Phala Ookeditse Phala, Director of The Centre for the Less Good Idea, tells us how you can enjoy online theatre shows during lockdown. By Fundiswa Nkwanyana
We have launched an online premiere of our Season 7 shows. They have been available to watch on our Facebook and Instagram pages from April 1. We will follow this up with another online programme titled ‘The Long Minute’. It will be a direct response from artists about the lockdown and the effects of COVID-19. The 60 to 120 seconds long films will use the constraints of space and time during lockdown to create artistic works from home settings.
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I strongly believe in the power of storytelling. I love that stories are where reflective living meets creativity and imagination to illuminate lived and new experiences. I am a Director of an art incubator in Maboneng, Johannesburg, but I wear many other hats. I’m also a writer, director, facilitator, educator, researcher, project manager, and a creative consultant. I’m happy to be part of a community that is keeping the art of storytelling alive.
COVID 19 has sent many creative practitioners into a serious income deficit. Most artists trade talent and skills that require physical presence and collective practice in the creation process of shows. The lockdown has negatively impacted the creative process and the need for mass assembly of audiences. Moreover, the situation has exposed the fragility of the creative industry and its over-reliance in physical presence. The challenge, which I believe our innovative and ever-creative artists will rise up to, is how we explore digital technology to develop methods that help rather than demean artists and their work.
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The Centre for the Less Good Idea is an important arts incubator that needs your support. It’s a space where artists can come together to work on performances, image and dance. It’s also a place where a good idea collapses and gives way to peripheral thought and a less good idea emerges and is explored. It’s exciting to be part of a place that aims to find collective solutions to the needs of artists. Everyone is welcome and you can also watch some of our shows here.
