The theater companys current collaboration with the Zimbabwe International Book Fair (ZIBF), scheduled for July 28-31 in Harare will see Rooftop showcasing theatre as a way of breathing text to life, in what the company said was yet another milestone in its drive to strengthen synergies with relevant institutions.
Rooftop is going to support two free performances of award winning Heal the Wounds and critically acclaimed Waiting for Constitution as part of the Book Fairs live programming as well as freely distribute DVDs and CDs of Waiting for Constitution.
The Daves Guzha-led arts copmpany has not limited itself to activities linked with the ZIBF and earlier this month supported the UZ Theatre department when it honoured Stephen Chifunyises work through a festival dubbed Critical Perspectives on Chifunyise held at the UZ BeitHall on July 6.
Rooftops relationship with the ZIBF dates back to 1996 when the compnay opened Theatre in the Park as a venue for African contemporary theatre plays.
Plays by luminaries such as Africas first Nobel Laureatte for Literature, Wole Soyinkas The Trials of Brother Jero and plays like Muramu and Intimate Affairs which have gone on to be published, have been staged at this venue ever since its inception.
Theatre in the Park started when Guzha approached ZIBF Trust intending to use one of their gazebos as a theatre venue having been impressed by its round nature which resembled an African dare.
Guzha said: Theatre and Literature feed into each other either way because you can have a play published into a book or a book staged as a play. We are impressing on publishers to start publishing theatre plays because students studying Zimbabwean or African contemporary plays are stuck with Ngugi waThiongo or Athol Fugard plays which are easily available yet there are other contemporary plays which have been successfully staged but have not been published.
This means there is no reference material for anyone wishing to study the plays except trying to get a copy from the writer in which case it might not be the final production which will have been staged because the rehearsal process is another creation process from the script to the stage.
From a marketing and sales point of view, publishers should know that a successful stage play is highly likely to sell well as a book from the theatre popularity its a tried and tested product.
And likewise, as theatre producers we know also that a best-selling book is highly likely to be successful as a staged play or film riding on the books popularity. In Zimbabwe published manuscripts are not in tandem at all with produced and consumed plays output hence this collaboration should mark the beginning of a new era.
The two plays Rooftop is offering – Heal the Wounds (NAMA 2010 Outstanding Theatre Production)and Waiting for Constitution have been overwhelmingly received in their tour around the country with Heal the Wounds doing over 30 performances between November and December last year and Waiting for Constitution doing over 75 performances from May this year to date.
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