A third-year student festival is being presented by the Department of Performing Arts at Tshwane University of Technology. A student play and a lecturer’s production are on stage this winter as part of the Rostrum Directors Festival. Taking place on the Arts Campus from June 3 to 8, the Rostrum Theatre will host the Festival.
“We strive to connect students to the outside world, directors to actors, drama to conflict, and ourselves to more laughter in the Festival, which has been a staple of the University’s performance offerings,” said Dr Refiloe Lepere, a Lecturer in the Department of Performing Arts.
TUT Directors Festival Is All About Connections
“A wide audience will be inspired by the thirteen plays by student directors. Their plays echo the turbulent times we live in.”
“The plays are selected by students, with some guidance. Theater provides a platform for artists to express themselves deeply,” Dr Lepere concludes.
Director Bongani Bennedict Masango directed the lecturer’s play Ukama, which is part of the Festival. Marriage conception and migration are explored in the play.
Students in the third year of directing are evaluated at the Rostrum Directors Festival. During the workshop, each director directs a fifteen-minute play based on a published play. Department of Performing Arts students perform their plays in collaboration with drama, dance, music, and technical students.
This educational process involves directors directing actors, technicians interpreting, and technicians designing. The students also manage venues, keep them safe, and sell tickets. During this mini-festival, all students will be able to participate in practical activities.
There have been quite a few audiences who have attended the Festival in the past to support TUT students’ work.
This year’s Festival will kick off with a four-day performance special featuring Ukama.
Dr Lepere adds that this platform shows students and the general public what being a professional artist is like. The Festival is a great opportunity to interact with the big world,” she says. “There is much work to be done in the development of theatre as we release graduates ready for the future.”
Venue: Rostrum Theatre, TUT Arts Campus
Dates: 3 – 8 June
Time: 13:00 – 19:00
Tickets: R20 for the day
For more information and bookings, email [email protected] or call Flora Rasodi at 068 554 8823.
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Tel: +27 12 382 4711 Email: [email protected]