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Rooftop strengthens synergies with ZIBF and relevant stakeholders
Rooftop Promotions
July 21, 2010

Rooftop Promotions continues to strengthen its synergies with relevant bodies in the cultural industry as a way of strengthening the theatre industry in this turnaround time of our nation. Our current collaboration with the Zimbabwe International Book Fair, to be held in Harare from the 28th to the 31st of July 2010, which will see us showcasing theatre as a way of breathing text to life is another milestone in our focus to strengthen our synergies with relevant institutions. We are going to support two free performances of award winning "Heal the Wounds" and critically acclaimed Waiting for Constitution as part of the Book Fair's live programming as well as freely distribute DVDs and CDs of "Waiting for Constitution". Just recently, we supported the UZ Theatre department when it honoured Stephen Chifunyise's work through a festival dubbed "Critical Perspectives on Chifunyise" held at the UZ BeitHall on 6 July 2010.

Our relationship with Book Fair dates back to 1996 when we opened Theatre in the Park as a venue for African contemporary theatre plays. Plays by luminaries such as Africa's first Nobel Laureatte for Literature, Wole Soyinka's "The Trials of Brother Jero" and plays like "Muramu" and "Intimate Affairs" which have gone on to be published, have been staged at this venue ever since its inception. Theatre in the Park started when the founder of Rooftop Promotions Daves Guzha approached ZIBF Trust intending to use one of their Gazebos as a theatre venue having been impressed by its round nature, which resembled an African dare.

"Theatre and Literature feed into each other either way because you can have a play published into a book or a book staged as a play. We are impressing on publishers to start publishing theatre plays because students studying Zimbabwean or African contemporary plays are stuck with Ngugi wa'Thiongo or Athol Fugard plays which are easily available yet there are other contemporary plays which have been successfully staged but have not been published. This means there is no reference material for anyone wishing to study the plays except trying to get a copy from the writer in which case it might not be the final production which will have been staged because the rehearsal process is another creation process from the script to the stage". Said Daves Guzha

"From a marketing and sales point of view, publishers should know that a successful stage play is highly likely to sell well as a book from the theatre popularity, it's a tried and tested product. And likewise, as theatre producers we know also that a best-selling book is highly likely to be successful as a staged play or film riding on the book's popularity. In Zimbabwe published manuscripts are not in tandem at all with produced and consumed plays output hence this collaboration should mark the beginning of a new era".

The two plays we are offering - "Heal the Wounds" (NAMA 2010 Outstanding Theatre Production) and "Waiting for Constitution" have been overwhelmingly received in their tour around the country with "Heal the Wounds" doing over 30 performances between November and December last year and "Waiting for Constitution" doing over 75 performances from May this year to date.

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