The Sunday News
Arts Focus, Raisedon Baya
OUR children are the future and those among us who truly believe and care about the future should invest in children and young people. Our children can only be the future if they are guided and nurtured properly until adulthood.
Suffice to say that part of the nurturing of children involves creating safe spaces for these children to develop and blossom into useful adults that will contribute positively, not only our country but the world in general.
So this year the interesting question that Isiphiwo Sami Talent Search, an annual drama and other art forms competitions for schools organised and run by Inkululeko Yabatsha School of Arts (Iyasa), asked as part of its annual theme was; what are children spaces and who is responsible for creating them?
As an organisation that focuses on nurturing future talent it was very good and relevant question to answer.
Artistically responding to the question schools went about town producing 20 minute dramas where an interesting mixture of poetry, music, dance and touching stories about children and some spaces that either used to be safe and are no longer safe or just some totally irresponsible adults who are just bent on spoiling young people and their future.
In the short dramas most schools chose to look at the school as space for children. A majority of schools chose to show us, using very entertaining stories, how some schools have become less safe for children. How I wished some teachers, school authorities and parents could watch some of the plays and see the power of drama as a voice for children.
We were treated to shocking scenes of bullying, teacher and student relationship, misuse of the internet by students who went hunting for pornography and relationships while pretending to be studying. This is a common issue among students as most who in the audience seemed to relate well.
One or two schools chose to look at the home as a space for children, focusing on why some parents are failing to make the home a safer place for children.
Some of the plays depicted parents as either always being busy and away, leaving children exposed to a lot of dangers. Some depicted parents as having wrong priorities altogether — chasing love instead of looking after their children or chasing after riches and neglecting their own children.
It was very refreshing to see and hear children’s thoughts around the issue of space, particularly what they think about their space and what needs to be done to improve it and make it safe for children.
Unlike previous years where we complained about lack of children’s stories and teachers taking too much control of the storytelling, this year the stories sounded and even looked genuinely children’s stories.
We saw children in class, learning and being disturbed. We saw children playing and being disturbed. We heard children talking and being silenced. All proving how much talent is in schools.
It was very encouraged to watch and enjoy stories that were clearly well-thought out, well- structured and well directed.
The acting was also not contrived, mainly because this year the children were playing themselves instead of adult characters they are always trying to be.
This year’s improvement could either be attributed to a theme closer to the children’s heart or to the workshops which are part and parcel of the competition.
A big thumbs up to the schools and Iyasa for this platform that continues to push arts teachers and their students to the edge, in pursuit of artistic excellence.
And as the first term draws to its end and the first schools collects its drama trophy we hope that there will be the same excitement and improvement with The Plan High School Drama Competition and NASH competitions. And as always wishing the best schools to be rewarded.
