Examining sustainability of drama and theatre initiatives in southern Africa: a case study of Southern Africa Theatre Initiative (SATI)
Date
2010-06-24T11:55:16Z
Authors
Chatikobo, Munyaradzi
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Abstract
ABSTRACT
This is a study of the sustainability of drama and theatre initiative in Southern Africa.
It is an attempt to establish the underlying causes for the collapse of drama and
theatre initiatives which are supported by Northern Non Governmental
Organisations, with the view of suggesting alternative partnership and organizational
models which are appropriate for Southern Africa. However, this is in no way an
attempt to provide rigid all-purpose organisational models, but offer possible
explanations for the failure of drama and theatre initiatives based on research,
experience of the researcher and a collation of related works on the subject by
renowned academics and theatre practitioners.
To focus the research, a case study of Southern Africa Theatre initiative –SATI under
the financial support of Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency-
SIDA was used to provide specific concrete examples of successes and failures of
drama and theatre projects. General examples were drawn from initiatives in specific
countries in Southern Africa to buttress arguments put forward. It is believed that
through this study, practitioners, academics, theatre managers and development
officers from International NGOs will be able to reflect and critique their own work
and come up with even better and more appropriate solutions to practical challenges
faced by drama and theatre initiatives in the region.
The works of Ngugi wa Thiongo, Frantz Fanon, Paulo Freire, Walter Rodney,
Chinua Achebe and Andre Gunder Frank provide the study with theoretical models
against which its assumptions and arguments are based and developed. The works of
the four authors are related in many ways as they describe the macro political
economy in the post colonial Africa which globally explains the challenging
situations of drama and theatre initiatives in the so-called third world countries. For a
long time the problems faced by theatre initiatives involved in development work
have been examined at a micro level resulting in prescription of remedies at the
macro level, however this has not yielded far reaching solutions. It is the conviction
of this study that the problems which are experienced at micro level are a
manifestation of bigger problems presented and explained by post-colonial,
‘development’, globalisation and dependency theorists.
The findings of this study divulge both lucid and controversial assertions which
derive from a multiplicity of factors such as unclear objectives set by theatre
practitioners, lack of management skills of theatre practitioners, lack of government
support, inadequate policies of the NGOs in the south, stringent organisational
policies of NGOs in the north, lack of mutual trust between the north and the south
and the prescriptive agendas and demands of the project funding bodies, institutions
and agencies. This study therefore suggests serious compromise and tolerance on the
part of both Northern NGOs which provide financial support and the Southern NGOs
which initiate and implement drama and theatre initiatives. The proposed models for
sustainable theatre initiatives are; ‘Civic Innovation’, ‘Social Entrepreneurship’,
government and infrastructural support, synergies for capital investment and
partnership between business and the theatre through sponsorship.
The suggestions made are not prescriptive but rather conceptual frameworks which
are open to modifications and further development as the search for sustainability of
drama and theatre initiatives continues. The study mainly utilised qualitative research
methods which involved unstructured interviews and analysis of narrative reports and
policy documents. Quantitative data was also used but in very few instances.
Ethnographic reflection and retrospection was also deployed as the experience of the
researcher as an academic, practitioner and theatre manager was very influential in
shaping arguments in this study.