The 6th Plan High Schools Drama Competition edition
THE 6th edition of the Plan High Schools Drama competition roared into life two weeks ago. The first round of the competitions saw more than 35 schools in Bulawayo battle for places in the next round of the competition whose theme this year is “Absentee Parents.” As in the previous editions the competition was characterised by fun, surprises and serious children’s rights issues. The preliminary round was held in four schools on the same day. This year’s host schools were Eveline Girls High, Townsend Girls High, Northlea High and Mpopoma High.
Initially a total of 42 high schools were registered for the preliminaries. However, only 36 schools ended up taking part. The other six schools did not participate for various reasons. Some of the reasons were as follows: 1 Lack of support by school heads. 2 Lack of rehearsals and preparation time. 3 Lack of interest, especially by drama patrons. The high number of participating schools is a clear sign that the attitude towards drama and art related activities in schools has improved. We expect more schools to participate in the near future, especially after the introduction of performing arts in the school syllabus come 2017.
Having all the preliminaries take place during one day, though done for a very good reason, proved hectic. It was impossible to follow all the four pools since the venues were scattered over the city. However, the professional adjudication team, led by Nelson Mapako and Witness Tavarwisa made everything move swiftly.
At 36 participating schools The Plan High Schools Drama competition is still the biggest High Schools Drama competition in Bulawayo. It was pleasing to see that most schools had a cast of more than 12 students, meaning more students are taking part in the activity and in disseminating information about children’s rights. This year also saw new schools coming on board. Schools like Amahlophe, Pumula South, Glaog and Mbuyazwe took part for the first time. For the second year in a row King George V1 participated and continued to prove true the saying that disability is not inability. King George V1’s continued participation continue expose Zimbabwean schools’ lack of preparedness as far as disability inclusion is concerned. Almost all the venues were not disability friendly - something schools need to seriously look at.
Since inception there has been a general growth in quality, both in acting skills and general story presentations by students — albeit they continue telling adult stories more than they tell their own stories. It was also good to notice that the competition keeps training new talent every year. As in previous editions new actors and new talents came to the forefront. More pleasing is the fact that most of the people directing the plays we witnessed are graduates or passed through the same competition.
This year’s theme, Absentee Parents, had so many options yet the majority of the schools chose to do the obvious, especially on the effects on children. Most chose abuse — physical and sexual. During the pre-competition workshop I remember the facilitators discussing effects like lower school grades, depression, drug abuse, early sexual activities, teenage pregnancies and dropping out of school. There is a lot the schools could have looked at. There is need to move away from the obvious — drama must not be predictable and too obvious. Drama must surprise.
THE RESULTS:
The following schools made it to the semi-finals. 1 Mzilikazi High 2 Gifford High 3 Sikhulile High 4 Mganwini High 5 Mpopoma High 6 Eveline High 7 Nketa High 8 Njube High 9 Msiteli High 10 Maranatha High 11 Milton High 12 Eastview High The semi-finals will take place on the 2nd and 3rd of August 2016. May the best schools progress to the finals which will be held in September during Intwasa Arts Festival koBulawayo.