Four new community theatre groups took part of the third consecutive Hello Community Arts Development Programme and Festival held this year at TUT’s Breytenbach Theatre in Tshwane.
The festival was the brainchild of Hardus Koekemoer, Lighting Lecturer at the TUT’s Department of Entertainment, who then developed the idea with Wandile Mgcodo, Technical Head at the Breytenbach Theatre. “We have had great support from our working committee, including the Entertainment of Technology Department and our partners, DWR Distribution and the City of Tshwane,” commented Wandile. “The initial concept was to create a forum where our students could interact with outside practitioners, which creates a bigger room for learning.”
This year the festival saw an increase in terms of productions where four new community theatre groups participated. “The attendance was great,” he said. “Some of the productions which showcased included Tselane and the Giant; Crying over Spilt Milk; Mmatswale; The Diary; Walkout, Our Dogs our Heroes, Minister Deputy and President,
The Brief Case and A gift from the Mines. Winning groups from the Hello Festival 2015 came together for the production Shango, a musical drama which depicts the story of the currant land and reform problems and the intricacies of South African people searching for their spiritual wealth bound to their land.
It’s important for The Hello Community to continue to grow and gain momentum. “This year we had a few logistical hurdles, but we managed to present a great program,” added Wandile. “2017 will be an even better festival, and we are also looking at extending the project to Ga-Rankuwa, which means we would have spread to three regions in the City of Tshwane attracting more community theatre artists. This year’s festival was solely sponsored by DWR, our initial partner, which allowed us to give room to all the passionate community theatre artists in the City of Tshwane.”
DWR’s Duncan Riley with Wandile Mgco and Hardus Koekemoer from TUT.
