Theatre review

Review about Tara Notcutt's Undermined

By Anelisiwe Dumezweni

Photo courtesty of Alexanderbar

Undermined is a long ago story that our  grandfathers’ know about. It was great.  Watching that show, there were only 3 actors but it was like there were 10!! I loved the actors singing there were different kinds of singing in the show. For example, they sung Zulu songs and we understood what they were singing about.  (Even though we do not understand Zulu). 

Photo courtesy of  West Cape News

They didn’t use real props, they just used torches and body parts.They made sounds with their mouths and feet.

When I was watching the show I felt like I was underground 

when I was not. I would like to go underground someday, but 

where do they get their oxygen from?

We liked watching Undermined and it was nice watching that 

show. At my days in Grahamstown I wish I was going to 

watch it again, it was very special to me. This is because to 

me it was reminding old people of old times when our grand 

fathers were working in the mines working. 

Photo courtesy of showme.co.za

There were many shows we have watched but you always 

like one thing and I loved Undermined. 6 of us liked

Undermined.

We performed Sipho, who is a very lazy boy and who always 

sleeps at all times of the day. The father was very unhappy. 

We also watched Jilted and Lake. Lake was a comedy and 

everyone laughed a lot. 

I wish I could be there again next year!

Our Grahamstown adventure

The story of Sipho

The adventure of Sipho begins with an idea I had back in 2014 to take Chintsa East Drama to perform to South Africa’s largest Arts Festival -  Grahamstown Arts Festival. After going through the process of becoming a Friends of Chintsa project, I begun to put in place a fundraising strategy to get the R25,000 we needed to go to Grahamstown. Having met the lovely Michael Ambrosio, our journey had a shaky start. But I was overwhelmed with the local and international support that Sipho received from our fundraisers and crowdfunding campaign.  If it was not for your help, then we honestly would not have even stepped foot in Grahamstown.

The story of Sipho begins with the creative Tom Muller, founder of Acacia Tree Nursery School. A story which was told to me in 2014, I revisited the story with Tom and adapted it into scenes. However, I made the conscious decision not to script the performance as I wanted the students to take ownership of the performance and improvise the scenes themselves. This was a great way of giving them experience in improvised performing, but also it contrasted the beginnings of Chintsa East Drama. When I first begun the project, we started with the basics of performing and we went on to perform The Gingerbread Girl. It was a scripted play, that the students learnt and performed at Tea in the Trees. The difference in skills set that the students brought with them from our previous project was overwhelming. My role centered on facilitating the students movements, and not always leading and directing them. (As was my role in 2014). With this blog I hope to give an insight into our Grahamstown journey.

On the road to Grahamstown!

Day 1

Too little sleep and too much luggage... we managed to to pack eight over excited children into the bus. We also had the help of the lovely Sarah who was our tour guide for the day. Our adventure started with much trepidation, with questions flying around the bus. “Are we still in East London?” “How many hours away is Grahamstown?” Luckily we were at PJ Olivier School by lunchtime. Perched on top of Grahamstown our accommodation had cracking views across the whole of the city. Phumla was staying with the boys and I had a spot with the girls in the group. By the time everybody had unpacked, nobody was hungry except me and Sarah! It turns out that bus journeys are conducive to snacking.

In the afternoon we went exploring and found the Drosdty Lawns which was to be our performance home for the next few days of the festival. It was at this point that I realised that everything was a learning experience for my students. We discovered artwork which represented the work of bees and spent ten minutes discussing its ins and outs. We also met Sean our tech guy, to discuss our technical requirements. I was very impressed with the organisation and professionalism at the festival.

Postering our way around Grahamstown.

We had a busy afternoon of rehearsing at the Lawns, as well as registering and postering! Much thought went into our location and positioning of our posters. They also loved checking out the eclectic mix of artwork that the stalls had to offer at the Drosdty Arch. We had some much deserved chicken curry for dinner, followed by Sundowners at The Monument. For those of you not in the know, Sundowners is a great free event which showcases snippets of performances that can be found in the fringe programme every evening. Our 8 dramatists loved the atmosphere and variety of the event. Especially, as Mortimer Williams was our compere.

“The actor from the TV was in it! From SABC2!” “I loved the feel of it, everybody was really friendly!”

After our fun filled day we hopped onto the helpful Hopper Bus. “Charlotte,why is it called the Hopper bus? Is it because you go to Hopper?” I explained how it is because you just “hop on and hop off!”... this soon became our trip’s catchphrase. Our day did not end there, as it was about to take a turn for the eventful. I managed to get myself locked in the toilet. After much rattling and shaking, I contemplated trying to wriggle out from the toilet but I got stuck. “Help! Help!” Luckily, one of the girls came to the rescue and swung the door open. We learned never to lock ourselves in.

Afterwards we thought that it would be a great idea to make everyone tea! Suddenly, the lights went out. “Don’t panic everyone, it’s just loadshedding. We’ve got candles!” After getting ourselves organised we realised that the rest of Grahamstown was not in darkness. “Charlotte, I think Grahamstown made an agreement with Eskom to keep the lights on for festival.” Pointed out Sarah helpfully. We began our investigations and realised that we were the only part of the school that had been plunged into darkness. After our helpful caretaker arrived, he fixed tour problem! But he suggested that kettles were not the best of ideas as the plugs were not used to high electrical voltage. And with that we said good night to our first day in Grahamstown.

Day 2

The Green.

After hardly any sleep… we got up early and had a yummy breakfast. We loved our hot breakfast! Not only did we get cereals and toast for breakfast, but also a fried breakfast thrown in for good measure. I was impressed by the politeness and helpfulness of the children, and received some lovely feedback from the hospitality staff at the school. Each day we created a sandwich factory so that our lunches would be ready to a go go. Prepared for the day ahead, we trekked across to The  Green. Everyone found it overwhelming because there were so many different stalls and things to see. After having some tasty ice creams, we stumbled across a life sized model of a lion.

The morning had an undertone of nerves, as our first performance of Sipho was at noon. After dressing up to the nines in our costumes, we prepared for Sipho, warming up our bodies and voices. I also threw some focus games into the mix as it was distracting being a park full of new noises, different people and surroundings. It was a smashing success of 30-40 people watching Sipho, I was proud of their first attempt at performing and excited to see what the festival would  bring to their performance.

Sipho and his dad,hatching a plan. (Courtesy of Cue Pix)

Sipho's fed up mother. (Courtesy of cuepix)

Here's the goats! (Courtesy of Gill Smulders)

How did you feel performing in front of people?

"When we were acting I loved the feeling that it made. It felt good! I was scared of being in front of so many people. After we were performing, I felt free."

“The first time I was so afraid. I was told by Sarah to take a big breath, but it didn’t work. Everyone’s watching you and all I wanted to do was wee. I was happy to be the father, my wife was also cheeky.”

We had a picnic lunch and then we walked to watch A Man and a Dog by The Kalk Bay Theatre. It is an autobiographical, one man physical theatre performance about “coming-of-age story of a young Zulu boy’s search for the parents he never knew.” (The Kalk Bay Theatre) After watching the show, we reviewed the show! It proved to be a great opportunity to discuss linear and non-linear theatre. Our students have only focused on linear theatre before, so it was great to expose them to a different form of theatre.

“I liked the different order it went in, back forwards and it did get confusing”

“I loved the different voices and characters the man did”

The evening brought our favourite ritual - shower time! It became a big part of our daily routine, having a hot shower in the morning and a hot shower in the evening. Who am I to deny such fun, especially when we weren’t allowed to use a kettle! We finally got to bed after 9pm. I was learning how even though a child can be tired, they can find a new level of energy and excitement  to operate on until they finally close their eyes.

Day 3

Exploring Grahamstown.

I was woken up by the sound of knocking. We had overslept, Phumla had to come and hustle us up! It felt like I was back at school.  We decided to visit Grahamstown cathedral, which proved to be a hit with everyone. Nearly everyone in Chintsa East Drama go to church, so they enjoyed learning about the history and parts of the cathedral. From seeing the colourful stained glass windows, to watching the choir practising at the back of the cathedral.

Next stop - Jilted by Capa. A lively, succinctly choregraphed performance about what happens when someone is left jilted at the altar. There were some comedic elements, but it was a bit heavy for the children at times but they still loved watched a different form of theatre. The actual process of going and sitting in a theatre turned into a process for the kids because even an hour can be quite lengthy to sit still in the darkness. Failing that, it is also a great spot to have a bit of a nap!

We were well into festival swing with our second performance of Sipho. Already the kids had  a new found confidence, they had begun taking influence from what they had been watching… turning Sipho into a new show to watch in front of my eyes. Me and Gill  could not stop laughing!

Sipho and his dad hatching a plan! (Courtesy of Gill Harris).

We had our celebratory dinner at Spur, which proved to be a highlight of the trip! Bright lights, colourful menus, and a bells and whistles play area with computer games. Pizzas, chicken, chips and ice cream later, we rushed out the door to watch the slap stick, side splitting ZikkaZimba's Production of Lake! This proved to be the ultimate favourite of Chintsa East Drama.  It is a story of two lost royal twins, who are brought together by their need for water. There was never a dull moment, the actors had the audience in stitches.

Our special dinner!

Their day was made even better (if that is possible) by meeting one of the actors Jaques de Silva. Cool,calm and collected they chatted to him about the show and even had a go at holding one of their puppets.

Jaques from ZikkaZimba.

We finished the night with milk, biscuits and bedtime stories. “Please tell us a story Charlotte” So I began with the Three Little Pigs, carried on with Goldilocks and the Three Bears and finished with the Three Billy Goats Gruff. By the end everyone was falling asleep. It was special.

Day 4

We started our last day with Hot Chocolate and biscuits, nothing wrong with a bit of sustenance in the morning! Full of energy we marched down to The Green. Phumla and I let the kids go off into their own groups and explore it by themselves! (Also giving us a sneaky chance to get some shopping done).

Next on our to do list was was going to see Undermined by KBT Productions & Here Manje. Mine and Phumla’s favourite performance of the trip. The 2014 Standard Bank Ovation Award winner “tells the story of Madlebe, a story of hope, perseverance and friendship that captures the hearts of audiences."Inspiring storytelling techniques, using physical theatre and comedy to bring a true story to life.” (KBT Productions)

Our last performance was like nothing I had ever seen…! The students took a large influence from the cast of ZikkaZimba who injected new ideas, energy and text into our performance. Our eight performers were brilliant. Improvisation was flying around with such confidence. It was exciting and entertaining to watch it unfold. After finishing our performance we hopped onto our bus, and jam packed all of our possessions into it. The bus trip back home was filled with songs, laughter and jokes about our trip. We dropped off eight tired children at 9pm and said goodbye to Grahamstown

What’s next?

I have never been prouder to watch the journey of each young person throughout this process. Not only have they learnt about drama and theatre in different contexts, they have learnt key life skills. Whether it was calculating how much spending money they had left to spend, or working out who was in charge of sandwich making. Since we've been back we have been reflecting on our experiences and researching online media about our show.

"I was expecting Grahamstown was a beautiful place like in town, but there were no shacks. I expected that it was going to snow. At night the lights were beautiful like crickets."

Well done Chintsa East Drama and thank you to all of our supporters.

The Arts “enables us to find ourselves and lose ourselves at the same time." - Thomas Merton.

We are bringing Sipho to our family and friends in Chintsa next week: 1st August/ 3pm/ The C Club.

Asanda's inspiration

'Lil' Shaun Odwa Mshini talks to Asanda "Ceejay" Daraza, a Chintsa local, about life in Chintsa township, her studies in Social Work, what has inspired her to educate herself, and her thoughts on volunteerism.

________________________________________________________________________

Asanda Daraza 

Shaun: Who is Asanda Daraza?

Asanda: I was born in Gauteng in 1992, and when I was three years old I moved back to Eastern Cape.  I am the second born: I have two half siblings, a sister and a brother, and I have an older brother who is a waiter at Prana Lodge.  I did primary school at Chintsa East Public School, and then Byletts for high school.  After Matric I took a ‘gap’ year and I worked with Nokuphumla (Pakamile) at her Preschool.  Then in 2011 I applied for admission to Fort Hare University, East London Campus, and I started in  2012.  Now I’m doing my third year in Social Work!

I’m loving it.  I’ve also started doing my internship.  What inspired me to become a social worker is what I saw in Chintsa: there is a need for social workers.  There are no social workers in Chintsa.  It was also my dream of building my own children’s home, after taking care of many children around the township.  And after the Friends of Chintsa and other individuals started taking care of them, like feeding the children, then I decided that it was time for me to go back to school and study.  That was in 2012.

That’s my life – I grew up here in Chintsa!  I’ve had a great life, many friends.  Even you, Shaun, we used to play together.  We were ninjas and we played at Karate!

Asanda visits Nokuphumla's creche

Shaun: If you had to look ten years back, what changes have happened in your life?

Asanda: Well, I would say back then I didn’t have any white friends!  Then I started meeting a lot of people, like Mr. Brown for example – then things started to change.  I started to learn about different people, because I didn’t know anything.  I was just, like, Ok I only knew my own culture.  I didn’t know anything about other people.  That’s the biggest change for me.  I’ve become a better person because now I know what I want in life.  Back then I didn’t know what I wanted to do because I didn’t know that I wanted to be a social worker.  I was just, like, I don’t know, like the other kids: an actress?  An astronomer?  I wasn’t sure what I wanted to be. 

Shaun:  What can you say about the interventions in township life, from the local businesses, our organisation Friends of Chintsa, the Chintsa East community, as well as Government: their involvement in Chintsa township and challenges it faces – what can you say about the impact these organisations and businesses have had on the people and life of Chintsa township? 

Asanda:  The organisations are doing a great job.  I remember back in 2002, the township was, something, I don’t know.  The people were doing bad things like stealing, like, from the white people.  And then, like, getting arrested, killing others!  And then after the organisations came in, the Chintsa community tried to help the people in the township, things got better.  People started learning new skills: they were never aware of the skills, the abilities, and the resources they had.  But now they know that, Ok these are the resources that we can use to empower ourselves.  Now they are really empowered, because of the organisations.  That’s what I think.

Shaun:  So how many years do you have left in your studies?

Asanda: I’ll be graduating in 2016.

Shaun:  And then you’ll be looking for a job somewhere?

Asanda:  Yes.  But I’m good at volunteering.  I’m not really looking for a job yet.  I’m not sure I want to get a job right after school, like become a social worker and sit in my office.  I just want to do something.  I just want to volunteer first before earning a salary.  Because I think volunteering is so much better than working for money, because when you work for money, you’re like Ok I’m working for this kind of salary so I’m not going to do a good job for this small salary.  It’s true!  But when you’re passionate about something you can just volunteer.  I’ve volunteered all my life.  I love volunteering.  It’s good.

You know some people have asked me – a lot of things have happened in the township: people drop out of school – so people ask me, “What kept you going?”  Really, I don’t know what kept me going.  Maybe it’s my parents, my dad.  He was not a good parent, but he was always there, trying to make sure I go to school every day.  That was the good thing about him.  And yes, now I’m doing my third year and he is no longer around – he died five months ago.  Which still hurts, but at least he left me with something.  He left me somewhere.  I’ve become a better person, and I’ve learned a lot from him.

Asanda with her uncle

Shaun:  So who supports you with tuition and fees?

Asanda:  No one from my family is helping me.  I applied for a loan.  But someone else who also encouraged me to go to Varsity and apply for the loan is Mrs. Swayi.  She was my Grade One teacher at Chintsa East Public School.  She was the only person who behind me and who was there to support me to apply, to do everything.  When I took my ‘gap’ year she was the only person who was concerned about me not doing anything that year.  She took me to a college in town, but it didn’t work out because it wasn’t a registered college!  She was concerned that I would get a certificate that wouldn’t get me anywhere!  So she decided to let me take a ‘gap’ year and help Phumla at the preschool, and do other things for the community.

Shaun:  Who else has been a good support over the years?

Asanda:  Kate and Nadine they are really there for me.  When I need something I just go to them.  They are the only people who are always there for me.  Also Mr. Brown – he’s also been the guy who has always been there for me.  Then there are also the people I met and the experiences I had working with them: Sharon Edworthy of African Angels School, who I worked with just before African Angels moved to its new premises, and of course Phumla!    Also Janet and Alicia at Unexplored Adventures, where I was a camp instructor. 

That’s my life!

Shaun: So far!

Asanda: Yeah!

Shaun:  The story unfolds….

BIOGAS Garden Transformed!

Story and photos by Odwa Shaun Mtshini


The Biogas garden is suddenly growing in leaps and bounds!  With a recent WESSA injection Chintsa Primary School is now employing some green-fingered ladies to help out at the school gardens and revitalise the Permaculture food gardens drive that was initiated by the Biogas project. WESSA’s role in this new drive, headed by Phikisile Zondani, who has been instrumental in launching the iThuba Nursery & Co-operative, was to first find the right hands to work in the gardens.   

Now that these workers, who we have yet to meet, have settled into a routine the next stage can begin: slowly re-establishing the gardens  to produce some of the produce for the school’s Feeding Scheme – the original intention for starting these gardens - and of course using the gardens to teaching the school children the value of Growing.  Chintsa East Primary School has run the Monday garden club for nearly a year to bring in this green education, and it is usually led by Nokuphumla Pakamile, with the help of the volunteers in the Volunteer Africa 32° South programs run here in Chintsa East.

Phikisile, known affectionately as Bra Phiks by the locals, took us to see the incredible growth of the Biogas gardens this morning and got us up to speed on the progression of the food gardens.  We will keep you updated about the continuation of the gardens and we’ll upload more pictures.