The Sunday News
Ngqwele Dube, Life Correspondent
VETERAN artiste, Memory Kumbota has teamed up with playwright and arts teacher, Thabani Moyo to come up with a theatre acting manual meant to aid local theatre actors.
The book titled The Art of Stage Acting: An Actor’s Guide, provides a comprehensive handbook that is a must read for any upcoming stage actor while those already on the stage would benefit from its contents.
The 85-page book presents all the facets of acting in a manner that is easy to understand, detailing the craft of acting from how it emerged to how one can effectively practice it on stage, with various techniques and skills being documented.
The inclusion of exercises and activities that one can do in order to improve their performance on stage makes the book a complete guide.
Kumbota, who has filled various roles in theatre that include acting, directing and scriptwriting, said they felt compelled to bring in a local book that actors can relate to.
He said while they entered into the trade through reading foreign literature the need for local books has continually increased.
“With the coming in of the new curriculum we saw it as an opportunity to come up with a book that would be cheaper to schools while at the same time giving students books that are relevant to their local theatre world.
“We got into acting using western guides and I think making it more relevant to what is happening locally will assist the students better,” he said.
Kumbota said they had, however, quoted extensively from foreign acting concepts because they remain important in teaching acting but they were able to present them differently and hopefully in a manner that would be easily absorbed by aspiring actors.
In various chapters they focus on various techniques and methods developed by theatre gurus that include Americans, Stella Adler and Sanford Meisner, Polish-born American actor, director, and theatre practitioner, Lee Strasberg, Brazilian, Augussto Boal, Russian, Konstantin Stanislavski and Polish theatre director and theorist Jerzy Grotowski.
The body of work by the theatre gurus touches on all the aspects in stage acting and was developed over several years enabling readers of The Art of Stage Acting to grasp all the concepts and theories which are presented in a simplified manner.
Kumbota said they have completed editing the book and a full print run would be made towards the launch set to be held later this month at Blues Café.
“We are yet to set the exact date for the launch but it is in August when we would print more copies.
“While we are targeting arts students, I feel the skills propagated are useful to anyone who is involved in acting,” he said.
