The fifth annual Playhouse Drama Festival, co-hosted and managed by Parel Vallei High School, will be hosted in August.
“We look forward to welcoming more and more schools as we have seen the festival grow,” said festival coordinator and PV’s head of culture Darryl Spijkers.
“We have plays that will be performed in three South African languages, and we would love to see this diversity grow even more. Despite the lockdown, 13 schools entered in 2020.”
Established by Annelie van Zyl and Yanou Pienaar in 2017, the festival allows youth to express themselves in a real theatre environment and take on the challenge of creating, acting, designing, operating and stage-managing.
The festival will take place at The Playhouse Theatre, a community-based NPO facility known for its high standard in musicals, plays and dance shows, in Somerset West from Wednesday 11 to Saturday 21 August. The festival’s winning plays over the past four years were Kopskoot (2017), Too Bad (2018), (V)LUG (2019) and Wentelkind (2020).
To accommodate schools entering from far and the limitations some schools have placed on their drama departments, this year’s festival will have both live and digital options, and is open to primary and high schools. Schools can enter full-length one-act plays, shorter one-person plays or monologues.
“The Playhouse operates under strict lockdown regulations and the festival will be no exception,” Spijkers pointed out.
“Adjudicators will compare the live and digitally submitted entries, and ensure that all are fairly scored. Live performances will bring the excitement and energy of youth to the stage once more as we keep theatre alive under new conditions.”
V Schools’ drama teachers can find out more about how to enter or participate by sending an email to Spijkers on dspijkers@pvallei.co.za.
