Following its successful 2020 UJ Playwriting Lab, UJ Arts & Culture, a division of the Faculty of Art, Design & Architecture (FADA) is proud to announce this year’s Playwriting Masterclass Series that will run from the end of April 2021.
The masterclass series is presented at no cost to all aspirant and established playwrights. Four professionals including Makhaola Ndebele, Princess Zinzi Mhlongo, Tlotlego Bonno Gaogakwe and Selloane Mokuku will cover a range of playwriting topics while Ilyana van Tonder and Andi Mgibantaka will join Arts & Culture’s Jade Bowers to discuss Intellectual Property (IP), Copyright and Publication.
In his masterclass, Tlotlego Bonno Gaogakwe will explore some of the fundamentals of constructing effective characters; characters that not only allow the audience to become invested in the unfolding journey of the play, but also see some aspect of their own real joys, griefs and longings reflected to them – and in this small way leave the theatre at the end feeling a little more instructed in the things that make us human.
Gaogakwe is an English Language and Literature teacher from Gaborone and an avid participant in the world of theatre. He is a relentless advocate for theatre education and reform in Botswana. As a member and Chair of the Company@Maitisong committee he has sought to develop local talent and encourage theatrical quality. His writing credits include Afriqueer which was featured in the 2016 National Arts Festival and eventually won the Adelaide Tambo Award for Human Rights. His latest play, When things fall together, is being produced by Wits’ Drama for Life Theatre Collective and will debut at the end of April 2021.
About UJ Arts & Culture
UJ Arts & Culture, a division of the Faculty of Art, Design & Architecture (FADA), produces and presents world-class student and professional arts programmes aligned to the UJ vision of an international university of choice, anchored in Africa, dynamically shaping the future. A robust range of arts platforms are offered on all four UJ campuses for students, staff, alumni and the general public to experience and engage with emerging and established Pan-African and international artists drawn from the full spectrum of the arts.
In addition to UJ Arts & Culture, FADA (www.uj.ac.za/fada) offers programmes in eight creative disciplines, in Art, Design and Architecture, as well as playing home to the NRF SARChI Chair in South African Art & Visual Culture, and the Visual Identities in Art & Design Research Centre. The Faculty has a strong focus on sustainability and relevance, and engages actively with the dynamism, creativity and diversity of Johannesburg in imagining new approaches to art and design education.
https://arts.uj.ac.za/