After a refreshing festive break, the State Theatre is ready to resume with calendar of the Incubator programme this February.
The 2017/18 Incubator programme has witnessed four semiprofessional productions successfully stunning audiences with new works since its launch November last year. Now about six productions are cued before the programme is due in April this year. Productions are lined up as follows;
– Artdiction (Visual Arts) by Anathi ‘Elpee’ Nkanyuza, 06 – 18 February
Using only candle and paraffin lamp, the self-taught smoke artist Anathi Nkanyuza affectionately known as Elpee applies fire and smoke on paper to turn pieces of color into something the world has never seen before. His addiction to this rare technique is settling him well as a leader in the trend. The exhibition is set to open with a live performance of his journey as an art addict. “This will feature a series of my self-portraits which depict my love for art, how it impacts my life negatively and positively,” says Elpee.
This is another visual arts production to be recognized in a debut feature of visual arts in the incubator programme since its inception two years ago.
– Nyala O’ (Drama) Written and directed by Tselane Mashilo 09 – 18 February
This light hearted drama takes a on a different approach in understanding the Sotho culture’s saying “Nyala o Nyele,” simply meaning marriage is not an easy process. The audience is taken through a journey of Nomsa who is married and commitment to Joe. It allows her to explore in conversations, how things are expected to be done both traditionally and in a western culture. ‘Nyala o hume, Nyala o thabe, Nyala o tswe kwa gae…’ all these sayings gives us a different recipe as to why people get married.
– Qina – F@k F@k (Musical Theatre) by Given Maziya 11 – 25 February
Qina exposes how different people choose to deal with challenges they face in a cruel world that is full of negativity, hate, dishonesty and betrayal. The book and score follows the life of a Youngman who is struggling to please people, he learns to love and rely on himself through a series of painful sacrifices and cruel events.
– Xova (Drama) by Joseph Komani and Sherldon Marema, 02-18 March
A young woman gives birth to a healthy child, her husband decides to abandon the family after being retrenched from work. The mother finds herself forced to wear the pants and become the sole breadwinner of the family. ‘Ukuxova’ is based on the metaphor of the making of dough, the whole process of homemade bread.
– Angola (Drama) written and directed by Sello Maseko 09– 25 March
‘Angola’ is a story of a generation of committed cadres who envisioned a society that is free from all kinds of slavery and oppression. Zakhele, Majoro, Mavuso together with a generation of their time, defied apartheid and left the country to join the arms struggle in Angola. Their mission was to attain freedom. In the midst of their revolutionary route, the enemy agent infiltrated them and they all lost one important aspect of the revolution, “Trust”.
Through drama, music and dance, the story celebrates numerous people who left everything in their quest liberation and are not found in our history books.
– Roots Echoes-Chapter 2 (Visual Arts) by Sarah Baloyi 28 February – 18 March
This a continuation from chapter one of the exhibition that was presented by Baloyi’s counterpart, Bridget Makhubela last year. The second chapter is themed ‘Loss of Roots.’ It seeks to reconnect people to their roots. “When you lose your identity, you also lose a sense of who you are (your roots) and you end up being confused. In order to know where you are going, you need to know where you come from,” concludes Baloyi.
The State Theatre’s incubator programme, funded by the DAC, covers artistic works including drama and musical theatre, visual arts, music and dance. This artistic programme is designed to accelerate the successful transition of semi- professional entrepreneurial artists through an array of business, technical and artistic mentorship. It takes an artist through a professional development that assists an artist in personal development, content creation, production tools and create opportunities for the incubatees when they exit the programme.
