We are in an era where cultural isolation is not only no longer acceptable it is an absolute liability. I grew up in Zimbabwe, though born in the American Midwest. My experience has always been a cross-cultural one: I was raised by Zimbabwean parents who spent two decades in the US, from the 60s to the 80s and returned to a new African nation.
Read MoreTheatre has always been my passion and I should say my calling, and auditioning has always been my greatest fear, mostly because I feel self-conscious. Working on the stage readings of A Raisin in the Sun and The Convert were quite an experience. I will separate the two as I worked with different people in the two readings. A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry was the first reading I participated in.
Read MoreMy stay in Zim can be described as nothing short of fast and furious. I arrived rearing to get some important ALMASI logistics ironed out, while also directing The Convert, where it would be read for the first time ever on Zimbabwean soil.
Read MoreThe need for training in the dramatic arts in Zim has always weighed heavily on my conscience. There is such a palpable passion for the arts, committed artists, just never quite an environment where talents can be nurtured to their fullest bloom. The vision is to cultivate a new approach to the dramatic arts on Zimbabwean soil, to bring about not only the highest level of training but also a new environment of professionalism for the work that is at hand.
Read MoreIt's not every day you meet a sword-wielding zombie killer. Lucky for us, one of America’s most well-known zombie killers came to Harare in March. Zimbabwean students, theater aficionados, members of the U.S. Mission community, and local American citizens had the chance to meet and talk with Ms. Danai Gurira, the actor who plays "Michonne," one of the main characters in the comic-book-turned-hit-television series The Walking Dead.
Read MoreIt all began with a discussion about our next production, following the success of the play ‘Eclipsed’ by Danai Gurira, which had been our first full production since we founded Almasi in December of 2011. I was eager for us to produce and stage a full production of Lorraine Hansberry’s ‘A Raisin in the Sun’ with a Zimbabwean cast.
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