AN EXTENDED VISION FOR MALTA’S DRAMA CENTRE

AN EXTENDED VISION FOR MALTA’S DRAMA CENTRE Mario Azzopardi assumes office as director and opens up new avenues for the island’s state set-up concerning drama and theatre training as a rehearsal for real life experience.
On assuming office as director of the Malta Drama Centre early in 2004, Mario Azzopardi declared that “as Malta becomes more immersed in the European cultural experience the Centre will assess and set out new experiences to meet new realities.” Returning to the Drama Centre after years of teaching literature at the pre-university college, Azzopardi launched a series of new extended programmes and alternative initiatives which attracted many people, young and adult alike, who would not have thought that theatre had any relevance to their lives. As from October 2004 the Malta Drama Centre, under the auspices of the Ministry of Education, Youth and Employment, extended the training it has been giving to student-actors and potential stage directors. For the past 26 years, the Centre (formerly known as the Manoel Theatre Academy of Dramatic Art) has been providing a training platform based on coursed dealing with essential elements of the creative work of the actor. This includes the nature of acting, the aims and tasks of the actor on stage, improvisation, intercourse on stage, characterization and voice action. The Centre also offers stage-management courses, scriptwriting and costume design classes. The Centre provides for the basic techniques required for the feel and control of the physical aspect of the theatrical art, as well as fundamental exposure to the art of speech, an area which has always presented considerable difficulty to theatrical training in Malta. For this reason, for instance, the Malta Drama Centre has started to concentrate more intensely on vocal action, with reference to the work accomplished by the masters of the Third Theatre: Jerzy Grotowski, Eugenio Barba, Peter Brook, Julian Beck, Ingemar Lindh and others. The Centre has already offered an intensive initial course in vocal action techniques in a series of Sunday workshops introduced for the first time and conducted by theatre animator and composer Ruben Zahra. Mr Zahra has been living in California over these past four years, composing film music in Los Angeles and world music in San Francisco. Newly introduced weekend workshops at the Malta Drama Centre are dealing with Stanislavskian techniques, Brechtian approaches and political theatre as prompted by Augusto Boal. In the coming months, the Drama Centre will be extending these workshops further and has already booked the services of local and foreign theatre makers and dance animators, including Irene Christ and Frank Horner (Germany), John Williams and Fiona Hornstein (UK), Svetlana Silina (Russia) and Coirle Mooney (Ireland). While Ms Christ is concentrating on the interpretation of realist drama from Scandinavia to include Ibsen and Strindberg, Mr Horner addresses would-be directors and senior students. On her part Ms Silina, a professionally-trained dancer in the Vagonova method conducts regular classes in Body Movement, Character Dance and Jazz Dance. On the other hand, Ms Mooney has introduced the Lecoq method, a mixture of mime, creative dance and lyrics at the Centre.	The Malta Drama Centre now also tutors children in classes leading to certification by the Royal Academy of Dance (UK) and offers the opportunity for students to obtain credits and certificates from Trinity College in London. Grade and diploma examinations in both drama and music are internationally recognized, an important factor as the Drama Centre seeks new directions for the 21^st century. “As an island whose economy is significantly based on tourism,” explains Mario Azzopardi, “ Malta has the opportunity to explore the possibilities for employment linked to this industry, especially in the field of drama animation and entertainment.” The certification project is being conducted in association with Trinity College & Guildhall, London and will offer unlimited scope and flexibility, ranging from effective text rendering, individual acting in musical theatre, physical theatre and individual and social communication skills. The Malta Drama Centre is also extending its training programmes to persons of all abilities so as to bring into effect the Government's stated policy of an inclusive approach to the performing arts. To quote Trevor Nunn, director of the Royal National Theatre in Britain, providing theatre to persons of all abilities and backgrounds would provide society “with a glimpse of a more perfect world in which human beings of every kind demonstrate their talents, which deserves our attention and support”. It is also for this reason that the Centre launched its first outreach, community theatre programme explains Mario Azzopardi, who was one of the pioneering directors when the institution was established in 1979 and who has returned to take charge of the Centre with vision and impact. A vital part of the Drama Centre's new mission statement is related to inclusiveness, so as to abandon the idea of hierarchies, of advantaged and disadvantaged persons; the selected and those left on the margin. Community theatre is an important devise for communities and groups to share narratives, participate in social dialogue, and to break up the exclusion of groups on the margin. The concept of community theatre has to do with reaching out and exploiting people's innate need to create something out of their own stories, experience and imagination. This sort of theatre relates to creativity for life. The Centre's first Community Theatre course is spread over two years and involves actual pilot projects in different localities. Joining the Centre there will also be local and foreign groups who practice outreach performance. The first such group is LifeForce, a community group from Canada, who got involved in joint-workshops with local student-actors. Another new course at the Drama Centre addresses personality development; this is a one-year programme specifically designed for adults who want to come to terms with themselves and explore enhanced personal growth and group dynamics through theatrical methodology. The course will basically offer the skills needed for the real world, a frame for rehearsing for real life. Another course which is commanding an impressive response deals with drama therapy, a technique which is being offered to teachers, nurses, social workers and parents. The range of basic and innovative programmes being offered is enhancing the mission of the Drama Centre. The new scheme not only encourages the usual scope of appropriate training but features innovative approaches in the art of theatre mechanics. The Drama Centre is run under the auspices of the Further Studies and Adult Education Department of the Education Division within the Ministry of Education, Youth and Employment. It operates daily, including weekends on a part-time basis, with a compliment of local and foreign tutors, musicians, dancers, singers and technicians. It has its own separate dance and theatre studios and is located in one of the island's most strategic locations.

Mario Azzopardi assumes office as director and opens up new avenues for the island’s state set-up concerning drama and theatre training

as a rehearsal for real life experience.

On assuming office as director of the Malta Drama Centre early in 2004, Mario Azzopardi declared that “as Malta becomes more immersed in the European cultural experience the Centre will assess and set out new experiences to meet new realities.” Returning to the Drama Centre after years of teaching literature at the pre-university college, Azzopardi launched a series of new extended programmes and alternative initiatives which attracted many people, young and adult alike, who would not have thought that theatre had any relevance to their lives.

As from October 2004 the Malta Drama Centre, under the auspices of the Ministry of Education, Youth and Employment, extended the training it has been giving to student-actors and potential stage directors. For the past 26 years, the Centre (formerly known as the Manoel Theatre Academy of Dramatic Art) has been providing a training platform based on coursed dealing with essential elements of the creative work of the actor. This includes the nature of acting, the aims and tasks of the actor on stage, improvisation, intercourse on stage, characterization and voice action. The Centre also offers stage-management courses, scriptwriting and costume design classes.

The Centre provides for the basic techniques required for the feel and control of the physical aspect of the theatrical art, as well as fundamental exposure to the art of speech, an area which has always presented considerable difficulty to theatrical training in Malta. For this reason, for instance, the Malta Drama Centre has started to concentrate more intensely on vocal action, with reference to the work accomplished by the masters of the Third Theatre: Jerzy Grotowski, Eugenio Barba, Peter Brook, Julian Beck, Ingemar Lindh and others.

The Centre has already offered an intensive initial course in vocal action techniques in a series of Sunday workshops introduced for the first time and conducted by theatre animator and composer Ruben Zahra. Mr Zahra has been living in California over these past four years, composing film music in Los Angeles and world music in San Francisco.

Newly introduced weekend workshops at the Malta Drama Centre are dealing with Stanislavskian techniques, Brechtian approaches and political theatre as prompted by Augusto Boal. In the coming months, the Drama Centre will be extending these workshops further and has already booked the services of local and foreign theatre makers and dance animators, including Irene Christ and Frank Horner (Germany), John Williams and Fiona Hornstein (UK), Svetlana Silina (Russia) and Coirle Mooney (Ireland).

While Ms Christ is concentrating on the interpretation of realist drama from Scandinavia to include Ibsen and Strindberg, Mr Horner addresses would-be directors and senior students. On her part Ms Silina, a professionally-trained dancer in the Vagonova method conducts regular classes in Body Movement, Character Dance and Jazz Dance. On the other hand, Ms Mooney has introduced the Lecoq method, a mixture of mime, creative dance and lyrics at the Centre.

The Malta Drama Centre now also tutors children in classes leading to certification by the Royal Academy of Dance (UK) and offers the opportunity for students to obtain credits and certificates from Trinity College in London. Grade and diploma examinations in both drama and music are internationally recognized, an important factor as the Drama Centre seeks new directions for the 21^st century. “As an island whose economy is significantly based on tourism,” explains Mario Azzopardi, “ Malta has the opportunity to explore the possibilities for employment linked to this industry, especially in the field of drama animation and entertainment.”

The certification project is being conducted in association with Trinity College & Guildhall, London and will offer unlimited scope and flexibility, ranging from effective text rendering, individual acting in musical theatre, physical theatre and individual and social communication skills.

The Malta Drama Centre is also extending its training programmes to persons of all abilities so as to bring into effect the Government's stated policy of an inclusive approach to the performing arts. To quote Trevor Nunn, director of the Royal National Theatre in Britain, providing theatre to persons of all abilities and backgrounds would provide society “with a glimpse of a more perfect world in which human beings of every kind demonstrate their talents, which deserves our attention and support”.

It is also for this reason that the Centre launched its first outreach, community theatre programme explains Mario Azzopardi, who was one of the pioneering directors when the institution was established in 1979 and who has returned to take charge of the Centre with vision and impact.

A vital part of the Drama Centre's new mission statement is related to inclusiveness, so as to abandon the idea of hierarchies, of advantaged and disadvantaged persons; the selected and those left on the margin. Community theatre is an important devise for communities and groups to share narratives, participate in social dialogue, and to break up the exclusion of groups on the margin. The concept of community theatre has to do with reaching out and exploiting people's innate need to create something out of their own stories, experience and imagination. This sort of theatre relates to creativity for life.

The Centre's first Community Theatre course is spread over two years and involves actual pilot projects in different localities. Joining the Centre there will also be local and foreign groups who practice outreach performance. The first such group is LifeForce, a community group from Canada, who got involved in joint-workshops with local student-actors.

Another new course at the Drama Centre addresses personality development; this is a one-year programme specifically designed for adults who want to come to terms with themselves and explore enhanced personal growth and group dynamics through theatrical methodology. The course will basically offer the skills needed for the real world, a frame for rehearsing for real life. Another course which is commanding an impressive response deals with drama therapy, a technique which is being offered to teachers, nurses, social workers and parents.

The range of basic and innovative programmes being offered is enhancing the mission of the Drama Centre. The new scheme not only encourages the usual scope of appropriate training but features innovative approaches in the art of theatre mechanics.

The Drama Centre is run under the auspices of the Further Studies and Adult Education Department of the Education Division within the Ministry of Education, Youth and Employment. It operates daily, including weekends on a part-time basis, with a compliment of local and foreign tutors, musicians, dancers, singers and technicians. It has its own separate dance and theatre studios and is located in one of the island's most strategic locations.