Chance for two local playwrights to shine at NAF
Two Eastern Cape-born writers are among the top five finalists selected for the Distell National Playwright Competition for the 2019 National Arts Festival.
Port Elizabeth-born poet and theatre practitioner Koleka Putuma and Fort Beaufort-born English educator Erica Harris have made it through to the next phase of the competition – a mentoring programme in which they will receive advice and support towards preparing the final version of their scripts. The winner will see their final play produced by and staged at the festival in Makhanda.
The National Arts Festival and Distell sent out a public call to emerging playwrights to submit works for the competition late last year.
Festival CEO Tony Lankester said: “Theatre-making begins with an inspiring script, we need to nurture our writers if theatre is to remain vibrant and exciting.”
Putuma is no stranger to such achievements as this is an addition to her myriad of titles.
The author of best-selling collection of poems Collective Amnesia is a 2018 Forbes Africa Under 30 honoree and was recognised as a ‘rising star’ at the South African Mbokodo Awards in 2017 and received the CASA playwriting award in the same year.
The Distell National Playwright Competition recognises new talent that has not yet presented a finished play to an audience. Entrants submitted story ideas and writing samples last year and the selection panel chose the five finalists.
Although Putuma has never had her own playwright staged at the festival, she has performed there. The author is now based in Cape Town.
Harris has been going to the National Arts Festival almost every year for as long as she can remember.
“The fact that [my play] might be produced at a festival that I so closely associate with home, family, and my younger self just makes this whole process even more exciting,” she said.
The 2015 and 2017 winner of the RSG Sanlam radio drama writing competition holds a BA degree in communication and English, as well as an honours degree in journalism.
The finalists were selected by a panel of six adjudicators, two of which are Eastern Cape-based Rhodes University department of drama associate professor Anton Krueger and Rhodes University creative writing lecturer Dr Hleze Kunju.
Kunju said the selection was made based on the finalists’ ability to promote diversity, inclusivity and other criteria.
“Generally we were looking at [qualities such as] creativity, innovation and something new that promotes unity,” he said.
Also hailing from Port Elizabeth, National Arts Festival associate producer Nobesuthu Rayi said: “We received an encouraging number of entries across all languages and from many parts of South Africa, so our writers are indeed engaged in idea-making and dreaming.“We are very excited to see our five finalists take their scripts to completion now.”
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