Georgetown, Guyana – (August 26, 2017) First Lady, Mrs. Sandra Granger, this evening, attended ‘Emerge 6’, which is an evening of performances by children, held at the Theatre Guild Playhouse, Kingston. ‘Emerge 6’ is produced by Purple Arts Production, a children’s drama workshop aimed at providing a safe space for children ages six to sixteen to channel their creative energies over the July/August school vacation period.
The First Lady said that she was pleased with the efforts made by Ms. Simone Dowding, the Founder/Director of Purple Arts Production, to nurture children’s creativity and noted that it has allowed them to cultivate the virtue of discipline, which will later serve them well.
“I am always very happy to come to [these] performances because I think it shows not only what our young children can achieve, it also shows what they can achieve through several things; teamwork, discipline and the release of their own creativity because many of the performances are based on what the students, the children, who took part in her various workshops have written. I’ve seen them directing, acting, and doing all the things, the stage props and everything else that comes with putting together a drama, a theatre production,” she said.
A section of the audience at the Theatre Guild Playhouse at the debut of Purple Arts Production’s ‘Emerge 6’
Similar sentiments were expressed by Vice Chairman of Theatre Guild, Mr. Malcolm De Freitas who said that the theatre welcomes the opportunity to showcase and debut budding talent. “The Theatre is happy that we have an opportunity once again to see young talent emerging from knowing nothing about theatre, just having a little training in theatre and quite prepared to come on our stage to perform for your entertainment,” he said.
Meanwhile, Ms. Dowding expressed gratitude to the First Lady for her continued support, to the parents for allowing their children to participate, to the children for their enthusiasm and the sponsors.
The programme featured two plays, ”School Time” and “Man Whipped”, which addressed hidden cultural issues such as bullying in schools and workplaces and violence against men. The ensemble cast also dramatized the spoken word piece titled “Cry of a Child” and enthralled the audience with several elaborate dances performances.
Theatre veteran and former Manager of the National Cultural Centre, Ms. Daphne Rogers, Member of the Board of the Theatre Guild, Mr. Russel Lancaster and playwright Ms. Mosa Telford also attended the show.
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