DC and CT.

FTH:K is cursed when it comes to weather. There’s a saying in the company: How do you know it’s FTH:K’s move-in day? It’s raining. It will be the day we have to pull our wooden set across the country and risk exposure to rain and warping, and then we the people packing the set into the trailer, will get wet. Time and time again. Heading to Washington D.C., we thought we had left our weather woes at the National Arts Festival, when could you believe it, we arrived in Washington where, far from wet misery, is experiencing it’s hottest weather in 10 years.

Outside of our climate adapting, it has been a great trip so far, rubbing shoulders with our Yankee counterparts. We’ve toured Gallaudet University, a University for the Deaf in D.C, and bonded with the good people of Quest Visual Theatre.

FTH:K was invited to perform at the opening ceremony of the World Friendship Volleyball Games which is currently being hosted by Gallaudet University. Random, I know.

What made it particularly cool was that, this audience of sporty people took to the snippet of Shortcuts so well. Even though there was a scary moment and where Christo hit the ground with his head instead of his feet (He’s alright now!)

Naturally, going to America, there was trepidation about what kind of food we might encounter (flashes of SuperSize Me) but even our resident Vegan, Jayne, has, despite her initial hesitations, enjoyed many great salads and been introduced to other Vegans. Tink says she has found the greatest beans known to mankind at the Red Hot & Blue.

Back in South Africa there’s the incredible BASA awards happening at the end of August, where three of our supporters are up for awards, in recognition of their support of FTH:K. The Citizen, up in Jozi, was instrumental in aiding our Listen With Your Eyes tour at the Market Theatre last year, as was Distell who has been a fabulous supporter since the beginning. Also, in that list was Pretoria Portland Cement (commonly known as PPC: useful trivia which might be the deciding point in your next General Knowledge Quiz), who sponsored our National Tour of Tales From the Trash last year.

How cool is it to have your sponsors get an award for doing the good work they do!?

We’ve had so many things change round this month, but one who has not even received a mention, was our blessed dinosaur; our photocopy machine, Beast. It was a quick and quiet funeral, and in a brief sermon held by Ma Ang and Ana, our photocopier was laid to rest. Beast was responsible for many an FTH:K programme, funding application and report but after several paper jams, botched copies, and failures to turn on, it was time to go. Beast has since been replaced by Beauty, but his hard work and loyalty, will not be forgotten.

In trying to take over the world, taking knocks is part of the game. So here’s to the uncomfortable weather and the dying office equipment, the FTH:K dream goes on!

More from D.C. to follow…

Hello and Goodbye – and a PARTY for both!

FTH:K is growing. And with all growth comes change. While change can be a little scary, it can also herald in new and exciting possibilities. Such is the kind of change taking place in FTH:K.

As most of you already know, two key people are moving on from the Company for a little while as they pursue career-training opportunities: Company Director Tanya Surtees, and Education Coordinator, Simangele Mabena.

Tanya is heading off to Washington, DC to extend her Arts Management training by working with the Deaf and hearing visual theatre company, Quest, while brokering the exciting 2-year Quest-FTH:K exchange programme called the Artsbridge International Exchange (which forms the basis of FTH:K’s 5-year plan). While it is obviously sad to see her go, we know that she will remain an active part of the family until she comes back to share what she has learnt. It is also an opportunity for her to put her Kennedy Center training to good use by passing on developed, and developing, skills to a new, up-and-coming Arts Manager.

Enter Ana Lemmer. With an MPhil in Cultural Tourism and Heritage Studies and a BA in Language and Culture, both from Stellenbosch, Ana has a range of experience working in the tourism, arts and heritage sectors. She navigated her way through the various rounds of interviews held by the Company and came up on top as an exciting young Arts Manager, well-capable of taking on Tanya’s role in time. So, from August 2011, look forward to seeing Ana championing the FTH:K cause!

The second member of the team to be heading off to foreign lands is Simangele who has been awarded a Sauvé Scholarship in leadership, spending 9 months in Canada to study Integrated Education. This is a huge opportunity for her and FTH:K is very proud of the fact that she was one of the candidates selected – especially as it nominated her for the Scholarship. While her time with FTH:K has been relatively short, Sma has played a vital role in the developing and monitoring of the Company’s education programmes, and leaves behind her a solid programme structure for the new Education Coordinator.

And who is this person?  Let Gali Kumwimba take the stage…

Gali has a BA Honours in Drama and Theatre Arts from the University of the Free State and has been involved in theatre and education for many years. She also has a particular interest in working within the Deaf community and in 2009, astounded us by flying herself down from Bloem just to attend our AGM – normally we have to ply people with alcohol to get them to attend our parties! In 2010, FTH:K reconnected with her through Lady Grey Arts Academy (Company member Liezl’s old school and home town) where Gali was teaching, and when she made the move down to Cape Town with her husband, FTH:K knew they would work with her in time. The time, it would seem, is now!

Bitter-sweet. Happy-sad. Hello-goodbye.  But how cool is it to welcome two new people aboard the FTH:K wagon?! Ahhhh….we are so lucky to be able to grow in the way we are…

But wait, the title of this blog post says something of a party – and in the mists of nostalgia, we forgot to mention that

WE’RE THROWING A PARTY!!!

Ahem…yes…FTH:K is throwing a party. Why?? Haven’t you read a word we’ve said?! To say goodbye to old friends, hello to new ones, and bon voyage to the team that leaves in July for the Artsbridge Exchange!! So, if you have been to one of our shows or got involved in our programmes or have reached into your pockets or souls to help up along the way, had any meaningful contact with the company over the years, or simply want to say goodbye, then you’re invited!

WHERE: Theatre in the District
WHEN: Friday 24th June
TIME: 8:30 pm (there will be some formalities so don’t be late!)
DRESS: Anything goes
BRING: A plate of snacks (we’ll take care of some basics, some wine, and make sure there’s a cash bar so we can send some love the way of the Theatre in the District)

It’s important that we know who’s coming so please CONTACT US to let us know if you will be joining us…as well as what you’re bringing so that we don’t get stuck with 400 samoosas as dinner…

See you there!!

Kennedy Center Summer Fellowship comes around once more…

I’m not going to go into the pros and cons of this programme for fear of nauseating you all with repetition.  So, basically, in point form:

• 1 Fellowship
• 1 Arts Organisation
• 3 summers
• 3 years
• 42 Fellows
• 28 countries
• A million things to learn

So, if this interests you, CLICK HERE and get applying!

Need more information?

Read below…or check out the Kennedy Center website…you can also contact the three previous South African Fellows if you have questions: Ukhona, through the Artscape Resource Centre; Johann through the Baxter Theatre; and Tanya through FTH:K. Click here to read what Tanya has had to say about her visits to DC.

“The Summer International Fellowship Program provides practical experience to 15 mid-to-high level arts leaders currently working in international nonprofit performing arts organizations. This full-time, four-week intensive program takes place at the Kennedy Center each July; Fellows attend each summer for three consecutive years. While at the Center, the fellows take classes and refine strategic plans for their home organizations. The Kennedy Center has hosted 42 Fellows in three classes from 28 countries.

The deadline for applications is December 1, 2010. Applications are now being accepted. If you have further questions regarding the program, should be submitted to contact the Kennedy Center.

To apply for this program click on the link below. You will be taken to a login page. Simply enter your email address. You will also be asked to create a user id and a password. This will enable you to return and update your online application. You will then be taken to an application that will ask you for your contact information, biography/resume, and personal statement.”

Click to login to the DeVos Institute Summer International Fellowship Program

New Fellows and a strangely calm July 4th

This year is the first time that we have three consecutive classes of Fellows at the Kennedy Center concurrently.  This means that the KC is training over 40 young arts managers every year from 2010 on.  Cool, huh?  I can’t comment much on the new group as we have just met them but they hail from all over the world and seem to be a phenomenal group of people.  Not as cool as us, of course, but pretty damn awesome in their own right!  And the first thing we got to do with them was the 4th July KC party.  In previous years, we have always had a few days of Fellowship before the 4th of July party, but this year, the party was first on the list.  No complaints there!

The format of the event was very similar to previous years with all sorts of games and food stations and bars and tables lining the upper floor of the KC.  For us, it was a great event but for different reasons to previous years in that most of the event was spent reconnecting with KC staff members and Fellows who we hadn’t seen in a year, as well as getting to know the new group.  The fireworks display showed no sign of recession, going on for an impressive length of time – I always feel for every animal in DC, or the whole of the States for that matter, every 4th…they must crap themselves annually!!

Then, it was time to revisit the 51st State, our bar-away-from-home!  However, having a group of over 40 Fellows means that if before finding a table together was difficult, now it’s damn impossible!!  But, in our inimitable way, with just a little time and a lot of charm, we managed to take over the entire outside deck.  One guy who was just chilling there having a beer on his lonesome (and gave us his table, bless him, joining us for a drink) left complimenting us on how we had managed to infiltrate and take over so successfully! I thought about mentioning something about colonisation and learning from the best based on our various experiences in our countries, but thought better of it.  Hardly light conversation!

Oh, I’ve also bought a new camera which is great for the purposes of this blog because I get to give you decent pics.  The downside is that I am still learning how to use the thing and as such, after taking 10 pics at the party, the memory was full!  Yes, I was taking them at 5MB or something each!…And while I bought the camera, I totally overlooked getting a memory card too…ahem…clearly don’t do this often!  So, here’s what I got, limited as it is.  Tomorrow we start officially (today was a public holiday, given the 4th being yesterday) so I’ll be keeping you posted…

View Full Album

Keep ‘em peeled…

DC – the return!

(Thoughts on the final year of the Kennedy Center’s Arts Management Fellowship – by Company Director Tanya Surtees)

So, after what seemed a relatively short flight (going direct from JHB to DC with a short fuel stop in Dakar – thanks Joel!), I have landed in DC.  As this only happened yesterday, this blog post is going to be fairly short but I thought I’d set up the routine of blogging from as soon as possible this year.  You know, before the beer, tequila and, oh, right, the learning get going!

Not one of my fellow Fellows is here yet.  Well, not that I have seen, at least.  Yip.  I fly aaaaaaaall the way from Cape Town and still manage to get here before the rest of them!  So far, I know that Mr Albania (Fation) is stuck in Munich airport without a Schengen Visa, having missed his connecting flight;  Ms Mexico (Denisse) is stuck in Dallas, for reasons unknown; and Johann (fellow South African Fellow) left the day before me and still hasn’t got here!!  And knowing him, he could be anywhere!!  So right now it’s just me and my jetlag kicking back in DC.  Oh, of course the new group of First Years are already here – the First Year programme is 4 weeks long, while the Second and Third, only 3 weeks.  But I haven’t met any of them either and I guess I could have walked right past them in the lobby and not even have known.

As I have said before, this year is bitter-sweet, being my last year here, and I plan to squeeze every last bit of experience out of it.  Of that you can be sure!  But extra special about this year is that the lovely Ukhona Mlandu-Letsika is here as well – as part of the First Year team.  She is, of course, the Artscape Resource Centre Manager by day but moonlights as part of FTH:K’s Executive Committee so besides being an awesome person to have in DC with me, it’ also really special for the Company to have her continuing the line of FTH:K in DC!

Ok.  That’s it from me for now.  Watch this space for details as I will be blogging as regularly as possible, and don’t forget that if you want to keep up to date with the Company in Grahamstown (they’re gearing up for the National School’s Fest right now) keep an eye on our Facebook page.  Ok?  Come on…we can’t do all the work ;-)

Womb Tide: coming soon to a theatre near you!

We have been throwing around rumours of this Womb Tide thing…but not really giving you too many details…and you’re just dying to know, right? I mean, what is it?  You know that it is a story by Lara Foot (developed in collaboration with Leila Henriques, Brian Webber, and Joss Levine), and maybe you know that it has been selected to play on the Arena Programme at the National Arts Festival.  Maybe you will even know that it is set to have a season at both the Market Theatre and the Baxter Theatre later this year.  If you know all of this, then you are probably Lara Foot herself!  But if not, know it now and sing it from the hill tops – because it’s going to be that good. (Check out the official Press Release)

The play was first performed to high acclaim in 1996.  In 2010, the show will be recreated and devised by a cast of hot up-and-coming performers (we use nothing but here at FTH:K) including our very own Liezl de Kock and Emilie Starke (also working on the set and props), and collaborators Daniel Buckland, and Kim Kerfoot, under the direction of Rob Murray.  A stellar cast of designers has been assembled, including James Webb and Brydon Bolton (sound), Craig Leo (puppet design & set and props), and Leila Anderson (costumes).

More than just simply a remounting, Womb Tide is a complete overhaul of the original story, given FTH:K’s approach to creating fresh, startling, visually-accessible work. This is driven and given weight by the mentoring of director, Rob Murray, by Lara Foot herself, as well as FTH:K’s Company Director, Tanya Surtees, by arts organisation, the Kennedy Center in Washington DC.

At its heart, Womb Tide is an unconventional love story. Set in the mid to late twentieth century South Africa, it follows an eccentric and somewhat dysfunctional family through a story of love, loss and ultimate hope, and paints an impressionistic portrait of the complexities of family life.

Told through the memory of a child, it is at once deeply moving, funny, dark, heartbreaking, and ultimately redemptive. Presented by FTH:K, and featuring a stellar cast and crew, Womb Tide is a paean to love and perseverance, and a tour de force of visual and physical storytelling.

So, dates for this most awesome theatre piece include:

• @ National Arts Festival, Grahamstown: 22nd June (12 pm); 23rd June (3 pm & 9 pm); 24th June (6 pm); 25th June (3 pm)
• @ Market Theatre, Johannesburg: 29th Aug – 26th Sept (8:15 pm)
• @ Baxter Theatre, Cape Town: 8th  Nov – 4 Dec (8:15 pm)
• 2011 onwards…THE WORLD!!

Womb Tide: coming soon to a theatre near you!

We have been throwing around rumours of this Womb Tide thing…but not really giving you too many details…and you’re just dying to know, right? I mean, what is it?  You know that it is a story by Lara Foot (developed in collaboration with Leila Henriques, Brian Webber, and Joss Levine), and maybe you know that it has been selected to play on the Arena Programme at the National Arts Festival.  Maybe you will even know that it is set to have a season at both the Market Theatre and the Baxter Theatre later this year.  If you know all of this, then you are probably Lara Foot herself!  But if not, know it now and sing it from the hill tops – because it’s going to be that good.

The play was first performed to high acclaim in 1996.  In 2010, the show will be recreated and devised by a cast of hot up-and-coming performers (we use nothing but here at FTH:K) including our very own Liezl de Kock and Emilie Starke (also working on the set and props), and collaborators Daniel Buckland, and Kim Kerfoot, under the direction of Rob Murray.  A stellar cast of designers has been assembled, including James Webb and Brydon Bolton (sound), Craig Leo (puppet design & set and props), and Leila Anderson (costumes).

More than just simply a remounting, Womb Tide is a complete overhaul of the original story, given FTH:K’s approach to creating fresh, startling, visually-accessible work. This is driven and given weight by the mentoring of director, Rob Murray, by Lara Foot herself, as well as FTH:K’s Company Director, Tanya Surtees, by arts organisation, the Kennedy Center in Washington DC.

At its heart, Womb Tide is an unconventional love story. Set in the mid to late twentieth century South Africa, it follows an eccentric and somewhat dysfunctional family through a story of love, loss and ultimate hope, and paints an impressionistic portrait of the complexities of family life.

Told through the memory of a child, it is at once deeply moving, funny, dark, heartbreaking, and ultimately redemptive. Presented by FTH:K, and featuring a stellar cast and crew, Womb Tide is a paean to love and perseverance, and a tour de force of visual and physical storytelling.

So, dates for this most awesome theatre piece include:

• @ National Arts Festival, Grahamstown: 22nd June (12 pm); 23rd June (3 pm & 9 pm); 24th June (6 pm); 25th June (3 pm)
• @ Market Theatre, Johannesburg: 29th Aug – 26th Sept (8:15 pm)
• @ Baxter Theatre, Cape Town: 8th  Nov – 4 Dec (8:15 pm)
• 2011 onwards…THE WORLD!!

Our very own Ukhona set to continue where Tanya leaves off

So, if you have been paying attention, you’ll know our Company Director will be finishing her 3-year Fellowship at the Kennedy Center this July.  What you might not know is that Ukhona Mlandu-Letsika, FTH:K’s Chairperson and Manager of Artscape’s Resource Centre, was recently selected for the programme.  This means that while Tanya’s programme ran from 2008 – 2010, Ukhona will pick up in 2010 and continue until 2012.  How cool is that?!  And one of the most exciting things about this, apart from the fact that they are as much friends as industry colleagues, is that both Tanya and Ukhona remain committed to the development of Arts Managers in South Africa.  They both share the opinion that one of the things holding the SA theatre industry back is a dearth of people trained to take care of the business of the arts.  And with the Kennedy Center’s training and experience behind them, they’re bound to be a pretty formidable team.  Watch this space for details!

But until then, read what Zane Henry had to say about it in the CAPE ARGUS Tonight on Tuesday, 9 March:

IT’S SECOND TIME LUCKY FOR TALENTED YOUNG PLAYWRIGHT

UKHONA Mlandu-Letsika, Artscape Resource Manager and chairwoman of FTH: K’s Executive Committee is leaving on a jet-plane. She has been selected to take part in the three-year Summer International Fellowship Programme at the John F Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington DC.

It is a prestigious programme that provides practical experience and instruction to up to 20 managers currently working in international non-profit performing arts organisations.

This full-time, four-week intensive programme takes place in July and includes classes, seminars and practical work experience in the centre’s fundraising and marketing departments. Individuals selected for this programme will return to the Kennedy Center for ongoing professional development for a total of three summer sessions.

“This was the second time that I applied,” Mlandu-Letsika says.

“They conducted this weird, very short telephonic interview. They asked me a question and I went on and on and then they were like, ‘thank you, we have to go now’. I was sure that was it, no chance. But then I got this very official looking e-mail, and I was selected. I couldn’t work for the rest of the day. I don’t think that it’s quite sunken in yet. It’s kind of a big deal,” she laughs.

Mlandu-Letsika is looking forward to implementing what she will learn over there when she returns home.

“Around the world, people are concerned about the sustainability of the arts. The Kennedy Center has managed to successfully deal with many of the issues, so there’s definitely something to be learned.”

Before she leaves, Mlandu-Letsika will have her first play performed at the Baxter Theatre

Ikhwezi Festival on March 12. The play is called Zithin’indaba (it’s in English) and is directed by Lefa Letsika. It deals with class differences, cultural legacies and family relations.

I’ve always known that I’ve had a writer in me, but I just never had enough time to get it done,” she says. “But I set myself a deadline and stuck to it.”

The festival features 12 new works that have sprung from developmental roots.

· The Ikhwezi Theatre Festival runs daily from March 11 to 20 at the Baxter Theatre. Tickets are R35 from Computicket.

Kennedy Center Fellowship up for grabs once more

So, if you have been reading this blog regularly (bless you!) you would know that our Company Manager, Tanya Surtees, has been waxing lyrical about her three-year Fellowship Programme at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington DC.  Well, they are calling for applications for new potential Fellows (deadline is December 1st 2009) and we’d like to motivate all you aspiring Arts Managers out there to apply.  It’s truly worth it.  Seriously.

Check it out:

“This fellowship program is designed to provide up to 20 international arts managers with an intensive three-year, four week program on arts management beginning in July 2010. The selected managers will come to Washington, DC, to study arts management at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. Through daily classes with Kennedy Center senior staff, seminars, practica, and projects, the fellows will gain practical experience and skills that will be readily transferable to the management of their own organizations. Fellows will be expected to come to the Fellowship with at least one arts management related project that will benefit their home organizations to work on while at the Kennedy Center.

Arts managers with a minimum of four years of experience will be selected for this program. Fellows must be fluent in English. Fellows receive roundtrip air transportation, hotel, per diem, and program materials.

Applications are now being accepted. If you have further questions regarding the program, please contact Joel Hoard at artsmanagement@kennedy-center.org

To apply for this program CLICK ON THIS LINK. You will be taken to a login page. Simply enter your email address. You will also be asked to create a user id and a password. This will enable you to return and update your online application. You will then be taken to an application that will ask you for your contact information, biography/resume, and personal statement.”

Application deadline is December 1, 2009.

Home is where the Company is

I know it’s been a while (comparatively) since I last posted something on the blog but dang, it feels like just yesterday that I left on the 3-day camel trek to get back to SA.  8 hours from DC to Amsterdam, only to wake up and find, despite a working day having gone by, that you are faced with another morning.  Then 12 hours to Cape Town.

Crazy.

DC ended with the inevitable run of goodbyes.  And admittedly, on a *little bit* of a hangover from a final night of Fellowship, it might have been slightly more emotional than planned.  The goodbyes started at the hotel where those who weren’t yet leaving (or most of them, at least – Federico!!) came out to wave the first airport shuttle off.  I was in this bus and so, much like last year, my final memory of DC is the stoep of 2424 Penn being awash with hugging and kissing.  (Just for the record, no one cried; we’re very cool and level-headed, us Fellows.)  Luckily I got to travel to the airport with a large group of the Fellows, so it felt more like we were going on an outing than getting ready to leave.  Despite the very long queue to check in at  Dulles Airport, we still had heaps of time to kill before we all boarded our various flights and so turned to what we do best, besides Arts Management: eating!  We had the choice of two restaurants: The Tequileria or Something-Else-That-I-Can’t-Remember.  We chose the Something-Else as it seemed a little too early for the Tequilaria, even for us hardened folk, and were served by the world’s most unhappy, disinterested, sad waitress – perhaps she too had been saying goodbye to people all morning – until finally the call came for Lukas and Nada to board their flight.  The second round of goodbyes.  That left Zvonimir, Fation, Kheri, George-of-the-Jungle and myself still with hours to kill.  However Zvonimir and Fation were going to a different boarding gate to the rest of us, waaaaaaaaaay on the other side of the airport.  Croatia and Albania.  Nowhere near South Africa.  So it was goodbye number 3, leaving Kheri, GOTJ and I.  And still we had time to kill.  Done with the shopping, eating, goodbye-ing, we made our way to the boarding gate and waited to board, praying to be able to sleep and sleep and sleep as much as possible in the tin can that is economy class.  Did we manage?  Who knows.  My flight is a haze of Everlast, Tetris and Slumdog Millionaire (finally), laced with a fair amount of discomfort.

Finally we arrived in Amsterdam where we (surprise) got something to eat and wandered around the airport stretching our legs.  Now, Dutch cheese rocks, right?  So, wanted to buy some in the Duty Free at Schiphol Airport.  I asked the Cheese Lady whether I would have any problems at customs on entering SA.  “Oh, no”, she says, almost condescendingly, “everything we sell in this airport can be taken on a plane with no problem”.  (Subtext: I am Dutch and we are very organised so you can trust me.)  I read the subtext and buy great wodges of cheese for people at home.  By the way, I would love to know how shops in Duty Free go about their marketing.  I mean, they have a captive audience who is everything you want them to be: tired, bored and trying to get rid of their foreign currency on gifts they forgot to buy before they left.  It’s genius.  Imagine the money a theatre company could make entertaining bored passengers in transit… Anyway, it then came time for the forth and final goodbye.  Kheri and GOTJ were carrying on together to Nairobi leaving li’l ol’ me and my 12 kgs of cheese to keep each other company.  I had to wonder why the 2 South Africans had been split up.  I’m not sure if Johann would have been more entertaining than the cheese but at least I could have laughed at how none of the airhostesses could work out whether he was asking for the chicken or beef.

So I boarded the plane with a heavy sense of reality that the summer learning, fun and Fellowship was now…officially…over.  Sniff.  Then I passed out.  And the next thing I was conscious of, besides the smells of perfume and toothpaste, was the plane touching down, and I knew I was home.  No matter how good “away” is, there really ain’t no place like home.  Proudly South African, ek sê.

And by the way, you can’t bring cheese into the country, as my lovely customs official pointed out when he opened my bag.  I quoted the Cheese Lady several times; he pointed at the Forbidden Items sign repeatedly.  It was only after much begging and pleading and batting of eyelids that he let me go with my cheese in tow.  Which is a good thing.  One should never come between a tired women and her cheese.  It’s just not clever.

So here’s to a great summer, a wonderful Fellowship and an exciting year ahead.  And as I look at FTH:K and all that we want to do and achieve in the coming year, I have to remind myself of David’s words:

Do not allow yourself to be overwhelmed.

A big ask but an important one – what good are you to anyone when overwhelmed??  Besides (says Michael):

It does not happen in a day; it does not happen without failure; and it does not happen without discipline.

Here we go, world.  Watch this space for miracles ;-)