Given the openness of our own society, it is easy to forget there are lands
where being an artist is a dangerous calling. Nigeria is one, as is painfully
clear from the recent execution of playwright Ken Sara-wiwa by the government.
For years, South Africa was also a place in which artists were routinely
imprisoned and tortured. Zakes Mofokeng is a playwright, director, songwriter,
and actor who survived that oppression, and he's coming to Austin to bear
witness to that struggle and the role protest theatre played in the era of
apartheid. In an appearance sponsored by UT's African and African-American
Studies Center and the Departments of Theatre and Dance and Speech
Communication, Mofokeng will speak on the history of protest theatre in his
homeland and perform his play Never Again, which relates his experiences as
activist and exile. Both events will take place Friday, Dec 1, and are free.
The lecture is at 2pm in the Winship Drama Building, Room 2.112; the
performance is at 7pm in the Communication Center Auditorium.
Honors
Deborah Hay has received the 1996 McKnight National Fellowship. The Austin
choreographer and dancer was selected for the Minnesota Dance Alliance award
from 200 applicants nationwide. Criteria include: strength of choreographic
accomplishments, skill as an instructor, ability to be a mentor for artists,
and ability to interact meaningfully with the Minnesota community. Hay will
conduct a residency in Minneapolis in 1996.
Jobline
'Tis the season to look for performers. The folks at Playfest, the annual
celebration of theatre for children, are in search of a host or hosts to greet
and interact with kids before the shows, scheduled for February and June, 1996.
Hosts are compensated. For info, call Mary Alice Carnes at 499-8388... The City
of Austin Department of Aviation seeks singers, dancers, musicians, and theatre
and choral groups to perform in the airport over the holidays. The airport's
Sixth Holiday Festival runs Dec 8-22, 10am-7pm, in the main terminal. For more
info, call Bill Clark, 495-7587, or Cybele Diamandopoulos, 495-7515.
Comedy Festival
Call him The Lad With the Golden Laugh. That's Chip the Wonder Boy, Austin
comic whiz, after the Austin Comedy Festival, run by The Velveeta Room. The
event lets local wits and half-wits compete for prizes in such categories as
Skit, Stand-Up, and Video. Chip snared the Grand Prize (and a C-note) on
November 11, also taking the Novelty and Musical prizes. Other winners: Matt
Sadler (Stand-Up); Sadler & Scott Calonico (Skit); Joey Waldon (Video).
Cheese Room major domo Austin Jernigan reports the next fest is set for spring,
1996. Ready, set, gags!
Send news on the local literary, performing, and visual arts scenes to:
"Articulations,"
PO Box 49066, Austin, TX 78765 or e-mail to: [email protected]