A scene from a vignette about Internet fraud, which the drama group created.

A moment from the drama group’s production of "The Gods are Not to Blame".

It was a full house for the final performance!

The children decorate their masks using art supplies donated by Calgary’s Bowness High School Random Acts of Kindness Club.

The final performance of "The Name of the Tree".

The wonderful staff who cooked three meals a day over two weeks for the drama workshop and the drama camp.

Back to News

The children in the drama camp create plaster of paris masks for their play.

The Wild Rose Drama Camp
It was an amazing week as 20 children, four members from five OCLF-sponsored libraries, traveled across Ghana, traveled to the Nima Maamobi Centre to explore drama together with Eric Rose and Caitlin Gallichan-Lowe, two volunteers from Calgary, Canada. The children ate, slept and played together as they explored literacy through the arts.

The final product was a community performance of “The Name of the Tree” put on by the children using masks they made, characters they had developed, and a story they love. As well, the students explored various theatrical skills and ideas about masks, clowns, movement, character development, theme development and all of the disciplines involved in putting on a play. It was a truly inspiring time for all involved with the final performance being a great success and the children having an experience they will never forget.

"At the end of it all, I went "backstage" and got to see all of the kids. They were so excited, like children on a sugar high sans sugar. They were all exchanging addresses. There was this one little girl that I know who is seems very quiet at school. Very very bright. She was talking and laughing and dancing, just so much confidence. Another girl was crying because she didn't want to leave. I almost started crying myself: what an impact this program will have on these kids." Sterling, an audience member

Eric Rose teaching the drama group a game called 9 square, which emphasizes the fundamentals of theatre.

The Drama Workshop
Eric Rose and Caitlin Gallichan-Lowe were honored to work with the Kathy Knowles Theatre Works. The experiece provided an opportunity to broaden the scope of the presentations and use the theatre to tell Ghanaian stories and to deliver strong messages to the community about literacy, the issue of Internet fraud, and other important community concerns. The group spent the week exploring various theatrical skills and techniques, creating five short vignettes on the issue of Internet fraud. The group also used this time to further explore the direction they would like the drama group to move in and, in consultation with Eric Rose, how to bring their group to a more professional level.

The workshop ended with a public performance at the Centre's theatre to celebrate the work that Eric and Caitlin created with the resident company and also to showcase the group’s production of "The Gods Are not to Blame", a Nigerian version of Oedipus Rex. It was a huge success, with all involved eager to work together again.

Back to News | HOME

Who we are | Director's Letter | Approach | News | Nima Centre | You can help | Publications | Contact