28 October 2022
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Story Rulanzen Martin
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Photo Vrystaat Arts Festival
Chanmari Erasmus in muit.sê sy. Erasmus is an alumnus of the Drama Department who walked away with the highest Vryskitter Award, for Best Vrynge Artist.
The University of the Free State (UFS)
Department of Drama and Theatre Arts was one of the jewels in the crown in ensuring the success of the revived
Vrystaat Arts Festival. The festival made its triumphant return to the Bloemfontein Campus after being cancelled in 2020 and 2021 due to restrictions necessitated by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Students, alumni, and Department staff were among the many recipients of the Vryskitter Awards when the festival concluded on 8 October 2022. “Our Department completely stole the show at this year’s festival, with eighteen nominations in all categories,” said
Prof Anthea van Jaarsveld, academic head of the Department, which staged 12 productions and won six of the seven Vryskitter Awards for theatre. “The diverse and overwhelming successes of our current students and staff together with our alumni speak to the well-grounded and relevant academic and creative input from all academic and performance experts in the Department.”
UFS Drama productions won the biggest awards
muit.sê sy, a new Afrikaans translation of Alice Birch’s Revolt. She Said. Revolt Again., won the Vrynge Best Free State Production award. The translation was done by the Department's Karen Combrinck, produced by Drama lecturer Walter Strydom, directed by alumnus Dr Stephanie Brink, and starred staff members Dion van Niekerk, Jani Marais, and alumni Jana Coetzer and Chanmari Erasmus. Erasmus was also named Best Vrynge Artist.
Tom gaan plaas toe was the joint winner of the Best Free State Production award. It is an adaptation of Michel Marc Bouchards’s Tom à la Ferme and was translated by UFS French lecturer Prof Naomi Morgan and directed by Walter Strydom, with décor and costume design by Dion Van Niekerk.
Vrynge is a platform within the broader festival for upcoming artists, stage directors, and performers to have an opportunity to showcase their talents. Jefferson Dirks-Korkee and Boitumelo Mohutsioa – both alumni of the Department – won the Best Free State Artist award.
(Tipping the Scales won best New Young Artist Production. Photo: Vrystaat Arts Festival )
UFS Drama students part of award-winning productions
The talent of students within the Department is unmatched, as was evident when Ziyakhala ke Manje: Tipping the Scales, a production that primarily featured students, won the Best New Young Artist Production award. Another student-led production, The Suit, won the Fresh Vrynge Award and featured three honours students, Tumi Riet, DJ Kruger, and Mpho Mike.
Ziyakhala ke Manje: Tipping the Scales starred current students Lungelo Makhatini, Mpho Vilakazi, Tumisang Hlehlethe, Monde Ngwenya, Nkanyiso Ngobese, Sane Nene, Diana Matandela, Musa Nyelele, Rethabile Liphoko, Diana Matsoso, and Devonique de Wee.
“These productions demonstrate the confidence that our students have in their training, and how they are growing as artists in their own right,” Prof Van Jaarsveld said. “Both productions were solely student-driven.”
(Tom gaan plaas toe, with alumnus CW Lategan and master’s student Barend Kriel, was the joint winner of the Best Free State Debut Production. The pair shared the stage with veteran actress Elzabé Zietsman. Photo: Vrystaat Arts Festival. )