The stage is set in Anguilla to embrace a new drama company, aptly called “Stages”. It comprises of theatrical students at the Albena Lake-Hodge Comprehensive School, under the directorship of Teacher Collette Jones-Chin. The company launched its first drama festival from April 25 – 27 at the La Vue Conference Room.
The event was under the auspices of the Department of Youth and Culture and was keenly supported by Mr. Shujah Relph, Director of Conscious Lyrics Foundation of St. Maarten, who works closely along with Mrs. Jones-Chin.
The Keynote Speaker was Author and Artistic Director, Mr. Alan Springer of Barbados. He praised Mrs. Jones-Chin and the Department of Youth and Culture for the launch of the festival. Primarily, Mr. Springer sought to enlighten the audience about the economic value of culture and the arts.
“Having lived in the UK for many years travelling extensively across Europe and North Africa, before returning home to Barbados, I wish to suggest that it is of some value to keep the focus on arts and culture not just in Anguilla, or the Caribbean region, but in the international context as well, he observed.
He continued: “In 2015, the dollar worth of the Creative Arts and the Cultural Industries to the US economy was 10% of GDP. In monetary terms, this equals to approximately US$704.2 billion. Please note the distinction: one sector, but two parts. On the one hand is the arts, and on the other hand is the culture. As a comparison, the entire manufacturing industry in the US in 2015 was worth approximately 11% of GDP. Can you imagine a creative arts industry which produces almost as much wealth as the whole of the manufacturing industry in a country with a manufacturing base as huge as America’s?”
He was convinced that theatre and arts culture have the potential to garner proportionate wealth in the Caribbean.
Mrs. Jones-Chin has been engaged in drama since the age of 14. She took up work as an actress at age 17. She was the Director of Drama in Guyana and has worked as the Director of the Guyana National Drama Festival. At the age of 24 she began to teach theatrical arts, and has been teaching it for the past 25 years. She started the Stages Drama Company three years ago with some 50 students and has gained rave reviews for the performances. Currently she is in the process of developing an adult drama group as well.
– Staff Reporter, James R. Harrigan
