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Almasi: Bringing the African Narrative to the Global Stage
Almasi is a Dramatic Arts organization that brings the African dramatic narrative to the world through Education, Access and providence of Professional opportunity to African artists. Almasi does this through year around education and professional programming in its current home base: Harare, Zimbabwe; along with facilitating artistic collaborations between African dramatic artists and top American artists and artistic institutions. Almasi means “diamond” in Swahili, and the organization believes that every gifted African artist has a unique and valuable voice that deserves to shine and be heard globally.
History & Background
Almasi was co-founded in 2011 by Zimbabwean-American actress and playwright Danai Gurira. Gurira was deeply compelled to build infrastructure that allows African artists the ability to flourish in their craft professionally as she had been afforded in the West. The organization was built with a vision to develop skills, hone craft and create opportunities for African artists within Africa and collaborate with top American artistic counterparts. Almasi is also designated to foster a culture of excellence and professionalism in the dramatic arts industry in Zimbabwe and throughout Africa.
Almasi operates as a collaborative organization, meaning that it works with various partners to achieve its goals. Some of its partners include the McCarter Theatre Center (Princeton University), Ojai Playwright’s Conference (Los Angeles), the Wholly Mammoth (Washington DC), the Yale School of Drama, The Public Theater (New York) and the University of Zimbabwe. Almasi also works with local organizations in Zimbabwe, such as the Harare International Festival of the Arts, the Zimbabwe Theatre Academy, and the Reps Theatre.
Vision & Mission
Almasi’s vision is to build a professional dramatic arts industry in Zimbabwe and Africa as a whole, and to showcase the African dramatic arts voice to the world. Almasi’s mission is to provide education, facilitation, as well as collaboration opportunities for African artists with American artists and artistic institutions. As well as create professional opportunities for African artists and their works.
Almasi’s work is guided by four core values: excellence, collaboration, empowerment, and professionalism. Almasi strives to teach and uphold the highest standards of quality and professionalism in its work, to foster a spirit of teamwork and mutual respect among its partners and participants, to equip African artists to pursue their artistic dreams and goals, and to create positive social change through the power of the dramatized African narrative. Almasi also seeks to provide artists with fair renumeration, as it fosters sustainable dramatic arts infrastructure on the continent.
Almasi offers various programs and projects that align with its vision and mission. Some of these include:
The Dramatic Writing Program, which trains and mentors African screenwriters and playwrights and dramaturges, and provides them with opportunities to develop and produce their work in Africa and the US.
The Artist Exchange Program facilitates artistic residencies and exchanges between African artists and American artists and artistic institutions, and enables cross-cultural learning and artistic development. The opportunity also affords African artists to go to the US for professional degrees, through our Fellowship programs.
The Dramatic Reading Series, showcases renowned new and existing plays, and engages and grows local audiences in discussions and feedback sessions. All this nurtures Dramatic Literacy in African artistic communities. The Dramatic Reading Series also affords Almasi the opportunity to continually train African artists and give them fair renumeration for their work, stimulating the local arts economy.
The Professional Development Workshops, grows and enhances the skills and knowledge and professionalism for African artists and practitioners in various aspects of the dramatic arts, such as acting, writing, directing, producing, and stage management.
The Community Outreach Program, engages and educates the general public and the youth in Zimbabwe (and the continent) about the dramatic arts, and promotes social awareness and civic engagement through theatre.
Achievements & Impact
Almasi has achieved and delivered many tangible and intangible outcomes and benefits through its work. Some of these include:
Producing and presenting staged readings (free to the public) of plays by over 30 renowned playwrights, such as Homecoming Queen by Ngozi Anyanwu, School Girls by Jocelyn Bioh, Her Portmanteau by Mfoniso Udofia and Ruined by Lyn Nottage.
Almasi African Playwrights Conference in its sixth edition which brings together over fifty creatives, writer, actors, directors and stage managers to develop African stories. To date the conference has developed over twenty new African plays. The only of its kind on the continent.
Training and mentoring African writers and dramaturges, some of whom have gone on to win awards and recognition, as well as been accepted into top American professional institutions and matriculated with professional degrees.
Facilitating artistic residencies and exchanges between African artists and American artists and artistic institutions, such as the The Public Theatre, the McCarter Theatre Center, the Wholly Mammoth Theatre, and the University of Zimbabwe.
Enhancing the skills and capacity of over 500 African artists and practitioners to date in various aspects of the dramatic arts industry, including acting, writing, directing, producing, and stage management.
Engaging and educating members of the general public and the youth in Zimbabwe about the dramatic arts.
Almasi functions on an each one teach one system, where our trained artists become trainers. This facilitates a growth of the Almasi ethos of excellence, professionalism and collaboration. Our artists who have matriculated in the US with professional degrees have returned to Africa, to build the industry locally.
Overview
Almasi is an arts organization that is dedicated to bringing the African dramatic voice to the world. We believe that the African narrative must be told by Africans and at a global, competitive standard that will allow Africa a more powerful cultural impact. Almasi seeks to build an infrastructure in the Dramatic Arts that will be self sustaining and function at a level of professional excellence that it will grow the GDP of the entire continent. Almasi has a successful record of over a decade of programming and professionalizing the African arts sector, a clear vision and mission, and a remarkable record of achievements and impact. Almasi is a diamond in the arts, and a shining example of what can be accomplished through vision, education, facilitation, and collaboration.
Our goal is to grow and replicate the Almasi model throughout the continent, growing the industry and a powerful network of professionally trained African story tellers.
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