Finalists Announced for 2016 SCrIBE Scriptwriting Competition

The finalists of the 2016 SCrIBE Scriptwriting Competition have been announced. Produced by the Imbewu Trust and now marking its fifth year, SCrIBE is a national competition which provides the opportunity for playwrights to develop new work. The Imbewu Trust is a non-profit organisation which was established to promote the development of contemporary South African theatre and arts and to help showcase it on an international stage.

Prizes presented as a part of the SCrIBE Scriptwriting Competition include having a script produced for a professional run and places in mentorship programmes, while all finalists have the invaluable opportunity to engage in feedback sessions with audience members at staged readings of their scripts. Samantha de Romijn, co-founder of the Imbewu Trust, comments:

The competition has evolved since its inception, continuously identifying how best to nurture specific scripts, writers and their writing styles. Taking a play from page to stage requires time and resources, and SCriBE seeks to expedite this process. The readings are a wonderful experience for both authors and audience.

VIER / FOUR by SCrIBE 2015 winner François Joubert, will be staged in Johannesburg later this year. Previous entrants have gone on to rework their text as a result of the open readings and some on to further professional runs. Finalists from previous years have included acclaimed theatre-makers and writers such as Joanna Evans, Menzi Mkhwane, Eliot Moleba and Gabriella Pinto.

The 2016 finalists are Carla Lever's FOOD FOR THOUGHT, Mark Tatham's MAN UP, Nokuzola Zoe Bikwana's NO CHRISTMAS FOR US and Milton Schorr's THE HEROINE DIARIESs.

Though this is her first attempt at playwriting, Carla Lever has always loved working with words. A corporate copywriter, arts journalist and short fiction writer, Lever has just completed a PhD in Performance Studies at the University of Sydney, where she researched socio-political performances of contemporary South African national identity. Her FOOD FOR THOUGHT sees a doctor in the routine, daily ritual of preparing dinner for her family. Yet this is no usual day's work: it has been one in which she has delivered life-changing news to a patient and she is visibly shaken. Is she haunted by more than just a professional fascination for her work? FOOD FOR THOUGHT is a consideration of authorship and ethics, the story of one woman coming to terms with mortality and motherhood.

Mark Tatham is a performer, director, writer and theatre-maker. He finished his Honours degree in Dramatic Arts at Wits University in 2014, majoring in Performance Studies, Musical Theatre and Physical Theatre and is currently co-owner and artistic director of the theatre company Liquid Fusion. In MAN UP, his first full-length play, a young athlete visits his gym late one night, alone. In the midst of his safest place, we witness feats of his strength and his biggest weaknesses. A story about life, masculinity and how it is being embodied in men today, MAN UP is brought to life by hilarious physical characters, anecdotal memories, and tales of bitter sweet success as a street workout champion. The main character finds himself searching for answers in a world that is leaving him behind, a world where strength is not viewed how it used to be.

Nokuzola Bikwana is a 49-year-old English teacher with two Honours Degrees in History and Public Administration. She was born and bred in the Nyanga township in Cape Town. She started writing as early as the age of 9; being an introvert, she found solace and companionship in writing. Her NO CHRISTMAS FOR US explores the events that took place in Nyanga in December 1976, which culminated in extreme violence between township residents and migrants, otherwise known as hostel dwellers. A reminder of the history of this part of the township that is seldom narrated, it makes us consider as a sad reminder the more recent parallels of the xenophobic attacks that still plague our nation.

Milton Schorr is a writer and actor of all sorts. With a background in theatre, he continues to create plays, act, write scripts, stories, features, and travel. His favourite topics are alternative, from permaculture to hitchhiking to mixed martial arts. In his play, THE HEROINE DIARIES, Craig is a heroin dealer. Thirty four years old, he's been a using drug addict for twenty, and finally his lifestyle is catching up to him. He is planning to check out quietly, the way he always knew he would, by overdose. But when sixteen year old Leila arrives at his flat searching for her own oblivion, he is given one last chance to question the life he's lead thus far, and perhaps to choose a different ending.

The SCrIBE Scriptwriting Competition readings take place from 26 - 29 September at 19:00 nightly, at Theatre Arts Admin Collective in the Methodist Church Hall on the corner of Milton Road and Wesley Street in Observatory, Cape Town. Parking is available in the area. A different play will be read each night, with a professional director and actors, followed by a discussion with the audience members. For the line-up, visit www.imbewuarts.com. Entrance is free.

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