Unzip your Knowledge
Nicole Rodel
At the beginning: getting to know Ubom!
When I first joined Ubom! as an observer, they were in the final stages of performing The Amazing Other Show. I attended one of these performances, and it took my breath away. The scenes were fast paced, with the actors changing their roles from character to character as they depicted different social issues that students might face at a university like Rhodes. There were bursts of laughter and moments of dead silence.
You could sense that the audience were recognising mirror-images of themselves in the characters. There was the girl who drinks more than she should at a local pub; the Zulu boy who didn’t want his sister to date a Xhosa boy and the group of friends of mixed races who secretly don’t understand each other’s habits. I was able to see how the Ubom! team use these stories to challenge their audience. Each scene was framed to get them to think about, and question, the characters' decisions and behaviour.
After the play, the performers stayed in character to answer questions about the different situations they had portrayed. The resulting discussion was thoroughly absorbing. I could see how it helped the audience to engage with the play and with the social issues that it explores.
As I left the theatre, my mind overflowed with anticipation at the thought of becoming an observer of Ubom!.
Sisonke Yafele forms part of the chorus in the background of this scene from Unzip Your Knowledge. He portrays a student working diligently on his own.
Luvuyo Yanta
Sisonke Yafele
Iman Isaacs
Sparky, Zandile and Luvuyo rehearse their plagiarism scene and show how working together might not be the smartest way to write an essay.
Simona and Iman bring Naledi's history research to life in a re-enactment of the Anglo-Zulu war
Listen to "From Rehearsal to the Stage" and follow the cast and director of Unzip your Knowledge as they prepare for their opening night
Sparky, Simona, Sisonke, Iman and Luvuyo stretch their muscles out in a pre-show warm up, waving their arms and swaying their bodies from side to side.
Sit down in a front-row seat in the Rhodes Theatre, and listen to the edited audio version of Unzip your Knowledge
The aftermath: reflections
The theatre is empty, the spotlights have gone cold after burning brightly, and the heaps of shredded paper have been swept off the stage. The process that I have been watching from the front row for the last two months has come to an end. I thought it only appropriate to speak to the woman who gave Unzip your Knowledge its momentum in the first place: Professor Chrissie Boughey.
A conversation with Chrissie: how Unzip your Knowledge began, what she hoped it would achieve and where she sees the show going in the future.
Both Prof Boughey and I felt that the production did open the audience up to ideas about different ways of approaching academics at a university level. She told me that she hoped that, after seeing the play, students would take it upon themselves to read the RU Learning guide. She laughed in delight when I told her that the girl I sat next to when I watched the show tentatively asked me for the copy of the book that I had been paging through.
In retrospect, I think I was too harsh, in my comparison of The Amazing Other Show and Unzip your Knowledge. These are two very different plays, with different goals. The first play was designed to spark dynamic debate amongst its audience, and it did so very effectively. Maybe the second one was designed to set students thinking about ways that they can improve their own learning experiences, so that they can reach their full potential as critical thinkers.
I am told that a lack of funding may lead to the final curtain call for Ubom!. However, it might not be the end for Unzip your Knowledge. Prof Boughey told me that she has committed herself to finding the funding that would enable the cast to put the production together again next year.
When I first walked into Masonic Hall it felt like a completely foreign experience, to witness how a group of actors bring a book to life on stage. I feel privileged to have been allowed behind the scenes of this artistic community. Observing Ubom! has given me a fresh appreciation for theatre. I feel distressed by the fact that an institution such as Ubom! must close.
The curtain has been lowered on Unzip your Knowledge and it is slowly being lowered on Ubom! as well. Without funding, the theatre company will not be able to pursue its mission of acting as a catalyst for social change. Ubom! has given many aspiring Eastern Cape dramatics the opportunity to discover their artistic voice. The theatre company’s name will not be forgotten. Especially because people like Prof Boughey, or even me, recognise its potential as a platform on which to unravel a social issue - or as one of the actors said: “to take something small, and make it ‘THIS’ big”.
Professor Boughey explained to me that she had written the RU Learning guide when she realised that students needed to change the way they approach their education at a university level. She had never used drama as a vehicle for education and learning before. However, her exposrure to Ubom! had convinced her that creating a dramatization of the guide could help students to engage with the content on a deeper level.
Much like the cast, Prof Boughey started this process without really knowing how Ubom! would be able to bring her book to life. However, she knew how the Ubom! team worked, and had faith in their ability to face this challenge.
By the time I first met Prof Boughey, when she attended the rehearsal that I observed, she knew that her idea was going to work. Even though the play was not yet finished, she was impressed with the way that the cast and director were interpreting the guide. By opening night, she was convinced that it would all come together well.
I nevertheless got the sense that Prof Boughey felt a little bit like me, with regards to the overall impact of the show on its audience show. While she was happy with the performance itself, she confirmed some of my doubts about the way the audience reacted to the production. She felt that quite a few students may have misunderstood aspects of the play - such as the voting scene right at the end.
The central character in this scene is Naledi (Iman) – who is also one of the constant characters in the production as a whole. It demonstrates how she has changed since the beginning of the play. At first, she struggled to understand how to make sense out of the learning that she was being exposed to. Then comes to a moment of discovery when she is able to respond to other people’s knowledge to inform and reinforce her own thoughts and arguments. This was supposed to be the message that the audience took away from Unzip your Knowledge – that students should engage actively with the material that they are exposed to in university context, and in this way become critical and independent thinkers.
As I watched the story unfold on stage, my main feeling was that I was experiencing this play very differently to The Amazing Other Show. I had not been witness to all the hard work that had led up to that performance. But now, having been witness to the dedication and hours of creative and critical work that went into Unzip your Knowledge, I could appreciate the play on a completely new level. Every word and gesture was significant to me.
At the same time, although I had seen most of the scenes a many times before, the live performance was a different experience for me. The energy that is created by the audience through their reaction to different scenes added a meaning to the play that I had not seen in rehearsals. I saw people clapping their hands and throwing their heads back in laughter at something they had done themselves, or jabbing a friend in the side to remind them of the time they partied too hard and missed all their lectures.
The audience’s reaction is something that has held my curiosity from the beginning of observation of Ubom!, and during the performance. I was sure the discussion that followed Unzip your Knowledge would be interesting because of the way the audience connected with the characters. But strangely enough, this was not the case. Prof Boughey stood on the stage and asked her own questions, and then prompted the audience to do the same. The audience seemed reluctant to speak, and it took some prodding on Prof Boughey's part before they relented. Even then, only a handful of people responded.
Maybe I should not be comparing two different productions, but I was nevertheless struck by the difference between the response of this audience and the dynamic discussion that I had witnessed in context of The Amazing Other Show. This worried me. From the beginning, all the members of the cast had emphasised to me how important that dialogue is. It made me wonder what it takes to succeed in putting together a production that evokes this response.
Maybe the The Amazing Other Show was able to do so because of the diversity of its subject matter and perspectives. It focused on many different types of people and experiences, and it explored a vast range of controversial views about different social situations. As a result, it gave its audience a solid grounding for debate. In contrast, Unzip your Knowledge focused on one central topic: that of the challenges of academic study. And I think maybe the audience was left with the impression that they were being asked to talk about whether plagiarism, smoking pot and drinking until 4am are conducive to a healthy learning environment. This was not the main point of the production but it might have stopped them from engaging in critical discussion.
In the end, I think that when one watches a play such as this progress from just an idea to a fully scripted and choreographed colourful production, it gives you a different perspective into its meaning than would be possible for an average audience member... maybe, in the end, it is the students themselves that should be involved in the production!
The climax: performing the play
Unzip your knowledge performed for the first
time in the week of 14 April. On the night of
their second performance, I walked past
chatting audience members in the Rhodes
Theatre foyer with an air of self-importance. I was getting the chance to sneak on stage to watch the cast’s pre-show warm-up.
The stage was lit with violet and gold hues of
light. The cast’s voices rang loud and clear
around the theatre as they recited complicated vocal runs. With full costumes, lights, make-up and props, the setting looked vastly different to the Masonic Hall. After the half an hour
count-down to curtain, I took my place in the
front row while the theatre filled up
to the last seat. The lights went out, the
audience was still and a spotlight lit up
centre-stage.
A hushed silence fell over the hall as the closing song comes to an end, and even I leaned forward in anticipation of hearing what Prof Boughey would have to say. After what Jess had told me, I was a bit taken aback when all she had was praise for the work that the cast has done so far. Perhaps she also wasn’t quite sure how they were going to dramatize her manual into real life situations, and was happy to see that the cast was finding their own way of doing this. I could see everyone's relief at how well the viewing went.
Prof Boughey and her colleagues sat quietly, as the cast set the play in motion. They opened with a song, and voices echoed loudly around the hall. They moved together, with fluid precision. The first story was about Naledi, played by Iman, who was grappling with what it means to be a university student straight out of high school. Naledi goes on a rapid downward spiral as she realises that she doesn’t know what is expected of her in class. Towards the end of the story, she discovers a way to study that works for her. She now embodies the ideal student that Rhodes hopes to send out after graduation: an informed,
critically-thinking member of society.
Sparky explained to me how important it is that each of the actors know their own character inside out. Getting the audience to engage with the material is one of the most important parts of the production, and the cast can only do this if they understand the decisions that their character makes at each point. It is easy to predict what kinds of comments the audience will make, but Sparky says it is most rewarding when the audience sees something that he didn’t, and teaches him a new aspect about his own character.
In one of the rehearsals I observed, Prof Boughey and two of her colleagues from the Centre of Higher Education, Research and Learning (CHERTL) at Rhodes came to see the progress the cast was making in bringing Chrissie’s learning guide to life. Before they arrived, Jess quickly told me that these kinds of viewings more often than not lead to what may seem like heavy criticism, but that this is how it usually happens in theatre.
Much like in The Amazing Other Show, Ubom! wanted their audience to see themselves and their own lives reflected in the characters on stage. They referred to the RU Learning guide to identify scenarios that could achieve this goal. The cast then thought of their own or others’ experiences of such scenarios, and began to shape characters that the audience can identify with. One scenario that I saw them developing in this way was a scene about plagiarism.
Along with scripting goes the conceptualisation of the choreography and its relationship to the chorus. Movements are synchronised with specific lines and chorus is used as a tool for emphasising the lesson of each scene. From one rehearsal to the next I could see each motion becoming smoother, each word stronger. The script began to flow more naturally from the performers. Iman and Simona have both told me that this combination of rehearsal and scripting takes time. You have to constantly try new ideas, digging deeper into the words and movements. And then, in the end, you arrive at that moment when the scene finally portrays the message you were looking for.
After spending a few weeks in rehearsals I became familiar with the cast, director, characters and scenes of Unzip your Knowledge. The director, Jess Harrison, explained to me that the scripting process is a collaboration between herself and the cast. First comes choosing characters - and then developing stories. The actors told me that one of the challenges of trynig to do this for RU Learning was that the formality of the guide made it difficult for them to picture humanised scenes that they could depict on stage.
Halfway through: getting to grips with observation
Over the next few weeks, I spent time recording, photographing, capturing and observing Ubom! at work. Rehearsals were all day, every day of the week and it was astonishing to see how much work can go towards a single production.
The Masonic Hall, where the rehearsals took place, brimmed with a mess of shredded paper, wooden boxes and dancing and moving bodies. Until this point I had no background in drama, so stepping into this space was a completely new experience for me. The hall has loud wooden floors that bounce under stomping feet, walls that echo shouting and singing voices. For a radio journalist like me, this was a challenging environment to work in! The energy in Masonic Hall is constant and palpable as the group runs through their scenes, making small changes to the script and adding one new movement at a time to the choreography. Among the cast, I recognised a few of the performers fromThe Amazing Other Show, and had short chats with each of them between long stretches of rehearsal. Here they are:
I believe that there is an underlying creative force that infuses all of life. I was waiting, somewhat impatiently, to see
this force at work in Ubom!
I had been assured that some aspects of the observation work that I would do for Ubom! would be monotonous. I may, for example, sit through countless rehearsals, listening to actors endlessly repeating their lines. My feeling was that it would all be made worthwhile at that moment when everyone in the theatre is united in a stream of consciousness process of problem solving. These are the moments I would wait for, when I would be sitting on the edge of my seat. I expected to learn countless lessons from immersing myself in Ubom’s creative process.
I was not yet certain of what my role should be in this process. I wanted to be able to contribute to Ubom!'s work, in return for being let into their world. I felt that it would be hard to provide them with a service that could measure up to the learning experience to which I was being exposed. I think one of the biggest challenges to becoming part of a community partnership is having to be realistic about what you are able to provide.
But, at the same time, I was beginning to see how my work for Engaging Spaces could be of some benefit to Ubom!. I could create a record of their work that would support their goal of boosting the reputation of the dramatic arts in the Eastern Cape. The developmental benefits of the arts are often underestimated, so that companies like Ubom! struggle to find the necessary funding that enables to continue their work - despite the fact that, year after year, they produce thought-provoking theatre which impacts profoundly on its audiences. Maybe, in a small way, the stories I could tell about them could highlight what they do. I could demonstrate how Ubom! is stimulating and contributing to the development of the artistic landscape of the Eastern Cape. In this way I could encourage others to support these artists, so that they can continue to pursue their vision of catalysing social change through their art.
I think one of the most interesting aspects of Ubom!'s work is that every person who becomes involved, whether they are a director, an actor, a play-wright or a member of the audience, find themselves constantly learning from their fellow participants. The learning context that Ubom! has created in this way doesn’t just allow for social change in the form of skills development or job preparedness, but inspires those involved to locate themselves critically and creatively in relation to their experience of the world.
I have always been interested in the way that creativity can change how people view themselves and their social environment. This is why I volunteered to work with Ubom! for the Engaging Spaces project. I knew they pride themselves on their own socio-economic diversity, and on providing their members with the opportunity to give voice to their own ideas and experiences. They draw artists from completely different walks of life into collaborative performances that are grounded in their own local realities. For the next few weeks, I would have unique access to this artistic process. I would observe a group of performers and their director imagine a play into reality, and record the intricacies of this process from the rehearsals to the final performance.
At this time, Ubom! was working on Unzip your Knowledge, a dramatisation of RU Learning , which is a guide that Rhodes University offers to students in order to assist them in adapting to the pressures of academic work. The guide had been developed by Professor Chrissie Boughey, the Dean of Teaching and Learning at Rhodes. Students are encouraged to read it when they first arrive at the university, but many don’t realise the value that it holds as a resource that can enhance their educational experience. In order to address this problem, Prof Boughey asked Ubom! to produce a play that would provide students with a point of access to the issues raised in the guide. It should provoke them to think about aspects of their studies by portraying characters that struggle to cope with the pressures of studying at university. When I joined Ubom! in late February, the group was allready rehearsing the play, and workshopping each scene. They were due to go on stage in mid-April.
The cast works unyieldingly hard towards the final production, and even my excitement is growing as opening night draws closer. Having been a witness to this artistic journey, and seeing myself in some of the characters in the play I was curious about
what other people’s reactions to the production would be. The audience’s interpretation is always important to an artist, but particularly here when the success of the play depends on the extent to which it prompts active participation from its audience. Ubom! recognise their own value as contributors to social change, but the group agreed that the play is only the spark that ignites the dialogue, and the interaction that follows is what causes change to happen. As Jess said, the play is more about RU thinking than RU Learning
Simona Mazza’s character cries at the thought of writing an essay after staying on a local night club’s dance floor until 4am.
From left: Zandile Meintjies, Luvuyo Yanta, Sparky Xulu and Iman Isaacs raise their voice in song for one of the chorus sequences in a Unzip your Knowledge rehearsal.
Sparky Xulu
Zandile Meintjies
Simona Mazza
The whole cast sings the opening number: "S-T-A-R, that's what you are 'coz you're big in Matric!"