Over the course of two weeks, 37 children have benefited from the Sumania Children’s Workshop at the Theatre Guild. This is the second year that the Laramade Musical Theatre has provided this programme which focuses on music and theatre.
Sumania has seen children engaged in drama, dance, mask making and costume designing. Members of Laramade, dancer and model Launce Northe and choreographer Oral Welshman managed the programme.
“We are enjoying it. The children are having fun and we hope to be doing this in subsequent years. Most of the children who attended are pupils of Winfer Gardens Primary as Oral had started working with the pupils two years ago at dance classes. As a matter of fact, for the Winfer Gardens recent graduation… dancers and a choir he worked with… performed at the Cultural Centre… Last year we did workshops in both Georgetown and New Amsterdam and we will be going back to Berbice this year. It will be sometime in August; we do not have a date as yet. This group is also expected to be bigger than last year,” Launce said.
The workshop was held on weekdays only from 9 am to 3 pm each day. The sessions covered musical theatre including its history, songs; dancing and dialogue.
Sumania ends with a recital, where the children display all they have learnt. This year’s is set for Sunday, July 21 at the Theatre Guild. They will be performing pieces from the popular Broadway musical “Newsies”. The original play is based on 1992 musical film Newsies which was inspired by the real-life newsboys strike of 1899 in New York.
Musical theatre, it was said, gives children tolerance of the world around them and makes them confident in themselves and skills, as well as problem solving. Launce, who has a background in dance, modelling and acting said that actors would often research the character they’re playing so as to become familiar with their traits and the period they would have lived thereby making them more informed.
The dancer, also a freelance writer for a New York paper, said he considers himself fortunate to have attended a high school of the arts in Toronto which also focused on academics. “We’re not all going to become dancers or singers or actors. Many of the people who would have attended my school went on to be lawyers, doctors, educators… but it gives you a discipline for life, in all the other things you might venture into,” he noted.
For some time now the Laramade team has been talking about wanting all of the arts to be a part of the school’s curriculum. Launce noted that Oral’s involvement with Winfer Gardens had more to do with the teachers wanting their children to be involved in the arts and seeking Oral’s expertise in the area. It is now for the Ministry of Education to move on making this part of schools’ curriculum.
Social media, Launce believes, is making the world smaller and extra-curricular activities and skills in the art in general will make Guyana more relevant to the world. He made mention of The Lion King stating that producers from the United States went to Barbados and found actors. So, why not Guyana? he questioned. Guyana needs to start preparing performers for such opportunities.
Sumania was sponsored and therefore free to the 37 children ages 8 to 19 years old who benefited. Last year’s group was 19 children.
Sunday’s recital will also see the presentation of certificates and possibly, a performance by Launce and Oral. The recital commences at 5 pm and concludes at 8 pm. Tickets cost $500. For more information, persons can call 231-3844.
