PROJECT OUTLINE

• Developing Artists will work with the Harare-based Ndiripo Kana Muripo (I Am Well If You Are Well) Theatre Collective to create a series of grassroots drama productions in Zimbabwe, which will increase constructive outlets for individual creativity and long-term opportunities for professional development.

• The charity will work with The NKM Collective to help them discover and develop previously untold stories and memories. Developing Artists will provide financial and logistical support and send out international practitioners in devised drama, directing, production, acting and management. They will work with The Collective to help them develop the skills they need to further expand the scope of their work.
  

• The charity will work with NKM to help them devise a series of plays based on a range of local issues. These will range from political, economic and social unrest to AIDS and HIV; from human trafficking to women's rights. Developing Artists will also provide training to enable members of The Collective to conduct complimentary educational workshops themselves as they tour the productions around Zimbabwe

• The productions will be performed in local schools and community centres and will entertain, educate and provoke discussion in a country where the Arts have often been severely undervalued and supressed. NKM will leave a legacy that will contribute to the development of a new generation of artists and audiences in Zimbabwe.

• This project will enable Developing Artists to support and extend the long-term work of The NKM Collective helping them realize their ambition to become the leading production company for a new generation in Zimbabwe.

• Especially talented individuals will be identified throughout the project and awarded Developing Artists Apprenticeships for further training in the UK or USA helping members of The Collective to connect with the wider international community.

• In due course Developing Artists will look to extend the project model to neighbouring African countries where the charity has already established partnerships. These include Botswana, Cape Verde, Equatorial Guinea, Kenya, Rwanda and South Africa.

SUMMARY

The project will work with the local theatre company Ndiripo Kana Muripo (I Am Well If You Are Well) Theatre Collective (NKM) which was founded by Blessing Hungwe, a former beneficiary of the Developing Artists Apprenticeship scheme. Over the course of the coming years a number of theatrical professionals from the UK and USA will work with NKM and local actors to help them develop a series of plays based on local issues such as political and social unrest, employment, migration, health, gender and conflict. The first of these plays, Burn Mukwerewere Burn, which addressed black-on-black xenophobia in South Africa was presented at The Harare International Festival of the Arts (HIFA) in May 2011 before touring around Zimbabwe.

When Angels Weep, a new play about human trafficking by Developing Artists apprentice Blessing Hungwe, will be staged at the HIFA in May 2012.

Following its initial run at the festival, this production will be performed around the country for local communities and schools. The play will become a focal point for the exchange of knowledge, skills and ideas within the company. Paramount is a commitment to working with local education and aid organisations, and facilitating drama workshops in schools and community centres. Older members of The NKM Collective will be trained to teach drama skills to younger children (8 – 15) in local schools thereby acting as significant role-models to a younger generation. By sending out a number of experienced professionals from the UK and elsewehere, Developing Artists hope the project will promote the highest standards of theatre practice and management.

Key to the project is the involvement of local people in other aspects of the production. Whether they be story-tellers, writers, actors, musicians, producers, technicians, dancers or promoters, Developing Artists will help NKM to become as inclusive as possible, thereby enabling the whole creative community to collaborate, explore and learn new techniques and skills through the staging of theatrical productions. The project will directly involve hundreds of local people, and thousands more will participate through workshops and as audience members.

Through the project Developing Artists will support and extend the long-term work of The NKM Collective and help them realise their ambition to become the leading production company for a new generation in Zimbabwe.

In the due course Developing Artists will look to extend this model to neighbouring African countries where the charity has established partnerships. 

For further information on the project please contact oliver@developingartists.org.uk