Ubom! Heartbeat Theatre

Ubom! blends the skills of Rhodes University Drama graduates with the talents of disadvantaged community theatre practitioners. It sources talent from rural areas and underprivileged communities with the help of the Department of Arts and Culture and via its community outreach projects. A rigorous training programme develops the students’ skills in acting, mime, voice, physical work and workshop facilitation techniques. Ubom! also conducts drama, dance classes and workshops for community groups, schools learners and teachers. They teach basic staging principles, arts administration, how to devise theatre, scripting, how to source material, acting techniques, etc.Via its annual productions, Ubom! examines the social, environmental and economic issues of the day. Its issues-based plays are informative and educational and are used to create and deepen awareness on a variety of issues. The performances are interactive and participatory and are designed to stimulate dialogue with the audience, both during the performance and in workshops afterwards.

Innovation

Ubom! is innovative in the company model it employs, especially in the way they source and utilise their actors, as well as in the actual art it produces and the methods used. Another innovation is that its performances are never simplistic and didactic – their goal is to raise questions and to make their audiences think. This is both effective and a refreshing change from audiences saturated by preachy and overtly politically correct pieces on HIV/AIDS, rape etc. The training programme is another innovation. Where other professional companies focus on rehearsals, Ubom! dedicates an hour and a half each day to training its actors.

Effectiveness

Since inception the company has created and performed 28 professional productions, created and implemented 19 development projects and conducted numerous tours and workshop programmes in both rural and urban areas. Ubom! has toured 8 of the 9 provinces and brought art to over 145 565 people since inception.

Povery Impact

Thirty people are employed full-time, while another 90 have temporary contracts. The project goes beyond creating jobs for theatre practitioners. It touches the lives of thousands of people each year, by educating them about their rich cultural history. Local community drama groups receive workshops to upgrade their skills. Local township school students enjoy regular drama workshops, which culminate in a mini-festival of their work. Street children benefit from the therapeutic process of workshops and performances.

Sustainability

The Rhodes Finance Department manages all finances and only the Artistic Director has signing powers within Ubom!. As per Rhodes policies all financial requests have to be countersigned by 2 finance officers. The total running cost per annum is about R850 000. Because it is still in a developmental phase, it will take many more years before it can fund itself. That is why it is concentrating on developing a theatre-going culture, so that there will be a large audience willing to pay for theatre. Support from operational partners ensures that future funding is secure.

Replication

Drama and theatre are important tools to educate and empower people, especially the poor. The model can be replicated but needs to be affiliated to a professional drama group. Substantial seed funding is important, while support from donors and ownership from participants are imperative if success is to be achieved.

Partnerships

•   National Lotteries Board (30%)
• National Arts Council  (30%)
• Makana Municipality (2%)
• Institute for Water Research (5%)
• Conference Workshop Cultural Initiative (30%)
• Donaldson Trust (3%)
• The South African Institute for Aquatic & Biodiversity (80%)
• Tshani Consulting-Amathole Heritage Initiative (10%)

Visit www.ubom.co.za for more information