Arts Views With Thabani H. Moyo
THEATER for young audiences is one that many have tried in our country with little success. A few performing arts outfits have got it right and CHIPAWO is one such company. What has been experienced in most cases are children brought together to battle it out in this and that schools competitions. In most cases content presented by children in these competitions will be far above their age levels. The result has been a trail of scarred learners and teachers who in most cases all have one or two bad things to say about how they lost the competition. Though these competitions have helped in developing talent sometimes they have left participants with animosity towards each other and hence missing the objectives of the organisers. “Bulawayo ChildFest is different from comeptitions as this is a platform for children to perform for other children. It’s not about winning but showcasing what you have. Unlike in competition where most children go home feeling cheated because they didn’t win, here children will go home proud that they performed for other children,” says Matesu Dube.
Umkhathi Theatre Works’ effort to put together an international online festival for young audience is a step in the right direction. Byo Childfest will line up dance, drama, poetry and storytelling targeted at young audiences. The festival will have adults and young people performing for young audiences. The main objective is to understand that the target audience are young people. This comes from a realisation that performing arts can play an important role in the development of a child.
Those who venture into Theatre for young audiences must have an understanding of the audience that they are targeting. Matesu Dube is one such individual who has taken interest in what constitutes Theatre for young people. He has attended international Directors’ workshop designed for directors that work with children. The most important thing when one ventures into Theatre for young people is to have an understanding of the child’s development. When making works for children one has to understand their physical, cognitive, social and emotional developments. The performances must take into account the age range of the target audience, its desires and how they perceive the world. Theatre for young audiences therefore must be designed along the physiological and psychological development of the specific audiences. The audiences can be categorised into infant audiences (0-3 years), toddler audiences (4-6 years), 7-12 years, teenage audiences and young adults. Each category has specific physical, cognitive and emotional needs.
Bulawayo Childfest has a variety of performances picked from around the world. This will expose audiences to a variety of different cultures. It will also be interesting to learn from other artistes as to how they have handled performances for young audiences. The performances are done by adults performing for children and children performing for other children. In 2007 Matesu Dube met Monica Hoth in Germany and the connection has existed up to today. Monica Hoth managed to link Dube to a young Mexican boy aged 5 by the name of Inaki. Inaki has created a cartoon by himself titled ‘The adventures of the Penguin.’ Inaki comes into Byo Childfest to showcase his skill and encourage Zimbabwean children to explore the arts. Marimba Manglar Gfme from Ecuador will be part of the festival. They will also share their musical skills with Byo Childfest audience. Dube says he met the leader of Marimba Manglar on Facebook where they managed to shared notes and works. That is where their collaboration started.
One of the performances lined up is Zozo and Zaza by Umkhathi Theatre Works. It is a story which shows how inquisitive some people can be and because of that end up in problems. What is also interesting is the way the characters try solve their problems. As Zaza and Zozo try to find solution to the problem they have created they find themselves moving from one problem to the next. It is one story to look forward to. Veteran actor and storyteller Gift Chakuvinga will also share his stories with the young ones and leave them with a lesson or two.
In his parting words Matesu want Children to grow with a culture of attending theatre shows so as to cultivate an audience at an early age. “We want these children to support the arts when they become CEOs of companies in the future,” he said.
We look forward to an exciting Children’s Festival.
