A
group
of
upcoming
playwrights
is
gathering
in
the
Zimbabwean
capital
Harare
this
week
for
an
11-day
event
organised
by
celebrated
American-Zimbabwean actor
Danai
Gurira as
part
of
her
commitment
to
nurturing
a
new
generation
of
dramatic
artists
in
southern
Africa.
The
Almasi
African
Playwrights
conference
is
hosted
by
Almasi
Collaborative
Arts,
the
organisation
Gurira
co-founded
in
2011,
and
offers
writers
a
chance
to
develop
their
work
with
directors
and
actors.
Running
from
11
December
at
Harare’s
Reps
theatre,
it
is
part
of
Almasi’s
aim
to
promote
and
celebrate
African
storytelling.
Gurira
is
expected
to
join
the
group.
Best
known
for
her
award-winning
roles
in
the
Walking
Dead
series
and
Black
Panther
movies,
Gurira
is
also
a
dramatist.
Her
plays
include
Eclipsed,
the
first
play
to
premiere
on
Broadway
with
an
all
female
and
black
cast
and
creative
team.
Gurira
set
up
Almasi
with
film
and
theatre
producer
Patience
Tawengwa
to
give
Zimbabwean
creatives
access
to
the
sort
of
training
and
skills
that
she
has
benefited
from
since
being
in
the
US;
she
remains
actively
involved
as
executive
artistic
director.
“What
I
kept
experiencing
was
coming
home
from
the
US
[to
Zimbabwe]
and
finding
people
were
not
getting
trained
in
this
field,”
Gurira
said.
“They
were
telling
me
they
wrote
a
play
in
three
days!
Playmaking
is
hard,
there
is
no
sustainable
piece
of
writing
that
can
be
completed
in
three
days.
I
wanted
to
expose
the
Zimbabwean
artist
to
process,
so
they
could
develop
their
talent
to
its
utmost
potential.
That
is
the
only
way
we
create
work
that
is
globally
recognised.
It
is
the
only
way
we
create
work
that
tells
our
stories
in
a
way
that
is
undeniable
and
universal.”
From
left:
Pascale
Armand,
Lupita
Nyong’o,
and
Saycon
Sengbloh
in
Gurira’s
play
Eclipsed
at
the
Public
Theatre
in
new
York
before
transferring
to
Broadway. Photograph:
Joan
Marcus/AP
More
than
500
African
artists
have
participated
in
workshops
devised
by
Gurira
and
Tawenga
over
the
past
11
years
and
attended
by
guest
actors
and
other
industry
figures
from
the
US,
including
playwright
Alice
Tuan;
Walking
Dead
producer
and
writer
Matt
Negrette;
costume
designer
Clint
Ramos
and
director
Lucie
Tiberghien,
who
co-directed
Almasi’s
most
recent
play,
Family
Riots
with
Almasi
alumnus
Makomborero
Theresa
Muchemwa.
The
African
Playwrights
conference
is
Almasi’s
flagship
event
and
has
led
to
the
development
of
20
plays
since
it
started
in
2015.
More
than
60
playwrights,
actors,
producers
and
directors
are
expected
to
attend
this
year.
“There
is
nothing
else
like
it
on
this
scale
–
as
far
as
I
know.
It’s
heaven
for
playwrights”,
said
Gideon
Jeph
Wabvuta,
a
playwright
and
programme
coordinator
at
Almasi.
He
said
the
event
was
part
of
a
“growing
excitement
around
theatre
in
Zimbabwe”,
boosted
this
year
by
the
launch
of
an
Outstanding
Playwright
category
in
the
National
Arts
Council
of
Zimbabwe
awards.
“This
kind
of
recognition
is
such
a
big
deal,”
he
added.
The
conference
follows
Almasi’s
staging
of
Family
Riots
last
month
at
the
National
Gallery
of
Zimbabwe
in
Harare,
the
organisation’s
first
full
production
in
more
than
10
years.
Written
by
Wabvuta,
the
play
tells
the
story
of
an
upwardly
mobile
family
in
Mbare,
Zimbabwe’s
oldest
township,
during
the
1998
food
riots.
Michael
Kudakwashe,
Caroline
Mashingaidze-Zimbizi
and
Shawn
Kupakwashe
Kudumba
in
recent
Almasi
production
Family
Riots. Photograph:
Jon
Pilch/Macpherson
Photographers
“It
is
about
family
and
it
is
about
class,”
said
Wabvuta.
“When
I
started
writing
the
play
[in
2013],
the
people
were
based
on
my
parents.
But
I
kept
writing
for
so
long
that
the
people
in
the
play
became
me
and
my
wife!”
Wabvuta
said
the
gallery
was
chosen
as
a
venue
in
part
because
he
wanted
to
offer
a
different
experience
to
attract
people
who
might
not
usually
go
to
the
theatre.
“One
couple
came
because
their
son,
a
standup
comedian,
recommended
it.
They
had
never
been
to
the
theatre
before.”
Gurira
said
the
choice
of
venue
also
reflected
Almasi’s
mission.
“I
love
the
idea
of
collaborating
with
another
form
of
African
art.
We
are
called
Almasi
Collaborative
Arts
and
the
idea
of
a
collaboration
like
this
felt
exciting
and
different
for
us.
Let’s
merge
the
visual
arts
with
installation
art,
and
musical
art
with
theatre
art,”
she
added.
Wabvuta,
who
joined
Almasi’s
programme
in
its
first
year
and
attended
the
University
of
Southern
California
MFA
dramatic
writing
programme,
said
that
while
he
was
optimistic
about
the
new
crop
of
writers,
funding
was
a
significant
barrier
to
making
a
living
from
theatre.
His
role
at
Almasi
gives
him
the
financial
stability
to
continue
his
work
as
a
playwright.
Others
have
not
been
as
lucky.
Many
of
the
500
or
so
artists
Almasi
has
trained
have
left
the
profession
because
of
poor
pay.
“Our
industry
struggles
to
keep
its
people,”
said
Wabvuta.
“It’s
a
money
issue”,
adding
that
the
lead
actor
in
Family
Riots,
Michael
Kudakwashe,
gave
up
acting
to
pursue
a
full-time
job
but
agreed
to
take
on
the
role
for
this
production.
Associate
director
at
Almasi
Zaza
Muchemwa
believes
that
offering
professional
training
will
help
create
a
more
dynamic
and
robust
dramatic
arts
scene
in
Zimbabwe.
“I
was
always
keenly
aware
of
what
this
[dramatic
arts]
space
is
and
what
it
could
be.
When
Almasi
began,
there
weren’t
a
lot
of
organisations
or
tertiary
institutions
that
were
training
creatives.”
Danai
Gurira
played
Michonne
Grimes
in
the
Walking
Dead
TV
series
and
starred
in
the
Black
Panther
movies. Photograph:
TCD/Prod.DB/Alamy
Gurira
added
that
seeing
young
playwrights
grow
in
confidence
was
one
of
the
most
rewarding
parts
of
her
role
at
Almasi.
“Seeing
them
get
to
explore
their
craft
and
impress
even
themselves.
That
means
everything.
Those
artists
will
never
be
the
same.
Their
work
has
transformed,
and
so
have
they.
That
has
been
very
gratifying.”
She
added
that
Almasi
planned
to
work
more
with
local
partners
such
as
businesses
and
embassies
with
the
aim
of
“spearheading
a
new
age
in
the
Zimbabwe
entertainment
industry”.
“As
our
name
connotes,
we
seek
to
collaborate.
Our
goal
lies
in
what
we
seek
to
build,
like
the
name
‘Zimbabwe’
itself,
we
seek
to
build
a
house
of
stone
that
lasts.”
Chris
Jill
Olga
