A life of dance and the arts
Her first couple of sewing machines, Esther said, were gifts from her family and she noted also that she keeps using the word ‘they’ as everything she does is a collective effort from family, colleagues and friends adding that none of this would be possible without them.
As an actress, some of the plays she has been in are – Front Yard (2012), written by Mariatha Causeway, where she did the opening dance; Guilty Pleasures (2014 & 2016), written by Nicola Moonsammy and directed by Ayanna Waddell. This play placed first at the National Drama Festival in 2014 for the One Act/Short Play category. Esther won Best Actress. She was also in Ti Jean and his Brothers (2016) produced by the National Dance Company and written for the CXC students. At Carifesta in Haiti in 2015, she was in Stick Fight directed by Al Creighton; Ole Higue
(2015) written by Wordsworth McAndrew and directed by Al Creighton; Baccoo
(2015) written by Sonia Yarde and directed by Ayanna Waddell; Wole Soyinka’s The Lion and Jewel (2017) produced by the National Drama Company and directed by Nicholas Singh and Ayanna Waddell. Esther played the role of Sadiku, the first wife of Bale. She was in Masque,
written and directed by Subraj Singh at Carifesta in Barbados, she played Rhona; and Shakespeare’s The Tempest (2018), who she co-directed with Keron Bruce. Esther also began working with Merundoi Street Theatre in 2017 and with the Merundoi Radio Series Drama the following year.
How does she do it? All her jobs are part time except for Kreative Arts and being a mother and wife of course. She has 18 classes a week with Kreative Arts, Harold B Davis Special School and Let’s Dance. She also has weekly recordings for Merundoi Radio Series Drama, design classes at the National School of Theatre Arts and Drama, and First Aid classes at the MatPal Marine Institute. She also teaches Design at the National School of Theatre Arts and Drama. Through the school she also does outreach with drama teachers and children’s organizations. In between all of these, she takes on random projects.
“Honestly, I don’t know how I find the time, but it takes some scheduling and rescheduling. I am thankful to God for all these experiences though and I pray for wisdom to choose wisely,” she said.
To aspiring persons in the arts, Esther advocated: “Don’t just focus on the practical aspects of the arts; the theoretical aspect is just as important and here lies the root of many of these art forms. In Guyana, dance, drama, and art are seen as hobbies and are, therefore, not taken seriously most of the time. Most people love being entertained but don’t respect the entertainer. We are seen as misfits, weirdos and dunces.
“When I tell people I dance or I act, some of them give me a strange look and then ask about my ‘real’ job. At first, I used to be insulted but now I understand it. But don’t encourage it and make an effort to educate persons. Some of the first people I had to convince were my parents and I still don’t think they are totally convinced and if I quit the arts today and do a conventional job, I think they might be happier. If it makes you happy and doesn’t harm someone else, do it but be realistic and plan.
“The arts are not as lucrative in Guyana as it can be and many of us have to balance our love of the arts with finances. While the idea of a starving artist seems a bit romantic, all fantasy fades when you are literally starving. I have experienced many hardships, some unavoidable, some self-inflicted but what I wish is that I had been advised better. I believe that a supportive and experienced group or even a single person or advisor could make a vast difference.
“Know yourself. I have seen so many individuals enter theatre and become lost and detached. While you can find yourself in performance, it is also easy to get lost. Set goals, understanding that you may fall short in some cases but setting goals and making deliberate steps to achieve them is always a good start. Have a backup plan. In my case my career in first aid has been my support when seasonal theatre jobs dried up. Research: learn as much as you can, about genres, about performers, both past and present.”
Speaking on where she hopes to see the arts industry in a decade, Esther said she hopes by then copyright is better established, there is better funding and grants available for the entertainment industry and that there are also exchange programmes and continued training and exposure for artists in activities such as Carifesta among others.
Esther’s favourite colours are purple and yellow.
She loves to eat curried chicken, macaroni and cheese and baked chicken, baked custard and bread and butter pudding.
While many of her hobbies have become her work, she also enjoys watching television, reading, watching documentaries, chatting with family and friends, taking photographs of nature, making household crafts, making stuffed animals and trying new techniques for dance, costume and prop production. Sleeping is probably her most favourite though it’s not one she gets to indulge in.
She hopes that in the future she has a closer connection with God and while she believes in working and planning discreetly, she does intend to utilize her time as effectively and positively as possible. “If you see me in five to ten years, you’ll know what I’m doing,” she said.
Kreative Arts caters for four classes – Debutante 1 (3-7 years), Debutante 2 (814 years), Young Adults (15-29 years) and Adults (30 years and up).
They rehearse at Theatre Guild Annex on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 4-7 pm and on Saturdays from 1-4 pm. They teach mainly Contemporary, Jazz and AfroCaribbean dance genres. Their annual production ‘Greens and Golds’ is hosted every last Saturday of October.