NAMIBIAN published playwright and actor David Ndjavera leaves for Mozambique next Tuesday to attend an intensive children playwriting workshop with dramatists from Sweden and 11 African countries.
The workshop, the first of its kind for the region, is to be staged in Maputo and is being organized by the Assitej-International (Organization of Theatre for Children and Young People) in conjunction with the Assitej-Africa Block of which Namibia is an integral part.
"I am looking forward to meet with other African and Swedish playwrights to share with and compare my own creative writing skills in the interest of theatre development on an international level," said Ndjavera, who is representing Assitej-Namibia at the workshop, during an Arts/Life interview.
Representatives of the Assitej-Africa Block will also meet on 3 June in Cape Town to organize the Assitej-International Executive meeting to be held for the first time on the continent in September this year.
"The workshop can be of mutual benefit to all participating African countries because there still exists a permanent shortage of stage-able dramas for children and the youth in the whole region. In Namibia in particular such works are not readily available," the Katutura-based playwright of works such as The Bride and The Broom and The Chameleon said.
Ndjavera had been previously involved in many other international theatre projects such as being a cast member in the SATI-production of Nigerian playwright, Whole Soyinka's masterpiece, A Play of Giants, performed two years ago around the region in seven countries, including Namibia.
"The workshop is aimed at sharpening the creative skills of African playwrights in a workshop situation, to write and produce a children's play to be later staged in African countries in the new year," Ndjavera, the only Namibian to attend the workshop, said.
The African countries that will participate in the workshop are Swaziland, Cameroon, Rwanda, South Africa, Kenya, Mauritius, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Uganda, Tanzania, Botswana and Namibia.
The workshop is financed by the Swedish International Development Agency (SIDA), which is also the main sponsor of the Southern African Theatre Initiative (SATI).
Assitej-Namibia was established in 2001 and is affiliated to the world body with 76 member countries.
Fonte: AIM
