Rhodes University is associated with two resident performing arts companies, Ubom! Eastern Cape Drama Company and the First Physical Theatre Company.
Tucked away down a corridor in the Rhodes University Drama Department is the office of Ubom!. I put my head round the door, and the air of excitement is palpable. Artistic Director Janet Buckland is fitting costumes and reassuring young performers. Other Company members are popping in and out, computer keyboards are clattering away; the office is buzzing. I'm here to speak to Sarah Roberson, the Projects Manager, and as we chat amid all the activity, the enthusiasm and commitment that Ubom! company members all seem to share shines through.
Ubom! receives funding from the National Arts Council, from Rhodes University and, says Sarah, the National Lottery Distribution Trust Fund (NLDTF) has awarded the Company a three year grant, starting this year.
One of their main aims is to achieve upliftment of the youth in Grahamstown and the surrounding areas, through community outreach programmes. The local township schools are severely resource-deprived. Through their facilitated workshops, Ubom! gives promising learners the opportunity to interact with experts and, for some, this results in their becoming fully-fledged performers in their own right.
Some of the current company members are alumni of the Rhodes Drama Department. Others are local professionals, who were discovered through Ubom! run programmes such as Theatre Skills.
Art of The Street is a collaborative project with the Eluxolweni Shelter for Street Children in Grahamstown and has had great success in giving the children who live in the shelter a voice on the Festival. In addition Ubom! have created a Youth Company ? Ubom! Obutsha. This is a group of dynamic youngsters who are being trained and directed by Ubom! company members under the guidance of Theatre Education expert Alex Sutherland.
Arts Festival 2009 sees performers from both Art of the Street and Ubom! Ubutsha collaborating with a troupe from Zambia. Known as Barefeet (from the fact that, as street children, they had no shoes), the visiting actors arrived five days before the start of the Festival, going straight into an intensive period of rehearsal. This will culminate in the presentation of 'Float', described as a "visual spectacle" telling the story of a mythical underwater community and involving the use of song, dance and puppetry.
As an extension to the work done in Grahamstown, Ubom! regularly takes productions to schools in the Eastern Cape. They perform at both government and private institutions, but make a great effort to get to the schools who have little or no exposure to the arts. In this way they ensure that the magic of dance, theatre and puppetry is shared. Company tours have also been undertaken in eight out of South Africa's nine provinces, and the Company performs annually in nearly all provincial Schools Festivals.
Other Ubom! productions at this year's Festival include 'The Swimming Lesson', written and directed by Brink Sholtz and co-directed by Andrew Buckland. Premiering on the opening day, this production is outlined by Sarah as being "a truly South African story, where a chance meeting throws two strangers together in the most unlikely way."
'Zina and the Songbird' is a must-see for families with children and is described as "quirky fun for the family."
The well-known First Physical Theatre Company, formed in 1993 by Artistic Director Gary Gordon, also aims to give opportunities to underprivileged youngsters in the region. Rehearsals are held at the township schools in east Grahamstown, and the successful candidates find themselves a part of the First Physical Youth Company, mentored by resident performers and creating what the Company's website calls "challenging and exhilarating dance events."
There is obviously a wealth of talent to be discovered. In May this year the First Physical Youth Company took Gold in the category of Contemporary Dance, Group Work, at the Eastern Cape Eisteddfod. Tshegofatso Tlholoe, Youth Company Co-ordinator, tells me that this short work, choreographed by her, has been extended and the performers given the opportunity to be part of the 'New Voices 2009' programme.
As part of an ongoing community initiative, First Physical company members teach disciplines such as Ashtanga Yoga, Core Strengthening and Contemporary Dance in classes open to the public.
In addition to New Voices 2009, First Physical Theatre Company are presenting two further productions at this year's Festival. 'Inner Piece', directed by Juanita Finestone-Praeg, premieres here in Grahamstown and features guest performer Acty Tang, a previous winner of the Young Artist of the Year Award for Dance. 'Stilted', a collaboration between Richard Antrobus and Andrew Buckland, has already sparked an excited buzz and promises to be one of the highlights of the Festival.
Finally, Tshego tells me, when festival-goers see local street performers towering above their heads on stilts, they will be witnessing the Phezulu Project, a development initiative headed by First Physical resident performer Richard Antrobus and supported by the National Arts Festival.
Picture Caption: "The Swimming Lesson" an Ubom! production
Story by Jeannie Mckeown