Byo artistes in bid to lure fans

luring art lovers to the theatre.
The group last week invited four other arts groups to participate in a one-day Audience Building Capacity Series show, where people were allowed in for free.
Umkhathi Theatre, KAISA, Siyaya, Mpumelelo Shining Stars and urban groover Roland came together last Thursday at Matshobana Youth Centre, where they dished exhilarating performances to an ecstatic crowd.
Bambelela official Witness Tavarwisa said theatre groups had watched with dismay as audiences steadily dwindled at their venues.
“In the mid to late 1990s Bulawayo was an arts hub and people were eager to see new productions being churned out regularly and they would come out in support.
“However, this seems to have changed as people opted for television and video films meaning we were left without any audience,” he said.
Tavarwisa said they were engaging the community by encouraging them to come out and enjoy the artwork being produced by local groups.
“You can’t say the standard of acting or dancing has gone down. It has actually gone up.
“We hope that if we ask people to come in for free and really see that we are still producing sublime works they will be motivated to come in and pay the next time,” he said.
Umkhathi Theatre director Matesu Dube said a similar programme they held at Bambelela in 2006 paid dividends.
“This form of audience building really works because we once faced a similar situation.
“We held several shows, were audiences where allowed in for free. After that we put up gate charges and the audience were appreciative of our work and were thus willing to pay to watch us perform,” he said.
Umkhathi is based at Njube’s Salukazi Arts Centre and were holding their shows at the same venue.
Dube said unfortunately the economic downturn experienced in
2007 also further worsened their demise, as disposable incomes were tight.
“Art groups should come together and hold audience building shows in their various venues thus assisting each other build crowds for their own performances,” he said.