(Eden
College’s team: Back: Kishan Baijnath; Zano Mabaso; Colby
Esterhuysen and Joshua Harris with Luc Haasbroek and Fayaaz Ghoor in front)
Forming part of the annual National
Creative Arts Youth Festival’s 2013 event, the Shakespeare element is a popular
attraction which takes place at the Elizabeth Sneddon Theatre.
Due to popular demand, three Durban high
schools are set to launch the first KwaZulu-Natal-based representation of the
fast-growing South African Shakespeare Schools Festival (SSF SA) this May.
Students from Cape Town and Johannesburg
are preparing to showcase their theatrical talents once again in the 3rd annual
national Shakespeare Schools Festival. This year a warm welcome is extended to
Durban as Glenwood High School, Danville Park Girls' High
and Eden College join the ranks to grow SSF SA's national footprint.
Shakespeare Schools Festival Director,
Kseniya Fillinova-Bruton, introduced the South African version of its United
Kingdom counterpart in 2010 and the pilot was such a success. Over 200 students
have participated since then. The Festival offers a non-competitive, supportive
and exciting opportunity for young people to showcase their acting talent.
The performances will be held at the Elizabeth
Sneddon Theatre as part of the Durban based National Creative Arts Youth
Festival founded by Professor Elizabeth Sneddon. “Students who participate gain
more than the satisfaction and thrill of performing on a professional stage,”
Kseniya explains, “An entire vocational journey goes into forming a Company.”
The Shakespeare School Festival hails from
the UK as an additional education programme aimed at improving language and social
skills through the performing arts. Each year, the festival encourages schools
to perform abridged “thirty-minute” versions of Shakespearean plays in their
local professional theatres throughout the country.
SSF SA introduces students from various cultures
and backgrounds to live theatre with the aim of facilitating the experience of
discipline and responsibility, which ensues from working in a group. Kseniya
believes that learning should be an adventure: “We are looking forward to
welcoming Durban to the fold. The Festival can become addictive! Schools who
participate can’t wait for the next year and this is how we have been growing
since the pilot in 2010.”
The SSF SA is an initiative of EduCape,
which Kseniya founded in 2007 based on the need for dynamic drama in the
education market within Cape Town area. Based on successful pilot performances,
Educape’s vision is to establish an Outreach Initiative, which identifies
schools that can benefit from the Project, yet lack the necessary resources to host
drama programmes.
The ultimate success of the performance
requires students with an aptitude for marketing, sound and lighting, directing
and a range of potential career-shaping experiences. Each performance allows
teachers to explore new ways of teaching through acting, and the Festival
provides a platform for equal opportunity where there are no boundaries for
participation. When Vista Nova School joined SSF SA in 2011, children with
cerebral palsy, physical disabilities and other barriers to learning
experienced the thrills of the stage.
As a result of SSF SA’s growing momentum,
the Artscape Theatre has added the Festival to its annual calendar as part of
their Audience and Development Programme. This year Johannesburg also enjoys
its third run at the prestigious Joburg Theatre.
The Durban event takes place on May 8. Cape
Town performances are July 29 to August 1; Johannesburg dates are September 6
to 8.
For SSF SA queries, or information about
EduCape, contact Kseniya at 072 233 2074 or visit http://www.ssfsa.co.za/ or follow on Twitter
@Edu_Cape
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