Through exploratory and descriptive research into the importance and incidence
of Youth Theatre as genre, this study revealed that the changing political situation
after 1994, the White paper on Arts, Culture and Heritage (1994) and the
disbanding of the Arts Councils had a negative influence on the staging and
maintaining of new works for youth theatre audiences in Afrikaans. Thus, there is
evidence of a gap in theatre presentations for the age group 13 to 18 years. This
is true in particular, of the range between Child and Adult Theatre. Youth Theatre
(âJeugteaterâ) seems an appropriate term for this type of theatre aimed at
youthful audiences and performed by professional actors in contrast with
Teenage Theatre (âTienertoneelâ) which is theatre presented by youthful actors
for a youthful audience.
The collated findings of a literature review, questionnaires, interviews, practical
implementation and comparison with international trends, prove that a definite
gap exists in the staging of Afrikaans Youth Theatre as part of Mainstream
productions for entertainment, alongside the need for Community- and
Educational Theatre.
The study finds that themes addressed before 1994 are more national-minded
and romanticised, compared with the themes after 1994 that are more relevant
and realistic in nature and also less inhibited. The theatre practitioner, working in
this genre, who has a good command of the complexities of adolescence as well
as the external factors which influence the adolescent, has the ability to make the
right choice regarding theme, nature and style of presentation as well as content
of Youth Theatre productions. Only with this in mind can Youth Theatre
productions appeal to the taste and entertainment needs of the youth. The study
also demonstrates that the staging of productions that integrate dance, music,
drama and digital media, appeal more to the adolescent audience than
conventional drama productions. In addition, the study finds that financial support from the formal sector; the
National Arts Council (on a project-to-project basis); the National Lottery; as well
as Provincial Arts and Culture Councils have practical implications for this
industry when it comes to long-term planning for theatre practitioners and there
theatre projects. Financial constraints and extended waiting periods for the
outcome of applications, as well as the fact that projects have to be completed
before the next applications can be handed in, inhibit and constrain the financial
viability of permanent Companies who wish to pursue Youth Theatre as
Entertainment Theatre alone. School tours with Educational and Community
Theatre programs very often constitute the only other source of income for
professional Youth Theatre Companies. Funders such as the NAC and others
lack an understanding of the functioning of the theatre industry and are therefore
unable to adjust funding procedure to ensure the long-term viability of this genre.
In conclusion, this study finds that financially supported, quality, Youth Theatre
can prevent the overall loss of audiences in the range between Child and Adult
Theatre. This can only be achieved if collaboration exists between the different
levels of government such as the Departments of Education, Arts and Culture,
funders and professional theatre practitioners. Lastly, it is of the utmost
importance for Youth Theatre that theatre on the whole is given higher priority in
the policies of the Performing Arts and Education. Ample manpower and
infrastructure does exist to stage Afrikaans Youth Theatre of a high standard.
Lastly, it appears that the policy on theatre, and specifically Youth Theatre of the
Provincial Arts Councils before the implementation of Playhouses, could be
fruitfully revisited.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:ufs/oai:etd.uovs.ac.za:etd-06252008-132304 |
| Date | 25 June 2008 |
| Creators | Venter, Pieter Andries |
| Contributors | Prof NJ Luwes |
| Publisher | University of the Free State |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Language | en-uk |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Source | http://etd.uovs.ac.za//theses/available/etd-06252008-132304/restricted/ |
| Rights | unrestricted, I hereby certify that, if appropriate, I have obtained and attached hereto a written permission statement from the owner(s) of each third party copyrighted matter to be included in my thesis, dissertation, or project report, allowing distribution as specified below. I certify that the version I submitted is the same as that approved by my advisory committee. I hereby grant to University Free State or its agents the non-exclusive license to archive and make accessible, under the conditions specified below, my thesis, dissertation, or project report in whole or in part in all forms of media, now or hereafter known. I retain all other ownership rights to the copyright of the thesis, dissertation or project report. I also retain the right to use in future works (such as articles or books) all or part of this thesis, dissertation, or project report. |
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