By Ashraf Dabie
It is essential for investments to be made and avenues for growth be readily available for the development of youths because they are the future leaders of our country. These avenues often revolve around leadership, entrepreneurship, technology, sports, and the arts.
Notably, through theatre arts, renowned local actress Simone Dowding has, for many years, been engaging youths in meaningful activities geared at developing their talents and creating exposure, which will inherently build on their social skills. After about 35 years in the performing arts industry, dramatist and television personality, Simone Dowding, launched her very own drama academy in 2007, the Purple Arts Production.
Sadly, Purple Arts Production was dormant for a number of years. However, after a five-year hiatus, Simone decided to once again embark on her ground-breaking initiative, which now stands as a highly anticipated ‘summer’ event for students, especially in Georgetown.
In an interview with Sunday Times Magazine, Simone said that the annual Children’s Drama Workshop was started because of her love for the limelight, but lacked the opportunity to showcase her talents.
“I wanted to do something that will involve children because I didn’t have the opportunity to do the things I wanted to do. The idea of ensuring young people have a spring board to get into theatre and have some knowledge of the arts is what really got me excited,” Simone noted.
Impacting Lives
With those objectives in mind, training takes the form of weekly workshops within the months of July and August. Via these workshops, Simone is able to impart basic principles of theatre and performing arts, setting the pace for a lifetime in the spotlight for those budding artists, who are generally between the ages of 8-16. As such, her sessions zoom in on acting, directing, playwriting, stage and costume management, and even extend to incorporate advanced skills such as mastering the art of breathing necessary for actors. This experience culminates with the actress tasking the students with putting on their very own production, which is customarily staged for a public audience.
Reminiscing on when she started the workshop in 2012, Simone admitted she was sceptical about students showing up to her workshop. However, this anxiety was dispelled when participants began arriving in their numbers. In the first year, she had a class of approximately 25 students, which continued to be the amount for five years in a row.
The actress recalled being blown away by the students’ inherent creativity. She pointed out that they brought their own ideas to the workshops, many of which addressed prevalent social issues within the Caribbean.
“What I did was to allow them to say what they wanted to say and then scripted it. So I always give credit to the children because it’s their stories. All I did was nurture, guide and help lead them along the way, but they already knew exactly what they wanted,” the doting tutor expressed.
Consequently, under Simone’s tutelage paired with the students’ ingenuity, stellar performances are produced yearly, highlighting serious social issues such rape and abuse, among others.
“For the past years, we did plays that were always written by the children, and they never cease to amaze me. There was once instance of this when they did the play ‘Sliding Floor’; I was truly amazed with the story these children came up with. To listen to them is a joy. I can never master looking at them on stage and not shed tears of joy. To see how they progress during the workshops, initially not knowing anything about the arts, is what makes me truly happy,” Simone declared.
The veteran actress added that the workshop was created to help keep children off the streets and get them occupied in meaningful activities.
“So when they come to the workshop, I have a lot of walls to break down. Because some of them, we don’t know the situation in their homes, so they come to the class and they’re in a corner, but by the third workshop they’re more flexible,” she averred.
Simone added that the skills, network and experiences gained from the workshops help to propel participants into assuming leadership roles within their schools, places of employment, and communities.
“That is what gives me the joy to work with the children. We also help them understand that there is nothing that can stop them from being themselves. I always teach them confidence and encourage them to use every rock as a stepping stone,” the actress conveyed.
For this year, the Purple Arts Production’s Children Drama Workshop is already underway with about 20 students benefiting from the sessions offered by Simone and her team of experienced tutors, who are also attached to the Theatre Guild Playhouse. After the completion of the workshop, there will be a staging of its annual production, which is set for August 26 at Theatre Guild. The public is invited to witness the outstanding performances by the workshop’s participants as they take to the stage with four dramatic pieces: “School Time”; “My History”; “Warrior of Dignity”; along with a spoken word performance – all of which are promised to be educational and entertaining.
