Artscape and Suidoosterfees Announce 2022 High School Drama Festival Finalists

Artscape again joined hands with the Suidoosterfees to produce an even more prestigious High School Drama Festival in 2022.

Schools all over the Western Cape were invited to submit 10-minute audition videos of their plays. During the first round of the festival a few months ago, eight finalists were selected by a panel of judges to perform their entries in the Artscape Arena from 18 to 20 August 2022. The school plays all have themes that address social challenges learners face daily.

The objective of the High School Drama Festival is to offer learners a platform to showcase their creativity on a professional stage, while expressing their views on social concerns to a captive audience. An awards ceremony will be held at the end of the festival to acknowledge best actors, directors and playwrights. The cast of the winning drama will be invited to perform their production to Suidoosterfees festival audiences in April/May 2023.

Professor Brian Figaji, chairman of the Suidoosterfees Board, says, "We are excited about or partnership with Artscape to bring this project to schools. The Suidoosterfees has a strong focus on development programmes, and we regard the High School Drama Festival as another opportunity to support and develop young, promising talent to become enthusiastic theatre makers."

Marlene le Roux, Artscape CEO, remarked, "This experience broadens participants' horizons as they experience the magic of live theatre in an advanced technical environment. They are able to learn all the skills required to become disciplined performers with a healthy regard for theatre etiquette."

Jana Hattingh, Suidoosterfees CEO, also expressed her enthusiasm for the project: "The festival takes pride in honing the skills of young, talented people, ultimately benefiting growth and sustainability in the theatre industry."

The adjudication panel, consisting of Mbulelo Grootboom, Herman van der Westhuizen, Dara Kometz and Rafiek Mammon, had a challenging task selecting the top eight candidates from 21 entries. Mammon said, "Every school made a great effort to impress, but ultimately only eight could be accommodated for this year's festival in August. In addition to the quality of entries, we also took thematic diversity into consideration."

The eight schools that will compete in the finals are Bernadino Heights, Scottsdene; Harry Gwala Secondary School, Khayelitsha; Ikhwezi Theatre Group, Khayelitsha; Immaculata High School, Wynberg; Langa High School; Martin Oosthuizen High School, Kakamas; Pioneer School for the Visually Impaired and Vusisizwe Secondary School, both in Worcester.

Tickets for the festival, from 18 to 20 August 2022, will be available at Computicket at R50. The programme for performances will be announced soon.