The Department of Culture officially opened the 8th annual National Secondary Schools’ Theatre Festival Tuesday night at the Multipurpose Exhibition and Cultural Centre.
Senator Shenella Govia, who represented the Minister of Education and Creative Industries, Daryll Matthew, officially declared the festival open, giving advice on the way the students should portray their characters during the four-day event.
“Embrace your character with confidence and conviction. Infuse every line and gesture with the unique creativity that we know you will bring,” Senator Govia told the students during the opening ceremony.
The April 22 to April 25 festival will feature performances from eight learning institutions, namely Sir Novelle Richards Academy, Antigua Girls’ High School, Princess Margaret School, Jennings Secondary, St Mary’s Secondary, Ottos Comprehensive, All Saints Secondary, and Irene B Williams Secondary schools.
Deputy Director in the Department of Culture, Owen Jackson, highlighted the milestone achievement of the festival, noting that it has “cemented itself into the fabric of the theatre experience in our nation”.
“We at the ministry are excited at the possibilities for transformation that theatre can bring into people’s lives especially our young people,” Jackson said.
However, he stated that there are challenges facing theatre arts education in Antigua and Barbuda, and expressed his disappointment that some principals and senior teachers are still not giving the requisite support to teachers of the theatre arts in some schools.
According to Jackson, some students face difficulties getting released from other classes for assessment. This is coupled with inadequate resources for teaching the subject effectively.
“The tools needed must also be made available so that teachers can teach with confidence and students can achieve their potential,” Jackson said.
Prior to the festival, participating students engaged in developmental workshops, led by regional professionals and festival adjudicators Kevin Moore from Jamaica, Deslyn Williams-Johnson from St Kitts and Nevis, Angelo Lascelles from Barbados, and local Choreographer and Dance Educator, Veronica Yearwood.
As part of this year’s award ceremony, which is scheduled for April 26 to recognize outstanding performances, the Department of Culture has announced that the Spirit of the Arts Award would be renamed the Tyrell Buckley Spirit of the Arts Award.
This award is in honor of 19-year-old Tyrell “TJ” Buckley, a gifted performer and dedicated member of the National Youth Theatre, who died in February.
Jackson emphasized that the festival aims to help students build self-confidence, promote responsible behaviour, and strengthen literacy skills through theatre while providing critical support to the theatre arts component of the CSEC curriculum.
“It is our hope that this festival will continue to provide this very important forum for teachers and students to display and share theatre performance skills,” the deputy director said.
