Creative Writing in Guyana has a long history, though the formal and certified training in it is very short. The production ‘Rumours and Things’ to be staged at the National Cultural Centre on Tuesday at 7 pm by the National School of Theatre Arts and Drama (NSTAD) marks the end of the very first full academic programme in Creative Writing in this country.
The inaugural graduating class will stage a historic first public reading of their work on Tuesday evening alongside the play Rumors by Neil Simon performed by the 2017 Drama graduates of NSTAD as their test piece. They will be reading selections of poems and short stories written out of the work they did in the diploma programme.
Although there is a great tradition of writing in prose, poetry drama and non-fiction, there was never a full time programme of training for official certification in these disciplines in Guyana before now. It coincided with the fifth corresponding programme in drama and theatre arts during the academic year 2016/2017 recently concluded. ‘Rumours and Things’ will raise the curtains on the NSTAD courses in both Drama and Creative Writing for the new academic year 2017/2018.
