Miss-Delectable
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New Era
As the College of the Arts marks its 40th existence, the the musical, Happy Beat, takes centre stage.
Produced by Sandy Rudd, the production features about 250 crew members at the National Theatre of Namibia (NTN) from 7 -15 July 2011. The production is based on the story of Sebino, a deaf drummer who knows he is born to play drums. However because he is deaf he is rejected by his village from partaking in the annual cultural festival. He chooses to go into self-imposed exile to try and find himself. Whilst in exile he meets many interesting and fascinating characters, //Gui, the bushman, and Garab, the Meerkat amongst others.
Through their belief in him, and ultimately thought his own faith, he prove
that by being true to oneself, one can make all the
difference in the world. He returns to the village with renewed confidence
and enters the competition again, this time with favourable results.
“ I have been working with the deaf for the last seven years now and I realise that their drumming skills are quite fine-tuned, as well as their drama skills,” says Rudd. She has been playing with the idea of the production for the last few years before finally making it a musical reality in the form of Happy Beat. “ The production was also an idea from the Disney animation called Happy Feet, which is about a penguin that just wanted to dance, and in this production we have Sebino, a deaf boy who just wants to play the drums,” she says.
Rudd further explains that the process of making this production was rather frustrating at times, and slow but it is none like any seen before.
“ There were just certain parts of the play that were not coming together but then they suddenly did and all thanks to Coffee, and African Boy, who will be a part of this production,” she adds excitedly.
Music artist, African Boy, who takes on the role of the Narrator in his first theatrical performance, saw the opportunity as a learning experience.
“It has been wonderful learning from Sandy and the cast involved in the production.
I am a singer and this is different in that I have to speak a lot,” he says.
In addition to his stage presence, he is set to deliver his new and latest track titled, Mbari Mbo, which talks about acknowledging the ancestors as well as letting go the past and focusing on the future.
“ This is the most exciting thing and I have always seen it as a major piece of work in Namibia, especially with regards to working with deaf people. It has also been thanks to the College of the Arts and Bank Windhoek for believing in this idea,” says Rudd adding that will be the first time that the African Performing Arts, Classical and Modern Music will be coming together at the same time in this production.
As the College of the Arts marks its 40th existence, the the musical, Happy Beat, takes centre stage.
Produced by Sandy Rudd, the production features about 250 crew members at the National Theatre of Namibia (NTN) from 7 -15 July 2011. The production is based on the story of Sebino, a deaf drummer who knows he is born to play drums. However because he is deaf he is rejected by his village from partaking in the annual cultural festival. He chooses to go into self-imposed exile to try and find himself. Whilst in exile he meets many interesting and fascinating characters, //Gui, the bushman, and Garab, the Meerkat amongst others.
Through their belief in him, and ultimately thought his own faith, he prove
that by being true to oneself, one can make all the
difference in the world. He returns to the village with renewed confidence
and enters the competition again, this time with favourable results.
“ I have been working with the deaf for the last seven years now and I realise that their drumming skills are quite fine-tuned, as well as their drama skills,” says Rudd. She has been playing with the idea of the production for the last few years before finally making it a musical reality in the form of Happy Beat. “ The production was also an idea from the Disney animation called Happy Feet, which is about a penguin that just wanted to dance, and in this production we have Sebino, a deaf boy who just wants to play the drums,” she says.
Rudd further explains that the process of making this production was rather frustrating at times, and slow but it is none like any seen before.
“ There were just certain parts of the play that were not coming together but then they suddenly did and all thanks to Coffee, and African Boy, who will be a part of this production,” she adds excitedly.
Music artist, African Boy, who takes on the role of the Narrator in his first theatrical performance, saw the opportunity as a learning experience.
“It has been wonderful learning from Sandy and the cast involved in the production.
I am a singer and this is different in that I have to speak a lot,” he says.
In addition to his stage presence, he is set to deliver his new and latest track titled, Mbari Mbo, which talks about acknowledging the ancestors as well as letting go the past and focusing on the future.
“ This is the most exciting thing and I have always seen it as a major piece of work in Namibia, especially with regards to working with deaf people. It has also been thanks to the College of the Arts and Bank Windhoek for believing in this idea,” says Rudd adding that will be the first time that the African Performing Arts, Classical and Modern Music will be coming together at the same time in this production.