Jemma Kahn to Lead Kamishibai Storytelling Workshops for ASSITEJ SA & Theatre Arts Admin Collective

Jemma Kahn's THE EPICENE BUTCHER AND OTHER STORIES has taken South Africa, and the world, by storm. During the recent run of the show at the National Arts Festival, BroadwayWorld South Africa described the show as "moving and hysterical, and never less than completely absorbing." What is it about this traditional Japanese form of illustrated storytelling which is so powerful in its simplicity? Kamishibai is ideally suited as a form of performance for the many festivals that are springing up in community spaces, as the illustrations can be created to be used by multi-lingual storytellers, who can adapt their stories to their audiences. The performances are low-budget, but highly effective and impactful.

ASSITEJ SA and Theatre Arts Admin Collective are looking for 16 storytellers (8 theatre practitioners and 8 artists) to be trained in Kamishibai storytelling by Jemma Kahn over a 5 day period from 23 -27 September. The cost of the training, per person, is R600. If you successfully complete the course and create a story ready for performance, you will be paid R200 per performance of it in the run-up to our Vrygrond Family Festival in mid-November, thus potentially recouping some of your fees.

Following the 5-day workshop in September, the timeline of the project runs as follows:

- September - October: Complete stories in your own time.

- 5 October: A day for each group to share their stories, tell them and think of ideas for setting up bicycles or other forms of transport.

- 5 - 19 October: Storytellers rehearse and sessions can be booked for feedback and direction.

- 19 Octtober: Invited performance of each story with feedback. These two weeks are treated as a rehearsal period and the development of the bicycles.

- 19 - 27 October: Final creation and rehearsal period, to finalise the making of and rehearsing of bicycles.

- 26 October - 14 November: One public performance daily in Vrygrond in the 2 weeks that run up to the Festival, in the late afternoons and early evenings (4 - 6pm) combined with preselling of tickets.

Please contact Caroline on artsadmin@mweb.co.za to book or for further information.

Photo credit: Sam Lowe

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