AMAKHOSI CULTURE CENTER AND PERFORMING ARTS ACADEMY

UMKHULU LO MSEBENZI

Amakhosi Performing Arts Academy Training Calendar...posted 03/02/08

The year 2007 had its ups and downs but it is not the dark memories of the previous year that we dwell on but rather it is the promise of a theatre vibrant 2008-9 that we embrace. Amakhosi Theatre Productions is committed to making 2008 a year of intensive Theatre Training, so get geared for our Training calendar.

Amakhosi is this year continuing with its training programs offered by Amakhosi Performing Arts Academy (APAA).

Registration is now on going for the 2008 Theater short course below;

Introduction To Acting For Stage and Camera 2008

(From 8 to 10 February 2008: 9am-4pm)

This course will run next week end we invite those that have not registered to do so as soon as possible. Registration closes on the 8^th at 10am.

This same workshop course has however been extended to run for 10 days for the 2009 edition.

Participation is open to all interested persons above the ages of 15 years from all over the world. No previous knowledge or experience is presumed. English is the instruction language.

Introduction To Acting For Stage And Camera 2009

Arrivals and Registration: 15 February 2009

Workshop Days : 16-26 February

Departure : 27 February

This is not an acting course that is designed to develop fine actors; but an introductory course about acting. The 12 weeks Academy THEA 110 Acting 1 Course is the one for starting out on a road to making yourself a fine actor.

This 10 day workshop course is a performance-oriented overview of the acting process, aimed at providing a basic understanding of the elements of acting including character development, the actor's instrument, scene work and monologue work.

Thus this 10 day workshop objectives are:

1. To introduce the concept of acting as a process and craft.
2. To develop an understanding of acting skills, script and character analysis, and

Stage/TV acting terminology.
3. To experience the commitment and discipline that acting requires.
4. To allow the Academy enrolment Committee to select candidates for the scholarship awards to do the full 12 weeks THEA 110 Acting 1 Course with the Academy running from June to August.

Participants will be required to wear loose fitting clothes during class as each class will begin with a physical warm-up and many will include activities that require physicality.

We offer Amakhosi Academy certification for those that enroll and complete our workshops and courses as follows;

10 Day Workshop Program -- Workshop Attendance Certificate.

12 Weeks June to August --THEA 110 Acting 1 Course -- Certificate

10 Weeks June to August -- THEA 120 Acting 11 Course -- Diploma

The 10 Day Workshop Program includes a seminar with Cont Mhlanga on the topic ‘The Business of Acting’

Course Director; Cletus Moyo a graduate in Theater Arts from the University of Zimbabwe

Senior Instructor; Memory Kumbota a graduate from Iluba and a fulltime working actor and TV producer for 17years.

Workshop and Course fees cover hostel accommodation for participants and students from outside Bulawayo and Zimbabwe.

For more information about The Academy programs feel free to contact the Course Director on Tel 00263 9 76673 or 00263 9 885097 Email cletusmoyo@amakhosi.org or amakhosi@amakhosi.org

Prospective students, workshop participants and interested resource persons seeking financial assistance to attend the Amakhosi Academy training programs can contact The Chief Executive Officer of Lavuka Arts & Talent Management at lavukatalent@yahoo.com

Lavuka Arts is the official partner and accredited talent management company with Amakhosi Cultural Center.

Amakhosi Marketing

BULAWAYO

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Theater For Development (TfD).. posted 14/01/08

Steve, to answer your questions I will give my opinion on TfD as I teach it to my students here at Amakhosi. For the purposes of your study I will not directly answer each of your questions separately but hope that in the process of discussing my experiences, observations and opinions your questions will be covered. Remember my opinions are debatable.

When I started Amakhosi in 1980 Theater For Development was already a growing Product and Process across the world, more so in Sub Saharan Africa which is the heart of Amakhosi. The countries were fondly referred to those years as ‘Developing Countries’ (as if there are countries in the world that ever stop developing) or ‘Third World Countries’ (as if the earth has more than one Sun shining on it) TfD caught my attention and I fell in love with the Process….read more here.

BREAKING NEW GROUND

Kids who live in the Street present their first Theater Performance –posted 02/11/07

After two months of thorough acting workshops street kids have finally staged their first performance in life. They acted at a function that was organized for HIV infected children that are on ARVs at Mpilo Opportunistic Infections Unit. The main organizers of this function were the Amakhosi Director Cont Mhlanga and Bulawayo artist and business woman Sarah Mpofu.The street kids staged a piece that was a reflection of their lives .One might wonder why street kids had to go and tell stories about their lives at such a function. The main purpose of their performance was to expose the kids to the world of art and also to teach them to be responsible in life since they were paid for the performance after the show like professionals. I even feel bad now for calling these kids streets kids because they are now fulltime artists with a stage name(Young Blood) for that matter….read more

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JOINT THE PROTEST ARTS MOVEMENT TODAY

We are launching PROTEST ARTS at Amakhosi Center on the 12^th of October 2007 at 6.00pm You are invited to send solidarity massages and if you can make it be there. For full information on our protest activities log on to our protest website for updates www.voicesfromzimbabwe.com

The Director's Experiences 2 – by Styx Mhlanga

They say good theatre is like tennis in that the spectators always look to see how a serve is received, whereas in bad theatre the serves won't be received...they will be a miss after miss.

Preparations to come up with good theatre are done during the rehearsals of a play. That is where every actor / actress has to give everything towards developing their role; and when a director stands attentively on the side of the " fourth wall of the stage" and watch a cast working hard to breathe life into the text of a play, he gets some feedback, but when one actress or actor who is on stage develops a crash on the director and fails to concentrate on her / his role, the creative line breaks up and the entire production suffers. Such are some of the challenges facing male directors and male led theatre groups working with female colleagues.

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