Intwasa, Plan to teach children through theatre

Entertainment Reporter
INTWASA Arts in conjunction with Plan International have come up with a programme titled Community Forum Theatre meant to educate children about child abuse.
Intwasa have identified five centres where youths are undergoing training with each of these centres having 20 trainees.
The centres are located in Old Pumula, Mzilikazi, Makokoba, Robert Sinyoka and Methodist Village.

Intwasa director, Raisedon Baya, said the Community Forum Theatre was aimed at giving youths a voice to air their grievances and feelings about issues affecting their day to day lives.

“Forum Theatre is a project that uses theatre or drama to stimulate debate and discussions in communities. Participants are picked from these communities. They research serious issues affecting their communities and articulate them using theatre to conjure dialogue and debate,” said Baya.

He said the initiative was meant to produce feasible and applicable community-based solutions for the challenges affecting the youths.
“We are experimenting with theatre as a tool for development. We have gathered 20 out of school youths in each centre whom we have trained in research and acting,” said Baya.

He said new members would be recruited after four months as they believe the groups they have at the moment would been trained properly.

“After training we send them into their communities and research on issues affecting their generation and the matters will be assembled in a script and addressed in a play” Baya said.

He said in one particular case study in Pumula, participants came back with issues to do with child and drug abuse.
“We blended the two issues and dramatised them in a play. After the drama, the community then tried to come up with possible solutions to the problem,” said Baya.

He said the youths had shown enthusiasm during training and the community had also been supportive throughout the training stages.
Despite a small turnout at the Small City Hall on Tuesday when the group premiered its play, it was a successful event.