EMCVPA: KEEPERS OF THE FATES
A destiny to fulfil
In everyday parlance your fate is that path that you were pre-ordained to follow, the purpose for which you came into this world. It is the cloth on which you were cut, the thread from which you were measured and spun. This concept comes from the fates in Greek and Roman mythology, Clotho, Lachesis and Atropos, the incarnations of destiny. For many people their destiny is tied up with the arts. In some cases it is that which powers entire families. Take the Noels, for example. Keith, Dorothy, Tamara and Alafia have all been associated with the arts in general and the Edna Manley College of the Visual and Performing Arts in particular in a multiplicity of roles. These include, as concerned and involved parents, as students, as examiners, as supporters of the many productions at the College, as chaperones on overseas tours by students of the College, as independent producers of artistic offerings and as teachers.
The arts and social responsibility
Keith’s approach to his work in the arts speaks to his philosophy that involvement in the arts comes with tremendous social responsibility. In his view it requires the practitioners to be conscious and deliberate in their choices and intentions. As soon as he caught “the bug,” with a little encouragement from friends, he was off recruiting and spreading the gospel, if the mixed metaphors would be allowed. The bug followed him through his career as an educator from Camperdown High School, to EXED, to Calabar High School and throughout his tenure as Principal at St. Jago High School. Some of the work undertaken during this time required him to do some choreography. His commitment to training and excellence lead him to he register for a course in choreography at the Edna Manley College. Keith’s journey is also one about consistent high standards of accomplishment. This is fuelled by his capacity to honour and draw from those he recognises as beacons on the Caribbean theatre arts landscape. These he names as “Derek Walcott, Denis Scott, Rex Nettleford, Henry Muttoo, ‘Dem Two’ (Marc Matthews and Ken Corsbie), Peter Minshall, Zeno Contance, Louise Bennett, Amina Blackwood Meeks, Kendell Hippolyte, Ray Holman, The Mighty Sparrow, Bob Marley.” Keith generously gives credit to the College where he “learnt the craft. Here I became a true dramatist. Not only did I learn about acting and how to act, I learnt about directing and discovered that I had a bit of a gift there. I also did the Drama in Education programme and was able to merge my two great loves – teaching and directing.”
Family collaboration
Small wonder then, that his latest book on Theatre Arts for CSEC, co-authoured with daughter Alafia and Cheryl Ryman deliberately caters to “the whole person”, to foster the skills that allow us “to work well with others”, far beyond achieving the best grades in an exam. It may well be said that the Noels have written their way into arts history in the Caribbean. Dorothy shares with us that “As a writer of English textbooks, the integration of the arts plays a pivotal role in my approach, in the exposure I provide young minds in understanding why the arts is so central to the growth and development of one’s iden- tity and having a consciousness about culture through some of the activities included.” Her journey to this recognition includes enrolling at the then School of Drama, an evening institution operated by the Little Theatre movement in the early 1970’s. There she came under the influence of “some of the top practitioners such as Geoffrey Fairweather, Leonie Forbes and Trevor Rhone in speech, Joyce Britton in voice, Thom Cross and Lloyd Record in acting, Carroll Dawes in acting and directing, Ewan Reid in set design. Later when it became the Cultural Training Centre, I pursued a diploma course part time specialising in Acting and Drama –in- Education and graduated in both areas.” Dorothy herself also taught at the institution part time tutor in the diploma course in Drama –in-Education under what she honours as “the dynamic Dennis Scott.” She was later able to integrate the range of skills which she had developed as a result into her Use of English classes which she taught parttime for a number of years at the University of the West Indies.
The response of the students indicated that they were stimulated beyond the realms set out as outcomes in the course outline.
A higher level of being
It is this level of the benefits to the human spirit, to which daughter Tamara, former student at the School of Dance and now principal dancer with the National Dance Theatre Company, speaks when she says “Personally, the arts have provided a way for me to be happy and to make others happy. I guess it reminds me that being human can be a beautiful thing as well, as I find that I am connected emotionally to the world. I am happy that I have access to arts…” This access began so early in life that she had to be reminded by her mother that she was only three and a half years old when enrolled in the Saturday morning programme in the Junior Department of the then Jamaica School of Dance. It opened for her another world she participated in an exchange programme with the Buffalo School. Later she was a delegate representing the school in the Dance and the Child International Conferences in Kuopio, Finland 1997, Regina, Canada 2000 and Bahia, Brazil 2003. Reflecting on the personal benefits, Tamara is even more acutely aware of the potential for national development. “Nationally we have not even begun to see how effective it can be in reinforcing identity and improving the wellbeing of individuals in society. The arts help to create tangible forms of who we are as a people. More effort should be made to bring the arts to public spaces to make it accessible to one and all. As a trained Urban and Regional Planner, this is an area in which I have interest. The arts can provide new opportunities to the economically disadvantaged and provide a context for the exchange of ideas and understanding between all levels of society and even other countries. The arts have great power in the identity and perception of a space or place making places like communities safer and better linked to other communities.”
Preparing for the next generation
This deeper connection with one’s own spirit within the context of a sense of duty is also a Smotivating factor in the work of Owen “Blakka” Ellis. Along with his son, Joel the Ellis’s represent another of the families impacting Jamaica’s development through the arts as a result of their connection with the EMCVPA. Ac- cording to Blakka, “This work has deep connections to the training and orientation I received at Edna Manley College’s School of Drama where my career in theatre and comedy officially began. As a beneficiary of the outstanding legacy established by great comedic icons like the Hon Miss Lou and the great Mas Ran, I feel duty-bound to contribute to nurturing the next generation of performers in this genre.” If Blakka could sing, he probably would be singing “It’s not an easy road”. I asked him about the impact of theatre on the relationship with his son. He said “From my end this has simply resulted in our having to juggle and balance the different requirements of father/son versus co-worker relationship as we work together on several arts and entertainment projects. Then yu haffi add teacher/student relationship, as I was also a part-time lecturer at the Drama School while he was still a student. I think an interesting impact from Joel’s end is the issue of being constantly [perhaps unfairly] compared to me, which unfortunately, is almost inevitable in situations where a person enters a field in which his/her parent has already estab lished a solid reputation.” The EMCVPA holds itself to the highest standard of education and development of the whole person through the arts. In a real way, by engaging parents of artists and aspiring artists who are themselves the best in their chosen fields as tutors, the College is literally nurturing generations of arts practitioners in pursuit of its vision “to ensure a sustained social and academic environment that develops graduates who are devoted to sound moral, social, spiritual and ethical principles in their professional lives and leaders in the practice of the arts”. Further, the College is on target “To provide quality staff who will support the mission of the Edna Manley College of the Visual and Performing Arts, be devoted to lifelong learning and professional growth in their area of expertise.” This vision is not just fulfilled on the campus at Arthur Wint Drive. It is embodied in the work of its graduates in classrooms in schools across the nation. Alafia Noel currently teaches Performing Arts at the Innswood High School, having previously taught at Excelsior School where she experienced the “power of the arts in influencing behaviour”. Joel Ellis, Teacher, Actor, Poet, Producer and Production Manager at Ellis International, concurs. As a teacher of the arts he explains that the experience has helped him “to give wisdom and insight to persons wanting to venture in the discipline”. Reflecting on his ability to multitask and handle the various projects with which he is involved, Joel states “I would not be prepared for the business of entertainment and the arts if it wasn’t for my father and training at the Edna Manley College.” On the occasion of Founders Week 2018, the Edna Manley College of the Visual and Performing Arts proudly salutes the family of families, whose work demonstrates the value of the arts in building the skills which foster unity and togetherness, and their potential for impacting positive human, social and national growth. In this way, these Keepers of the Fates exemplify its motto: create, persevere, achieve!
About the Writer
Amina Blackwood Meeks, PhD
is the College Orator at the Edna Manley College of the Visual and Performing Arts where she also lecturers in the School of Arts Management. She is a writer, director, performer, and custodian of the oral tradition. She is widely acknowledge for her instrumental contribution to the renaissance of the art-form of traditional Caribbean Storytelling