BNL TIMES - LILONGWE, MALAWI
Coming To Zimbabwe
http://timesmediamw.com/us-theatre-expert-brings-one-man-act/
US THEATRE EXPERT BRINGS ONE MAN ACT
FEBRUARY 18, 2014 SAM BANDA JR
“A US theatre expert from Los Angeles, James Carey, is in the country to stage a one man act titled Coming to Zimbabwe at Madsoc Theatre in Lilongwe .
Carey who jetted in the country on Sunday will perform tomorrow and Thursday before proceeding on his tour that will take him to Zimbabwe and Cape Town, South Africa.
He said in an interview yesterday that Coming to Zimbabwe is the story about his experience in Africa adding that he hopes a lot of people will come and watch the production.
“This is a touching story that people can relate to. It is heartwarming and very inspiring and in it I am even putting it straight that we are all humans and the same no matter where we come from,” said Carey.
Having been in the theatre industry for over 40 years, Carey said through the one man act, he wants to tell a story of how an
American came to Africa and was scared at first to come.
“No one knows me here which is a challenge so to say and again I will be doing it on a different stage. But this is all about expression of faith and adventure which inspired me to come here,” said Carey, who has a lot of experience in theatre working as a producer, director and performer.
He said he was offered a job in Africa three years ago but had no idea where he was going and that he had certain expectations.
“It’s a humorous story. What was just a job in Africa later turned into something of an experience. So this is a story of the rejuvenation of man. Through the one man act, I talk 36 arts to the audience spiced up with music and again I am a story teller,” said Carey.
The theatre expert also revealed that apart from performances, he will be holding workshops tomorrow and Thursday.
“I will be working with theatre actors and explore how to write one man plays and then look at how they can progress. I have a lot of experience and I have been working seriously in this profession. I want through the workshops to inspire the artists that are there to understand theatre,” he said.
Carey also said the other biggest challenge is that of the audience which has been a problem in the country and he said there was need to train the audience and encourage them to participate.
“In US we have this concept where the audience has to be trained to appreciate performances and again there has to be seriousness in terms of the artists’ work,” he said.
Carey who is working with Lilongwe based Mwezi Arts said he is here to collaborate and bring a different set of experience as well as learn from the actors here.
“We hope to continue this relationship but its all about funding which is the biggest challenge in theatre but we will make that progress,” he said.
Mwezi Arts Director Stanley Mambo said they were happy to work with Carey adding his coming has added another branch to their tree.
“This is more like an exchange not only between Mwezi Arts but Malawi and US. We are trying to work on audience building at Madsoc and so this is part of that goal in our project,” said Mambo.
He said the local actors will also benefit from the workshops saying it will draw actors from Lilongwe and Logos Theatre from Blantyre, who will be invading Madsoc with their piece The Verdict on Friday. Mambo said they would have loved to have held Carey’s performances on the weekend but could not do so because of his tight schedule as he is expected to leave this Saturday.
