The author with Orli Barnett and performer Richard Antrobus
BY LARA MOSES
As a creative I’ve dabbled in every bit of creativity before finding my niche. I’ve stood in first, second and third position and moved my body to every count of eight. Pushed black and white keys with three fingers in a sequence and created “Mary had a little lamb”. I’ve memorized lines in a parrot fashion and overcome my stage freight. My HB pencil created angles on paper and revealed my attempt at reality. I finally settled on words. The ABCs gave life to what was in my head and heart. With my knowledge, appreciation and love of the arts, my best friend Orli Barnett and I headed to the place where, for 10 days, every form of art runs screaming down every street and fans flock to witness its amazingness.
The National Arts Festival held annually in Grahamstown, Eastern Cape, transforms this little university town into one of performance. Every church, town hall and community centre is made into exhibition centres, theatres and concert halls. Accommodation is cheap and shows even cheaper. You see the same faces every year performing different characters and the new up and coming performers and companies of tomorrow giving their best.
White boys transform into black characters in Tokoloshe2 – Come Again (written and performed by Liam Magner and Jakobus Van Heerden). Not only do Magner and Van Heerden play their contrasting race but gender too and do so with a pee-in-your-pants comedic performance. James Cairns shows off his amazing acting ability and finds humour in murder with his one man play The Sitting Man. Age becomes just a number in Count of Eight’s A New Perspective (created and choreographed by 20-year-old Amy Rosslind) where a cast of up-and-coming youngsters put their souls into exploring topics and characters beyond their years (but that many teenagers are forced to face) while showing off their brilliant dance talent. Last minute choices end up in side aching laughter and memorable quotes with Monkey Nuts (performed by Matthew Ribnick) and Rob Van Vuuren is Rob Van Wurin. Getting caught up in the hype of a production such as Rumpsteak or Wit only to be disappointed by your own standards of what is entertaining becomes something that happens everyday.
The writer in me appreciated the power of story telling. A Face like Mine told the story of identity and not being defined by the skin colour of our mothers and their situation. It is written so simply in a Maya Angelou-type style that it allows the audience’s imagination to paint its own stage décor. In Spitfire, MC, graffiti artist and poet Ian “Ewok” Robison expresses his views of today’s world. I was fortunate enough to experience another play of his at the festival in 2006 called One man. One mic. One mouth which exposed, clarified and explored my interest at the time — hip hop culture. I was therefore interested to see what he could do this time around and again he blew me away with his flawless but raw and honest talent.
Traveling with Orli, who is an art director and set designer, made me appreciated the impressive set design and props of Jakobus Van Heerden’s one man play CATCH! His use of clever paper cut outs, highlighters and a UV light created a new aspect to a well written and performed play. The simplicity of prop use in Every year, Everyday, I am walking tells the untold story of many African refugees who head to Cape Town for a better life in a beautiful way. Masks add to the silent performance of Quack! which relies on props to perform a play designed for a hearing impaired audience and allows you to listen with your eyes. Stilted (directed by Andrew Buckland) adds a new dimension to the norm of how a stage should be used. Richard Antrobus (performer and creator) performs a highly energetic and breathtaking piece on stilts. He moves with an easy awkwardness around the over and undersized props and a trampoline that leaves the audience with nervous laughs and sweaty palms.
Having been around so many amazing performers made me appreciate the art of acting. I started to understand that getting up on stage and presenting a character to the world takes more than just reading lines and acting. It is the presence that left in the audience’s mind that makes the true impact. In Isabella (directed by Rob Van Vuuren) and Zoo Story (presented by The Mechanicals), I was blown away by one performer, Scott Sparrow. His presence and technical genius on stage left my jaw on the ground. Playing 2 completely different characters he shows off his brilliance with an effortless style that made me return to his presence in another play, Decadence, almost 2 months later.
Living and breathing all that is art for a few days definitely expands your mind to be more than you are creatively. As I sat on the plane back to the hustle of my 9-5 and routine world, I couldn’t help but feel slightly sad for those, like myself, who put their love on the sideline to pursue a standard and need that the “real world” has place upon us all. Our need to live a sustainable life that can put food in our stomachs, pay our bills and one day put our children through school. I sat at my desk and stared blankly at my computer screen with tears in my eyes for a week after returning because I knew that my love and passion for everything that is art could not freely run through my day but that freedom had to be left in Grahamstown. My freedom through writing is a part-time love affair that only the most talented get to live comfortably with. This applies to all the arts. We perform, paint and write because we love it and work to pay for everything else. The one thing that makes our souls excited and hearts smile takes a back seat so we can live.
Lara Moses is The Soapbox’s contributing editor.
Tags: creativity, grahamstown, national arts festival