THIS year, 2014, one of the things high on my itinerary is to rebrand; both my writing and coverage though generally stick to probing and imploring theatre groups or companies and individuals and promoters to seriously inaugurate visualising what is in store for theatre fans; simply put, I am saying clubs need work plans or year planners.

Unquestionably, I am convinced that majority of those involved in theatre are no simple and easy people who can fail to make year planners or and work plans and estimate their projected theatrical target both for theatre fans and as a club’s play rehearsals schedule play after play, as this is important because such a programme will guide the direction the theatre group would be going.

Before beginning the successive year, it is important to sit down and work out how many workshops, plays and visits the club would make in a given period of time in a meek tabulation of a year planner.

This would lessen the treacherous-rush to audition a play either in preparation for the festival or one required for entertainment. Theatre groups should not wait for festivals,that is my salient argument.

For purposes of illustration, I am mindful that Chingola Arts Society (CAS) is noteworthy in this area as the men and women at CAS make such a plan with an average of a play each two months, hence their success in hosting six plays per year with an annual awards ceremony sometime each December.

What CAS does is the most apt way in running a theatre group with breaks deliberately left well out to be harnessed by visiting or traveling theatre groups and basically for other bookings of the auditorium.

To further exemplify this again; I visited Yeovil, a relatively small market town in England and walked over to Swan theatre club, a comparative theatre house more like our playhouses on the Copperbelt and in Lusaka.

The Swan theatre club chairperson Stan Law and his wife Daniele (Costume manageress) took me round to check on the remarkable and extraordinary ward drop, costume, dressing rooms and the backstage.

Stan explained a how they line up productions except for the winter when the weather is generally unfriendly, and that a theatre fan would easily make a date with the club unlike the random-type of auditions, rehearsals and play productions and performances.

In 1967 the Bass brewery sold The Swan, a derelict Yeovil pub, to the local Dramatic Society. For seven years members worked to transform the pub into an attractive headquarters with facilities for rehearsals and set building.

The society then decided to build its own theatre on the land behind the building. Its first production there was in 1976.

Stan explained, “We have had no magic wand but year by year improvements have been made. The Swan does not receive public funding, or any financial support from any other organisation, solely relying on the efforts of its members and patrons.

Years of voluntary work and the re-investment of all profits into the building and its equipment have resulted in the Swan becoming one of the best equipped little theatres in the West of England.

The Swan Theatre Company is committed to developing the performing arts in Yeovil and performs six plays a year, providing a wide range of opportunities for our members to perform or work backstage.

How justly can one merely wake up one day and decide to produce or direct or act in a play without prior planning?

I have seen it happen so many times; this man or woman visits the local theatre club decides to look for a cast after reprinting scripts.

A couple of days down the rehearsal schedule, the director or actor gets some other engagements and decides to leave.

One would be luck to see some of these actors ask for permission to leave; most of them will merely evaporate without word.

On Wednesday, 28 July 2011 while in Bath city, a town two hours away by train from Summerset, Dan Davies and his wife Sally drove me to Hatherop Castle, near Cirencester for William Shakespeare’s thrilling tale of power, love, corruption, loyalty, insanity and man’s mortality brought to life by the Cotswold Arcadians, forming part of the national Royal Shakespeare Company Open Stages project.

The day included a picnic on the castle’s open grounds at 18.00 hours for seven days on each evening, giving guests the chance to enjoy their meals with performances starting at 20.00 hours. My ticket cost £16 while two days earlier tickets were cheaper by £2 with full-time students paying £8.

Though my point is not the visit to watch the play, but to relate sceneries with what goes on in Zambia, I will tell a brief story of Macbeth as performed by the Arcadians.

Macbeth is a play set in Scotland, and opens as three witches plan a meeting with the Scottish nobleman Macbeth, who at that moment is fighting in a great battle.

When the battle is over, Macbeth and his friend Banquo come across the witches who offer them three predictions: that Macbeth will become Thane of Cawdor and King of Scotland, and that Banquo’s descendants will become kings.

Banquo laughs at the prophecies but Macbeth is excited, especially as soon after their meeting with the witches Macbeth is made Thane of Cawdor by King Duncan, in return for his bravery in the battle.

He writes to his wife, Lady Macbeth, who is as excited as he is.

A messenger tells Lady Macbeth that King Duncan is on his way to their castle and she invokes evil spirits to help her slay him.

Macbeth is talked into killing Duncan by his wife and surely stabs him to death. No-one is quite sure who committed this murder and no-one feels safe, but Macbeth is crowned king.

Now that Macbeth is king he knows the second prediction from the witches has come true, but he starts to fear the third prediction (that Banquo’s descendants will also be kings).

Macbeth therefore decides to kill Banquo and his son, but the plan goes wrong – Banquo is killed but his son escapes.

Macbeth then thinks he is going mad because he sees Banquo’s ghost and receives more predictions from the witches.

He starts to become ruthless and kills the family of Macduff, an important lord. Macbeth still thinks he is safe but one by one the witches’ prophecies come true, Lady Macbeth cannot stop thinking about Duncan, becomes deranged and dies.

A large army marches on Macbeth’s castle and Macbeth is killed by Macduff.

As a play Macbeth is a superstition, especially in the UK, that saying the word “Macbeth” whilst in a theatre is bad luck for the performers (there have been mysterious bad luck occurrences during performances of Macbeth to create such superstition, i.e. deaths, illness etc).

Since these bad occurrences the play is considered to be cursed. To avoid risking the luck of the actors and performances, people will refer to Macbeth as “The Scottish Play.” It is also called “The Bard’s Play.”

The Arcadian actors have no theatre hall, so they book their venues several months earlier moving from town to town with well planned activities from year to year.

My point again is planning should be in place on club notice boards or in files for the public to follow and the actors to adhere to.

Actors who know they have a commitment elsewhere sooner or later should not seriously be made to take up roles much as directors and producers should be committed to what they start.

I later spoke to Sue Baxter the director of Macbeth, and Jonathan Vickers; both described their commitment to theatre entertainment as uniquely imbibed in spite of their inadequacies and challenges as an amateur group.

Jonathan who played the title role of Macbeth in the same play told me his mother’s enthusiasm initiated him into acting and as a child he took up acting for leisure which he seriously still does.

It was pleasing to meet Sue.

Sue once taught at the Central School of Speech and Drama where she discovered a taste for directing.

She told me, “John we take drama seriously in the UK, and value our entertainment as much as our audiences appreciate what we do” and went on. “I enjoy outdoor and site-specific performances like Macbeth.”

The other thing I wish to add is that play performances can be held and successfully on any day be it a Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday as locally in Zambia play performances are competing with kitchen parties in theatre auditoriums, and not only will many people attend the kitchen party instead of watching a play, others will want to watch the European soccer league.

My pledge; with good health, my scheme is to keep writing this column, and similarly cover those men and women involved in theatre in profiles, probe and prop theatrical activities, highlight previews and reviews of plays. I will need readers support and contribution.

Thank you so much for all those who took time to read this column the whole of last year and were able to make comments on the various subjects that I brought out. All those comments and observations were valuably useful, and helpful hence my good reason to have links far and wide and continue writing this column.

John.kapesa818@yahoo.co.uk – 0955-0967-0977-710975