Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/396532
27 this week SPANISH SURPRISE Pg 34 a hub' maltatoday, SUNdAy, 12 OctObER 2014 PEPPERcORN PARty PgS 32, 33 MASKEd MUSIc Pg 35 Did you have a specific vision of the course when you were first offered to organise it? What were the key things that you thought needed tackling from the outset? Yes I did. I had a very sad ex- perience when I was ambassador in Paris, and France had the EU presidency. One of its initiatives was to publish a play from each EU country. I offered several Maltese plays and the organis- ers kept turning them down be- cause they were too 'amateur'. The judges for the Francis Ebejer Prize have also often found plays not to be of the right standard. I think we have great talent in Malta, but it needs to shift from amateur to professional. I am particularly happy to be col- laborating with the Arts Council Malta and with St James Cavalier because it is a genuine collective effort at raising standards and providing concrete measures for people to become more profes- sional. How would you describe the contemporary scene of Maltese drama, particularly the plays written in Maltese? Do you see any significant historical development from the past? Of course there is an evolution from the past; theatre moves (or should move) with the times it emerges from. After the Maltese language was officially recog- nised, plays were initially written as a complement to other forms of literature. Authors were not re- ally playwrights, but rather nov- elists or essayists. Today, Mal- tese playwrights are addressing contemporary realities, using a theatrical form and not trying to adapt it. However, some have not been provided with training which could help them enhance their work and render it 'market- able' abroad. I would like to see that achieved, and will feel very proud to watch plays by Maltese artists being acted in other Eu- ropean languages and beyond! How do you feel about the fact that submissions to the Francis Ebejer Prize turned out to be of a consistently low quality? What do you think has led to this? Some of the texts showed little understanding of the fact that theatre requires a completely different approach to writing; an unoriginal approach to the way subjects are tackled; not enough sense or knowledge of playwrit- ing skills; weak plots; weak char- acters. Some submissions are of a low quality because writers have not adopted a more profes- sional approach. I believe writ- ing skills can be acquired and perfected especially when some- one has inspiration, ideas, a keen sense of observation and knowl- edge of how the theatre actually works. The characters are not characters in a book, they have to be given life through the work of actors and a director. The au- thor needs to be aware of their needs. I have had the wonderful opportunity to see great authors, such as Arthur Miller, work with actors on a script. It is a very spe- cial experience. Given that the guest lecturers don't speak Maltese and aren't familiar with the local scene, how do you hope to make the sessions as relevant as possible to the local scene, and to the concerns of local playwrights? One of the lecturers does not write in English, he is Macedo- nian. What is being transmitted is a series of skills and techniques; the work and interaction with the students will be the means to cre- ate relevance. Students can in fact, write in Maltese if they so wish. What do you hope the tangible benefits of the sessions will ultimately be? I hope that these sessions will provide new directions for persons aspiring to write for the theatre, or wanting to take their writing to a more professional level. I hope it will lay the ground for a new type of writing, which is more at par with current European playwrit- ing standards. Ultimately, I hope to see many Maltese playwrights being performed and printed in- ternationally. Setting the stage the Maltese play-writing tradition is undergoing a crisis, with the Arts council revealing how submissions to the annual Francis Ebejer Award proving to be consistently sub-par. Vicki-Ann cremona hopes to change that with an upcoming Scriptwriting for theatre course, tEOdOR RELJIc finds out Vicki-Ann Cremona PHOTO BY AlexAndrA PAce defied my expectations. He looks like a Greek god in real life, but once he enters the studio he becomes so deeply involved in the character that his beauty is transformed into profound emotion. What kind of flavour do you think Naupaca brings to the local dance scene, generally speaking? Would you say that being Gozitan makes a difference at all? JT: I believe that Naupaca asks audiences to get in touch with their own selves. That idea is always at the very basis of each and every choregraphy. Also, being Gozitan gives us more freedom. Life in Gozo gives us more time to focus on our- selves, to discover what we really want to do. Do you hope to export the show beyond our shores? Have you taken any steps in this regard? DA: That's what we're aiming at. We've already established a few contacts in Rome and in London. Divina is our first original project and we're doing our best to take it beyond our shores. Moreover we want to establish ourselves and to make Malta and Gozo proud. JT: Our final target is to attract more foreign artists to Gozo. We want to go abroad, and bring 'the abroad' to Gozo. Gozo could be- come a contemporary dance hub. Divina will open its doors on the 18 October at the Mediterranean Conference Centre with a repeat performance on the 24 October at the Aurora Theatre Opera House in Valletta. Early bird discounts are available till the 28 September. For tickets, visit: http://mcc.com.mt/ or http://tatruaurora.com/ For more information about Naupaca Dance Factory, visit: www.naupacadancefactory.com/ About the course Lectures will be delivered by goran Stefanovski, Fraser grace and cathy crabb, in collaboration with the School of Performing Arts at the University of Malta and St James cavalier, centre of creativity. the course will be held at the University of Malta and at St James cavalier. New and established scriptwriters are encouraged to apply. courses will be delivered in English but scripts will be produced in Maltese and in English. deadline for applications is October 14. the course will consist of three weekend workshops: November 28-30, January 9-11 and March 6-8. courses will be held at 18:00 to 20:00 on Fridays, 10:00 to 17:00 on Saturdays and Sundays. the course fee is €120. More information: www.maltaculture.com Registration: http://ow.ly/cyUNP Joeline Tabone