Jamaican theatre will be centrestage for the next 10 weeks as US-based production company Akiba Abaka Arts, in collaboration with local talent agency RAW Management, is producing a series of online discussions aimed at connecting players in Jamaica and the rest of the world.

Each week, starting today and running until January 3, 2021, the series will explore a different theme based on the history of Jamaican theatre and contemporary narratives presented on the Jamaican stage.

The organisers of the event noted that Jamaica is often seen as an ideal tropical vacation destination, best-known globally for ska and reggae music, world-class sprinters, ganja culture, sunshine and beautiful beaches. But pointed out that the island’s theatrical legacy is rarely put forward, and added that the rich history and contemporary narratives of the Jamaican stage provides valuable information for theatre practitioners and audiences in search of models and memories of progressive community-building through the arts.

“When Jamaica closed its borders to travellers earlier this year, we were scheduled to be on the island to work on a new play, Bar Girl of Jamaica by Robert Johnson Jr, work with Jamaican theatre practitioners, and engage the theatre community for future collaborations,” said Akiba Abaka, co-artistic director of Akiba Abaka Arts.

“The pandemic forced us, like many others, to reimagine how to engage the Jamaican theatre community without being on the island. The idea for 10 Weeks in Jamaica came about during a virtual meeting of Jamaican theatre artists hosted by Kingston Creative, where Akiba Abaka’s team met Nadean Rawlins, founder and managing director of Raw Management Agency, and Evone Walters of Artribute JA, a performing arts company.”

The group discussed the challenges of creating sustainable theatre in Jamaica and saw an opportunity to connect Jamaican theatre artists with the global theatre platform HowlRound at Boston’s Emerson College and the Martin E Segal Theatre Center at City University of New York, whose Executive Director Frank Hentschker advised the team on how to bring the series together.

“This partnership with Akiba Abaka Arts is timely because it comes at a period in our generation when the landscape of the Jamaican theatre is changing right before our very eyes. With Akiba Abaka Arts’s mission to provide access to theatre practitioners to tell stories on the global stage, and RAW Management’s commitment to promote Jamaican talent internationally, together we are able to contribute in reshaping the narrative of Jamaican theatre,” said Rawlins.

“HowlRound is a platform made by and for global theatre makers to connect around ideas that challenge our status quo. We couldn’t be more excited to be in conversation with an incredible group of Jamaican artists and culture workers for the first time through the 10 Weeks in Jamaica project,” says Jamie Gahlon, director and co-founder of HowlRound. “The possibilities for connection, inspiration, and learning that it provides embodies the power of what our virtual meeting ground can offer,” Gahlon said.

Today’s topic is ‘Decolonising Pantomime: Little Theatre Movement and Miss Lou’. The panellists are Anya Gloudon of the Little Theatre Movement, university lecturer Dr Deborah Hickling Gordon and veteran actress and broadcaster Fae Ellington.

Other topics include ‘Jamaican Roots Theatre: Then and Now’ featuring presenters Keith “Shebada” Ramsay and Maylynne Lowe; ‘The Business of the Jamaican Stage’, with speakers Lenford Salmon and Glen Campbell; and ‘Dancehall Reggae and The Nettleford Effect’ led by dancers Orville Hall, Marlon Simms and Neila Ebanks. There will also be a two-part discussion with Jamaican playwrites on December 6 and 13. This will feature David Tulloch, Fabian Thomas, Dahlia Harris and Amba Chevannes.

Karl Williams and Webster McDonald will explore ‘Queer Narratives from the Jamaican Stage’ on December 20, with speakers Evone Walters, Andrew Barracks and Rayon McLean looking at ‘Leaders of a New Stage’ on December 27.

The series wraps with a discussion on Afro-Futurism and the Jamaican Stage led by presenters Tanya Batson Savage and Michael Holgate.

The series will be streamed on Akiba Abaka Arts’s YouTube page.