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THE 4th edition of The Plan High Schools Drama competition kicked off last Tuesday in Tsholotsho. The competition is an annual drama event targeting secondary and high schools within different parts of Zimbabwe. The main objective of the competition is to cultivate, among teachers, students and children, a deep appreciation of both drama and child rights related issues through participation in the creation and performance of short dramas that speak to the issues of children’s rights. The competition prioritises participation, placing students and children at the centre of both the creative process and the resultant performances.
The Tsholotsho district preliminaries were held on Tuesday, 17 June at the Better Schools Programme premises in Tsholotsho. This is the second time Tsholotsho is participating in the competition. The first time was in 2011. Seven out of 12 schools that were trained during the pre-competition skills sharing workshop made it to the preliminaries where they battled it out for the two slots to represent Tsholotsho at the Intwasa Arts Festival koBulawayo finals in September. Seven out of 12 was really a good response from the schools. The other schools could not make it due to the on-going June examinations. The success of the preliminaries was mostly due to the efforts of the Tsholotsho district cultural officer, Mrs Mpofu. She has a serious passion for the arts and makes running arts projects in Tsholotsho much easier.
As for the competition the adjudicators were generally impressed by the presentations from the various schools. Although very impressed the adjudicators still felt the schools still need more training and practice so as to develop their skills and talent to satisfying levels — levels that have been exhibited at the finals in previous years.
The theme of the competition is Second Chance. This comes after previous themes like Child Rights, Because I am Girl and Too Young to Mary. The theme was fairly tackled by all schools. The majority of the stories highlighted the problem of children being irresponsible with money meant for fees or exams. However, three schools came up with unique concepts. Two schools tackled issues of disability thereby advocating for the empowerment of the disadvantaged and the other school dealt with issues of favouritism of children within families.
The eventual winners were Bubude and Tsholotsho high schools. (Bubude also represented Tsholotsho in 2011.) The two schools will represent Tsholotsho at the finals to be held in September during Intwasa. They will meet schools from Bulawayo, Kwekwe, Gweru, and Matabeleland South. Veteran artistes and theatre trainers Nelson Mapako and Memory Kumbota sat on the adjudication panel assisted by Gertrude Ndlovu from Plan Zimbabwe.
The Plan High Schools Drama Competition is a collaborative initiative between Plan Zimbabwe and Intwasa Arts Festival. More than 45 schools are taking part in the competition. Over six hundred students will actively participate in story creation, directing, acting and staging of the plays. Over 3 000 students will watch the plays during the preliminaries.
Bulawayo Preliminaries are scheduled for 2- 4 July at Eveline, Townsend and Northlea high schools.
The Finals
Only 12 schools will take part in the finals. Of the 12, only six schools will come from Bulawayo and the other four from pools outside Bulawayo. The finals of the competition will be held at Bulawayo Theatre during the Intwasa Arts Festival KoBulawayo. Outstanding performances will be awarded prizes and cash.
Prizes/Awards
Group prizes
1st Prize $700 + Floating Trophy
2nd Prize $300 + Floating Trophy
3rd Prize $200 + Shield
Individual Prizes/Awards
Outstanding Actor in a Leading Role $50 + Shield
Outstanding Actress in a Leading Role $50 + Shield
Outstanding Actor in Supporting Role $30 + Shield
Outstanding Actress in Supporting Role $30 + Shield
Outstanding Actor in a Cameo Role $20 + Shield
Outstanding Actress in a Cameo Role $20 + Shield
Outstanding Director $100 + Shield.
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