Boston Based Theatre Company Launches Discussion Series With Jamaica’s Leading Theatre Artists
[BOSTON] – 10 WEEKS IN JAMAICA: Theatre Conversations from Jamaica to the World! is a lively series of weekly discussions with Jamaica’s leading theatre artists exploring the histories and memories of–and visions for–the Jamaican stage.
Produced by Boston-based international theatre production company Akiba Abaka Arts, in partnership with Kingston, Jamaica-based talent agency and production company RAW Management, the series aims to connect Jamaican theatre artists with a global platform of theatre makers looking to gain new knowledge, share best practices around progressive theatre-making, and engage members of greater Caribbean Diaspora longing for familiar stories of home.
Each week the series explores a different theme based on the history of Jamaican theatre, and contemporary narratives presented on the Jamaican stage. It runs through January 3, 2021, with the next conversation on Sunday, November 8th titled DECOLONIZING PANTOMIME: LITTLE THEATRE MOVEMENT & MISS LOU featuring Anya Gloudon (Production Coordinator, Little Theatre Movement’s Pantomime), Dr. Deborah Hickling Gordon and Fae Ellington.
Upcoming programs in the series include:
- Sunday, November 15, 4PM EST
JAMAICAN ROOTS THEATRE, THEN AND NOW
Speakers: Keith ‘Shebada’ Ramsay and Maylynne Lowe
- Sunday, November 22, 4PM EST
THE BUSINESS OF THE JAMAICAN STAGE (JAMBIZ)
Speakers: Lenford Salmon and Glen Campbell
- Sunday, November 29, 4PM EST
DANCEHALL REGGAE AND THE NETTLEFORD EFFECT
Speakers: Orville Hall, Marlon Simms and Neila Ebanks
- Sunday, December 6, 4PM EST
JAMAICAN PLAYWRIGHTS ANSWER GEORGE BERNARD SHAW (PART 1)
Speakers: David Tulloch and Fabian Thomas
- Sunday, December 13, 4PM EST
JAMAICAN PLAYWRIGHTS ANSWER GEORGE BERNARD SHAW (PART 2)
Speakers: Dahlia Harris and Amba Chevannes
- Sunday, December 20, 4PM EST
QUEER NARRATIVES FROM THE JAMAICAN STAGE
Speakers: Karl Williams and Webster McDonald
- Sunday, December 27, 4PM EST
LEADERS OF A NEW STAGE
Speakers: Evone Walters, Andrew Barracks and Rayon McLean
- Sunday, January 3, 4PM EST
AFRO-FUTURISM AND THE JAMAICAN STAGE
Speakers: Tanya Batson Savage and Michael Holgate
The series debuted November 1 with WHATEVER HAPPENED TO THE WARD THEATRE? featuring legendary Jamaican theatre artists Oliver “King of Comedy” Samuels, OD and Dr. Brian Heap in a lively conversation about the stage that launched their careers.
The pair were joined by host Akiba Abaka Enola Williams, co-founder and producer of Kingston on the Edge Arts Festival and member of the Ward Theatre Foundation.
The premiere episode — and all series episodes are available for on-demand viewing on YouTube here.
Often seen as an ideal tropical vacation destination, the island nation of Jamaica is a tourism and cultural hub of the Caribbean best-known globally for ska and reggae music, world-class sprinters, ganja culture, sunshine and beautiful beaches.
Yet, Jamaica also possesses a theatrical legacy with catalytic approaches to decolonization, language reclamation, indigenous narrative formation, community development and nation-building.
As the world focuses on achieving racial equity, the rich history and contemporary narratives of the Jamaican stage provides valuable learnings for theatre practitioners and audiences in search of models and memories of progressive community-building through the arts.
“When Jamaica closed its borders to travelers earlier this year we were scheduled to be on the island to work on a new play, Bar Girl of Jamaica by Robert Johnson Jr., work with Jamaican theatre practitioners, and engage the theatre community for future collaborations” says Akiba Abaka, co-artistic director of Akiba Abaka Arts. “But the pandemic forced us, like many others, to do a major pivot and reimagine how to engage the Jamaican theatre community without being on the island”.
The idea for “10 Weeks in Jamaica” came about during a virtual meeting of Jamaican theatre artists hosted by Kingston Creative, where Abaka’s team met Nadean Rawlins, founder and managing director of Raw Management Agency, and Evone Walters of Artribute JA, a performing arts company.
The group discussed the challenges of creating sustainable theatre in Jamaica and saw an opportunity to connect Jamaican theatre artists with the global theatre platform HowlRound at Boston’s Emerson College and the Martin E. Segal Theatre Center at City University of New York, whose Executive Director Frank Hentschker, provided advised the team on bringing the series together.
“This partnership with Akiba Abaka Arts is timely because it comes at a period in our generation when the landscape of the Jamaican theatre is changing right before our very eyes,” Rawlins says. “With Akiba Abaka Arts’ mission to provide access to theatre practitioners to tell stories on the global stage, and RAW Management’s commitment to promote Jamaican talent internationally, together we are able to contribute in reshaping the narrative of Jamaican theatre”, says Rawlins.
“HowlRound is a platform made by and for global theatre makers to connect around ideas that challenge our status quo. We couldn’t be more excited to be in conversation with an incredible group of Jamaican artists and culture workers for the first time through the 10 Weeks in Jamaica project,” says Jamie Gahlon, director and co-founder of HowlRound. “The possibilities for connection, inspiration, and learning that it provides embodies the power of what our virtual meeting ground can offer,” Gahlon says.
