Well now that the festival preparations are under way, time to have a "behind the scenes" look at what happens during this time!
As schools are back in session, directors as well as patrons are busy having auditions (if they hadn't already done that last year) and finishing their scripts. They get to pick the best performers for their items and give roles to different characters to enact their scripts. If you're reading this and wondering what i'm on about, well the Kenya National Drama Festival has different genres that people compete in namely;
Play
Dance
Narrative
Choral/Solo Verse
Modern Dance
Stand - Up Comedy
These are the genres that'll keep us seated in a hall for a whole day at times we even forget to go for meals as the items are so good and we don't want to miss anything!
So after the auditions, preparations which include the actual directing, identification of costumes, set design and all, the students head to the festival.
There are different levels of the festival before the Nationals; Sub-County, County, Regional. All these levels have to be adjudicated by a bench of three.
Have to stop there for now. Meetings and meetings! See you later!
Photo Credits : Facebook Page - Kenya Drama Fests
As schools open, so does the calendar for the Kenya National Drama Festival. Plans have already started for the biggest artistic fete in East and Central Africa that involves students from Nursery Schools, Primary, High Schools, Colleges and Universities!
The National Drama Workshop where plans for the coming festival are laid down was at the Tom Mboya Labour College (Kisumu) in November 2015. Selected teachers from all over the country were trained rigorously on scripting and directing items in the different genres of the festival. I sincerely hope this year i shall see more items that have been scripted by teachers as the Director of Quality Assurance and Standards at the Ministry of Education encouraged teachers to script their own items for the Ministry to see a return on investment through funds used year in year out to train them at these workshops. A review of the festival rules and regulations was also done and all are encouraged to get a copy of the "Blue Book" (it keeps changing colours so i guess we'll have to wait and see which colour it is this time round!). I shall be posting excerpts of the rules every few weeks alongside some posts!
Each and every year at the National Workshop, the issue of consultants is raised with regards to the role they play in the festival but during the workshop in Kisumu - 2015, this may just have been the stormiest session yet! Consultants (basically the people that are contracted by schools to train the students), during the "Key Note Speech" by Prof. L.P. Barasa were compared to a "JIGGER". I shall not delve into my own feelings of that comparison but i shall give my thoughts on the speech (I have the audio by the way!). Have some consultants brought about this name? Previously we have been called "mamluki" "quarks" amongst others. So why should this new name be taken with a pinch of salt? Could it be a case of the truth just being that bitter pill we have to swallow? I know of very senior consultants who will be involved in dubios deals with more than one school and yet promise each school an excellent performance/item! Doesn't the jigger feed on you yet gives you that nice tingling sensation and you want to keep itching at that particular point? I also know of very senior heads of institutions who will still acquire the services of a consultant knowing very well they are in another institution but insist they want that particular consultant! How then will that person be the "jigger?" The role of the consultant in the school and the festival was also discussed whereby some consultants take over the duties of the teacher in the school with regards to administration and discipline. This should not be the case if I may be asked. I believe the administrative and disciplinary duties of the bonafide TSC teacher are paramount and should always be respected by not only the consultant but also the school Principal! But also there are instances of Patrons who are aloof. We have even seen some who are actually drunk and will leave all the responsibilities to the consultant. What happens in such a case?
I think that's enough food for thought for today. Next we look at the different levels of competition as well as the adjudication process!
