Atem to revive stage drama
In a bid to reclaim the lost glory that its annual English drama competitions used to enjoy, the Association for the Teaching of English in Malawi (Atem) has launched a programme to train English drama teachers.
Atem president Davie Mpasu said in an interview they came up with the idea to deal with the gaps that are there in the production of English drama.
He said: “We acknowledge that the quality of English drama has significantly gone down and we look at this seminar as one of the major ways of boosting the quality of English drama.”
Mpasu said the seminars will drill English drama patrons in drama directing, script writing and acting.
“We want to equip them with extra knowledge on how best to keep the audience interested and making their productions follow the standards of Atem,” he said.
Mpasu said partly the standards of Atem have gone down because the association lacks financial support from government and the private sector.
“Back in the day, we had various corporate sponsors who made sure that the drama festivals were a hit. Now we lack basic financial support t carry out our programme that can ensure improved productions,” he said.
Mpasu said Atem is appealing for support from the government and the private sector.
The seminars target drama teachers and patrons from each of the country’s six education divisions.
“We are targeting 180 schools to participate both from government and private schools as long as they are members,” said Mpasu.
In a separate interview, one of Atem products Emmanuel Maliro, said the programme is crucial in the promotion of English drama in Malawi.
“Atem, I must say, was a serious take-off platform, nurturing grassroot talent, but I haven’t been to any Atem events for a long time, this could mean that possibly there is no proper marketing,” he said.
After the seminars, Atem will organise the annual drama festival competition which will involve all school members.
Atem is credited with producing some of the country’s English dramatists such as Flora Suya, Du Chisiza Junior, Frank Mwase and Maliro.
