 28 years since her training with Gabrielle Roth in 1989. 10 years ago she and her husband Ya’Acov founded the ‘School of Movement Medicine’. Her father had worked in the Kenyan colonial government as an architect before the work was terminated during the Maumau period when she was less than 5years old. Since then she felt that she has always been part of Kenya and promised herself to come back when she had something to share. She came back ready to share with us what she had gathered for the last 28 years her movement technique “MOVEMENT MEDICINE”.

Movement medicine dance practice is dedicated to embodied consciousness bringing us into deeper connection with the aliveness of the universe inside and outside us. It is a way of to learn how to experience life more deeply, to empower yourself to be who you really are and also teaches to create a relationship with the spirits of our ancestors. In this beautiful journey no dancing experience was required and all levels of fitness were welcomed, no choreographies were given, we were never taught any steps or routines we were simply guided to move and express how one was really feeling.

Listening was a very big lesson to us, when one is told to listen- it usually means, you stop what you are doing and focus on what the speaker is actually saying. On Movement medicine listen means you open your senses to the world your ears in all direction and pay attention to the details in the wild. We did this exercise deep in the forest where the elephants usually loves visiting. You could see this by the marks in trees where elephants rub themselves. We were told to choose a tree and really listen to it, its stories, view it as an ancestor and listen to it talk to you. When you listen deeply to nature, you open yourself to the wisdom of the wild, you learn to trust your instincts, how to work with your mind to befriend your emotions and know your connection with all living beings. Connecting with the arc of time, where you have come from, where you are now and where you are going polishing your inner compass to guide you.

From this true place of connection you will discover that love is always available to you.

Wherever it is you are. We danced amongst the trees, by firelight, under the stars, we danced with the elements, danced with our hearts, we moved, to celebrate, to set intentions, to close chapters, to open others, to commune with nature, to meet each other, with sweeping views across this ancient landscape of Laikipia.

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Dance at ari nyiro (contD.) This experience was very different to me, it was more than dance and movement, to me it was meditation in movement, it was being aware of your every sense while dancing, it was not about how straight, how many flips or spins it was about how far you are willing to stretch your soul. I will be sharing this with my fellow artists, moving from within. It was a very great experience.

The retreat took place at Makena Hills, Ol Ari Nyiro- Laikipia conservancy; here I met 22 other participants from all over the world. They had traveled to attend this retreat, to free their souls with movement. On the first day we sat around a fire and shared our stories, what one is going through and will want to let it go after the Movement Medicine. Here I met Sveva Makena and her husband Naijo. They are the people responsible in maintaining the conservancy; we had long chat on what I have been doing in Nakuru. In the conversation they mentioned that they had this acrobatic team and I coming from a town where acrobats are born and raised, I was very interested in this particular story. One fine morning when going back to the conservancy from the villages with a friend from the African Yoga Project, they met a group of young men with guns and with the war that is there they knew that this was it. The young men stopped the car, seeing this Makena had no option but to stop. The men approached the car and one of the just shouted “MAKENA!!� and their tension just melted away. John, the young man who recognized Makena was once her student he told Makena that this was the only life that was left for them.

The teacher from the African Yoga Project seeing this, he got out of the cat and did a black flip.

The young men were very amazed he asked them if they would be interested in learning the flip and this was the birth of the acrobatic team in Pokot. This was something new, something more interesting. In their story they mentioned that if one went for cattle raiding then on his home coming he will be welcomed as a hero by the community and with acrobatics the young men were welcomed not only in their village but in the whole of Pokot . This was very big for them being heroes and not with the gun but with performing arts. They have now inspired a lot of young people who feel that performing is more exciting than raiding and herding cattle. The group consisting of more than 50 young men yearns for more training; they have been trained by Sarakasi Acrobats but like all artist we are really never satisfied with their skill and want to learn and add more. Nakuru we have two great acrobatic teachers who will be working with them from April. The teachers were trained in china from a very young age and they have been performing and sharing all over the world.

How fascinating is it to see the power of performing arts.

We are grateful to Sveva Gallman and Susan Darling Khan for organizing the workshop and accommodating the writer.

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A few things the arts can learn from the politics industry

By Kingwa Kamencu I’ve had the opportunity to review cultural productions for about eight years now. My favorites perhaps, have been the plays in the local theatre films and movies. Movies, I can watch day and night, I can watch them back to back, only getting up to feed myself with more energy to press play on the next one. All of these have fed my soul, and I am grateful to artists, to creators of these productions, both locally and abroad.

It has however saddened me continuously, to walk into local theatres and find empty seats. The sight of actors performing a brilliant play to an empty room has been something that I was so disturbed that I brought up with the management at one of the local theatre houses, trying to figure out exactly why people were not coming to watch these plays. What I surmised was that there was no marketing of these plays going on. I noticed a trend. There were playwrights and producers who would set up productions that would sell out, but for the most part, many of the plays would remain wonderful works of art that failed to get an audience to appreciate them.

This was the first time I started thinking about marketing in the arts and the manner in which we neglect it. For a long time it has been said that the problem with Kenyan artistic productions is that they were terrible quality. To an extent this was true. However, this argument does not hold any more. I watched the Angus Wilson play Fences at Phoenix Players in September last year, and it was a masterful and moving piece that engaged me from start to finish. The same production by iconic Hollywood stars a few months later, left me bored out of my skull. For the first time, I fully understood why Hollywood snapped Lupita Nyong’o up so fast, and welcomed her in its fold.

Lupita was a product of Phoenix Players, and the talent pool there has every bit the brilliance that she does, even if they have not made it to Hollywood’s cameras. So for me it is a crisis that we have extremely brilliant talent, diamonds you could say, not selling, due to lack of the ability or knowledge of how to sell.

I would like to juxtapose my observations on the arts with observations in another field that I have found myself in: politics. Politics is one of the most well-funded industries by the exchequer in Kenya today, its practitioners earning in the million mark. Having worked in the media, I have noticed a key difference in media relations between politics and the arts.

Politicians treat journalists like eggs. When they have events they will go into the mundane, making sure that journalists are well fed, well taken care of, dropped off home safely, and even given a monetary compensation (this has been referred to as the practice of ‘brown envelopes’ in newsrooms). What this leads to is a cabal of journalists who will walk the ends of the earth to give coverage to these patrons of theirs in the political world, and ensure they remain in power till kingdom come. It is in their best interests you see. Artists on the other hand, for the most part, ignore the media. When they do not, they approach it with cynicism and jadedness. This is putting it mildly. Some sections of the art world (visual artists especially) overtly insult journalists and will even write to media practitioners to tell them what numbskulls they are. Others who are more polite, will simply decline to be interviewed by any and steer clear of people carrying titles such as art critics and art journalists.

Maybe the visual arts are full of millionaires who do not need coverage and publicity to market and sell their works. But when it comes to film, theatre, publishing, music, and dance, it is vital.

Sometimes the work produced will acquire a life of its own whether with the publicity machinery or not (some of the striking ones are Nairobi Half Life, Wanja Kavengi’s facebook pieces and Charles Chanchori’s Uber Story), but most of the time, it will not. Media buzz is essential.

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A few things the arts can learn from the politics industry (c0ntd.)

Politicians have appropriated media spaces for themselves. They peddle hot air, intemperate speeches, bluster and divisiveness, abuse and insults, but editors choose to give politics acres of space, never mind that the narratives the public is forced to consume are inimical to the soul of Kenya.

And so artists need to borrow a leaf from politicians. They need to develop relations with the journalists that cover their beats, they need to court publicity, they need to become a lot more media savvy. It’s not easy for the art journalists at this time either. Space for the arts has shrunk such that in the newspapers you only find space for it on weekends. This space given is so negligible that it is not worth comment. The Friday publications which cover the arts are mostly teen oriented, which makes those in the age bracket of the late twenties to fifties, the ones with the paying and buying capacity, to hold the perception that local cultural productions are simply fanciful offerings meant for teenagers.

What will we count as having reached uhuru for the arts, to borrow from Jaramogi Odinga’s phrase? Seeing art stories make front page news. Having pages and segments dedicated to the arts on a daily basis rather than just being pushed to the weekend. Having thriving arts desks with teams of journalists mandated to cover this beat. This is just a beginning, and speaking from the side of the media. A lot more needs to be done also regarding the infrastructure (eg. Constructing more play houses and cinema halls), distribution, and creating a general local art consuming culture.)

As a side note, the agricultural industry which is the best performing in terms of annual GDP, harnesses media effectively to create a sense of community and foster conversations among themselves. You will thus find numerous agricultural magazines in Kenya include Hortinews, Smart Farmer, among others.

A long war will have to be fought to ensure that media and the arts finally intersect and uplift each other. Even as the arts seem to have this inferiority complex and haven’t begun to demand more coverage (we need to have art pages every day. Just as we have sports pages), it should also remember that in this age of a dying traditional media, it could very well be its salvation.

Write to me on khangwa@yahoo.com

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DECEMBER 2016 13

The spirit of adventure in performance

By Keith Pearson, ttc creative director

I have been active in the world of performance for 45 years now, since I appeared in the Merchant of Venice at the tender age of 16 on the stage of the tiny Bijoux Theatre in my home town of Torquay in the UK. During that period, I have been fortunate enough to be part of some extraordinary performance projects, from the ground-breaking productions with the Basement Players in Kenya in the early 80s (King Ubu, Mother Courage), Death and the Maiden with Mumbi Kaigwa and John Sibi Okumu, the internationally renowned Shungwaaya, Wananwake wa Heri wa Winsa, Muthoni Garland’s Attack of the Shidas to Silvia Cassini’s A Man Like You amongst hundreds of others.

If there is one quality which all of these projects possess, it is that there has never been any doubt that the writers, directors and performers involved had anything but a one hundred per cent belief in the validity of the work they were presenting, and never doubted the positive effect which the work would have on the members of the audience.

As most of our readers know, I feel very strongly that the culture of presenting “Trouser Plays”* to Kenyan audiences has demeaned the practice and purpose of theatre in this country; the emphasis on this empty, unoriginal and undemanding form of theatre has led to the pre-eminence of the ego of the actor, rather than the content of the story.

Consequently, many projects presented to our company, with the hope of being supported or developed, lack originality or any cathartic content and the performers often seem only concerned with becoming “famous” and recognisable.

However, the work that has been thrilling to be part of, and has stood the test of time, has been that to which the creators and performers have been totally committed, feeling that they are saying something important and new.

These thrilling performers – stand up Aroji Otieno, Nanjosi Sharon, John Wasonga, Mugambi Nthiga, Mkamzee Chao, Sylvia Namussasi, Abubakar Mwendwa and many others – all share a common spirit, that of the cultural adventurer. Just like those who for centuries have set sail with vague maps and faulty compasses, these cultural bucanneers discover new riches and etch their names in the tablets of history.

If your work lacks this sense of adventure, don’t do it!

When you feel you are risking everything, that you have no idea how the response will be, that you are going to stretch yourself to breaking point – then, and only then, should you push your ideas forward.

But don’t worry – there are many other adventurers out there, and they are looking for kindred spirits. Want to meet them? Get in touch right away. kptheatrecompany@gmail.com ~~~~~ * plays in which the trousers of male characters seem to find their ways around the actors’ ankles at regular intervals.

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DECEMBER 2016 14

REVIEW OF “BEGINNER’S LUCK” - ALCHEMIST BAR

BY JOSHUA MWAI When one sees a poster announcing the performance of a theatrical show, one usually imagines a dark auditorium, with rows of seats set in a ‘rake’ formation rising gradually from the foot of the stage, and a largely invisible backstage area from which the performers emerge, like figures from the mist.

This was not the reality of the show ‘Beginner’s Luck, which was performed on the 16th of February at the Alchemist Bar, Nairobi. The show was the inaugural performance showcase of the Aroji Drama Academy, an organisation led by Rogers Otieno, an alumnus of the Theatre Company. The show consisted of seven short plays written exclusively by Kenyan playwrights, and designed to test the mettle of the young theatre trainees enrolled in the academy. The venue, being a bar, was set out in a semicircular manner with a large space inside the semi-circle, in which tables had been set out. The stage itself was an old Londonstyle double decker bus that comprised the backstage, with an elevated makeshift stage with lighting rigs on it in front of it. To top it off, there was a tent-like tarpaulin cover for both the stage and the audience to complete the theatre structure.

The show began with ‘An Eritrean Lesson’, a play written by Aroji himself, which was an excerpt from his earlier play ‘My Moving Home’, performed with The Theatre Company in 2010. The play showed the stereotypical scenario of an English teacher trying to teach English without being fluent in it himself. Edwin Kinyua as the teacher portrayed the part with great gusto, even condemning one of the students to squat in the corner until further notice. The students, played by Brian Peter and Riziki Ambrose among others, gave a realistic portrayal of Kenyan primary school students. The play ended with the teacher threatening the audience with punishment and then walking off, leaving the audience in suspense as to when he would return. Sadly, the teacher did not return for the rest of the show.

Following this was the play ‘Beginner’s Luck’ by Jonathan Opinya, a play originally done in 2007 as part of the Theatre Company’s Fire by Ten series. The play portrayed a tragic love story about a man who meets a girl, and who struggles to find the courage to talk to her. Told in a narrative style, the actors mime their way through the play, showing the various stages of infatuation, bonding, and the lady’s eventual death through the actions of a mugger. The play was then followed by an interlude of song, performed in the Kikuyu and Luo languages by Wambui Silantoi and Rapasa (who also played the Nyatiti), explaining the origins of the Kikuyu and Luo communities. This was a poignant juxtaposition of tribal elements, especially given that political tensions between the two communities and that this is an

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BEGINNER’S LUCK (contd.)

This was followed by Fade to Grey, which was a combination of two short plays by Mugambi Nthigah and Aroji. It showed the story of a young girl, who, through various parental and societal pressures, becomes pregnant and has to procure a back street abortion. This does not go as planned and ends in physical and psychological trauma for her.

This was followed by a dance sequence by Rapasa and Jack Atulo, who did a contemporary dance showing the pressure to conform to societal norms, and involved intricate two-person movements. And to conclude this heavy emotional mood that the show had developed, the final play of the first act was ‘Daddy’s Portrait’ by Yvonne Wanjiku, which explained (in surprising and gory detail), how a young lady killed her paedophile father, who repeatedly molested her.

This was performed quite well by Mildred Sakina, who truly got into the emotional morass of her character, showing sadness, anger, joy and bitterness in equal measure. The atmosphere of the play was added to by paintings by the renowned artist Patrick Mukabi which flanked Mildred. This left the audience silent by the end of the play, and quite aptly the M.C Tracy Nduati brought the first half of the show to an end for a 10 minute intermission.

The second half of the show started with the poem “Sky Leaking Elephants” by Sitawa Namwalie and performed by Fridah Muhindi, who doubtless set a few pulses racing dressed in black negligee as she seductively narrated the poem. However, her performance had to be restarted due to sound issues, which in truth plagued the whole show. A second poem entitled “Sukuma Love” by Sitawa was also performed, but this time accompanied by music from Rapasa on saxophone as well as dancing by Jack Atulo, adding to the visual spectacle of the piece. This then led to the last performance of the evening of a play entitled ‘The Gas Chamber’ by yours truly, which had also been performed by the 2007 Theatre Company Fire by Ten series. The play was about two asylum dwellers discussing the significance of farts. Writer’s bias aside, the two performers (Fridah Muhindi and Riziki Ambrose) gave a good rendition of it, though they were plagued by inaudibility due to the customers at the bar making more noise than was necessary. In future, I would suggest that the show’s organisers ensure that anyone entering the bar must keep silent to allow the audibility of the performers, or be thrown out.

All in all, it was a good debut show by the Aroji Drama Academy, and despite the various challenges, including sound issues and the lack of audience discipline, I believe ‘Bar Theatre’ can have a future in Nairobi. There may also be a need to rethink the use of the Bus as a backstage area, especially since the windows offer a glimpse of the performers changing and preparing to get on stage, which spoils the element of wonder or surprise that may arise from a performer suddenly emerging on stage.

There is also the need to further develop the voice projection of some of the actors, since audibility is the key to the audience following and appreciating the plays.

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Fake it till you make it!

By john wasonga, ttc coast manager During rehearsals and Performance for the followed one actor for a month to try ‘stardom’ in theatre circles in Mombasa. projects and noticing his prowess on stage, I Fredrick Jumapili is not your average actor. himself as a versatile actor who can be comic not only shown that he is good with the piece together a performance.

He is a good listener who will notice when always on guard and can turn a conversation sweet and relevant. He relates well with both actors and audience love him as he carries excellent at reacting to almost all situations. with the whole body. He is so good at expressions .His voice is on point, he does plays around to find how best his character This attitude of wanting to learn and not immensely. He is also a risk taker who is T wrap it up, He is fit both mentally and on stage with lots of ease. At some point one door in a speed that leaves the audience ‘Every time he was on stage, I felt like he was Mlatso an audience Member.

In this era where few actors and actresses due low income and a budding TV industry encourage young performers who are

play Golden Tongue, which I directed, I unlocking the secrets to his upward rise to Having worked with him in two previous had to start digging to find out more about him.

At the age of 22, he has already cut a niche for and serious in one single performance. He has scripts, he is also excellent at creating or helping other characters forget or misplace lines. He is that was heading on a bad direction become his fellow actors and the audience. Both the with him that unexplained energy. He is He communicates not only with his mouth but controlling/using of his mind, body and not struggle to project. He takes directions and can make the amends and has a great attitude. taking criticism negatively has helped him grow always ready to take the character to new places. physically and can jump, run, sit, stand lie down during the performance, he rushes to and from wowed. pulling me into the performance, I love Katana’ Ali want to commit to the theatres fully of course in the country, it is of great importance to bringing life back to our theatres.

Jumapili and Diana in action

Fredrick Jumapili (in the middle) with actors, Anne and Nelly.

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Talking points Kingwa Kamencu on copy cats: The real reason Kenyan cultural works do not have resonance, both within and outside of our borders, is that they are too well behaved, they try to be the copy cats of everyone else, especially Western productions. And so you see the “wenging�, you hear the slick English, you see the palatial houses, you see the civilized city street's. But how different is that from everyone else?

What about 'us' is there that would merit more than cursory glance?

Art that lives and breaths comes from the underbelly. It is based on the unwanted parts of ourselves that we have swept under the carpet, the stuff that a do not want anyone to know about.

It strips the mask off the facade of civilization and reveals humanity at its rawest, man at his worst.

But paradoxically, as we unveil our demons, our angels are also close by and we will get a glimpse of them too.

Remember Nairobi Half-Life? Remember the tremors it caused in the cultural landscape? It spoke to this notion of shining the spotlight in the dark. From the rural country bumpkins to the grime and crime of Nairobi's back streets.

Art is alchemy. It takes the dross and spins it to gold. But the main ingredient, we must always remember, is the dross. ~

Great news from Daniel Goldman CASA Latin American Theatre Festival is delighted to announce that Thebes Land by Uruguayan playwright Sergio Blanco and translated and directed by Daniel Goldman (who directed Wanawake wa Heri wa Winsa) which was on at Arcola Theatre in November and December 2016 was the recent recipient of the Off West End Award for Best Production of the Year. It was also nominated for Best New Play, Best Director and Best Set Designer.

Thebes Land tells the story of a playwright who is trying to create a documentary piece of theatre about patricide by visiting a young man who has killed his father and is serving a life sentence in prison. As he begins to hear the young man's story, their relationship and the play he is writing begin to shift in ways that will change everything he believes.

Photo by Alex Brenner

A Man Like You to tour Zimbabwe and South Africa May 2017!

Look out for us at the Harare International Festival of the Arts, at the Rooftop Theatre, Harare and at the TACC Theatre, Cape Town.

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The riverwood film awards Our warmest congratulations to the members of our sister industry – particularly to our old friend RAYMOND OFULA who receives the lifetime achievement award.

Best feature film - Kizingo Best short film - Seed Best EA film - Invisible cuffs Best documentary - Structures of Hope Best vernacular Film - Cama wa Ruo (Taste of Pain) Best vernacular TV series - Hayiayia Best TV series - Mama Duka FILM Best film director - Violine Ogutu Best actor Anubhav Garg – Beyond Best supporting actor Peter Mweu – Cama wa Ruo Best actress Keziah Mugure - Kigorogoro Best supporting actress Sally Atieno – Zilizala TV series Best actor - John Oron in Otoyo Mang’ang’a Best supporting actor - Elly Young – Tumaini Senta Best lead actress - Hellen Waithera – Uriru wa Wendo Best supporting actress - Sandra Dacha – Auntie Boss Best Script - Loi Awat - Mama Duka Best directing - Michael Jones Mwangi – Mama Duka Best director vernacular TV series - James Njamura - Uriru Wa Wendo Lifetime achievement – Raymond Ofula 18 18

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About The Theatre Company of Kenya Board Members Muthoni Garland Nick Moon Gakuo Ndirangu Staff Joshua Mwai Keith Pearson John Wasonga (Coast) Joseph Gichinga (Rift Valley) Catherine Enane (Youth Theatre) Associate Directors 2017 Daves Ghuza (Zimbabwe)

Get Busy!

Do you want to be involved with TTC as a performer, workshop participant, production staff member or even as a fundraising board member?

Get in touch with Joshua right away! (Joshua.mwai@gmail.com)

The Theatre Company of Kenya Tel: (+254) 722 815 112/ 722 935 417 Skype: Karichota1

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We are very grateful to the DOEN Foundation for the fantastic support for our work.

Without you, we wouldn’t be “DOEN” this!