We have had an amazing time with 19 learners from the Westlake Primary School. We all enjoyed an intense 5 month enrichment through drama programme earlier this year.

Fondazione Labia  has been great supporter of our programme and loved what we were able to achieve with the learners at the Shakespeare Schools Festival 2021.

On Thursday, 28 October, the children were excited to receive their Certificates.  We celebrated the excellence they showed both for learning new skills and for their performances on stage.

Our drama programme is a winner and we will be sharing this with a new group in 2022.

PERFECT DAY – pictures from a dark room

Coleen, directed by Celia, brings her one woman show to the stage for the month of July 2021.

Much excitement to be back in a theatre, even though we did not play to an audience, just a group of friendly technicians and camera peeps.

Coleen tells a story of an imperfect life – the good, the bad, the funny.  Yes, her own life where

“Our family’s dysfunction on a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 being the least and 10, the most, goes from a modest 3 to a hefty 8 and back to a promising 6. Depending largely on who’s holding the talking stick of course.”

https://nationalartsfestival.co.za/show/perfect-day-pictures-from-a-dark-room/

There are stories to be told and we were thrilled to put a theatre piece back on the boards.

Storytelling at it’s Best – The Barrydale Analog Festival – 2020
Photo Credit: Mark Fourie

Celia Musikanth, of Circle Productions, accompanied David Muller, the Merry Scholar, to Riebeek Kasteel over the weekend 17 – 19 December 2020  where he performed a series of Herman Charles Bosman’s “Oom Schalk” stories to  Covid compliant full houses and standing ovations.  For nearly nine years Celia has been involved as director and mentor for David’s highly successful shows.

The Royal Arts Town Amphitheatre in Riebeek Kasteel, was a perfect venue for outdoor performances and luckily David  has been able to perform his shows throughout the country during 2020.

The previous weekend, David took Oom Schalk’s stories to the Analog Festival in Barrydale.

These shows, that have travelled the length and breadth of our country for the last nine years,  are highly entertaining – to book “Oom Schalk”, contact David on 072 986 5311.

Performance is everything.  And we are getting ready for our showcase on 30 November with our Westlake Primary School kids. The programme is sponsored by the Fondazione Labia.

We will be highlighting what they have learned with us over the last 4 months – mime, character work, vocal ability, imagination, song and dance.

We pull in our friends in theatre to give the children some specialised classes too – from working with the dancers from Muizenberg High School to the wonderful drama teacher from Dotty Dance and Drama.

Watching these youngsters grow in confidence and skill is such a treat and we are all looking forward to the showcase for parents and teachers.

Spring is the time to awaken those dormant senses.  Find your creativity, expression and sense of fun, by joining us for our last session of Be an Actor for a Day for 2019.

Fun and games, basic acting skills, the joy of performance, a day to remember.

Booking details and info:  Call 072 120 5645

email: coleenvanstaden@gmail.com

R400 pp single booking

R350pp (2+)

Youngsters (14 -18)  R200 pp

Masque Theatre, Muizenberg  09h00 – 16h00

Casa Labia Cultural Centre in Muizenberg is the venue for drama training for sixteen learners from Westlake Primary School, Westlake.  The programme is sponsored and supported by the Fondazione Labia.

From July to November, every Friday,  these enthusiastic learners enjoy interactive, fun-filled drama training with Celia and Coleen.

For five months, these youngsters will enjoy learning basic acting skills and prepare for a showcase for an audience of their schoolmates and parents.

Nothing better!

Be an Actor for a Day 30 June 2019

Be an Actor for a Day continues to go from strength to strength and we are so proud of how well our actors take to the programme and grow in skill and confidence throughout the day with us.