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08 July 2021 | Story Rulanzen Martin | Photo Supplied
For Prof Anthea van Jaarsveld, the balance between science, theoretical and practical experience is important for a balanced industry.
Her unique approach to Drama and Theatre Arts makes Prof Anthea van Jaarsveld the most suitable person to take over the reins as Head of the UFS Department of Drama and Theatre Arts. Prof Van Jaarsveld was officially appointed as head of this special department this year. 

The Department of Drama at the UFS is one of the biggest in the country, and according to Prof Van Jaarsveld it is also the best, because the department produces some of the finest in the industry. Her main goal as head of department is to bring about a subtle change in emphasis that will ultimately make a real contribution to employability, a greater variety of job opportunities, and practice-orientated research. “My ultimate goal is therefore an approach within which academy and practice will find each other for the benefit of both,” says Prof Van Jaarsveld.

Science, theatre and drama collide 

Prof Van Jaarsveld has a scientific approach to drama and theatre arts. She never acted professionally. It is precisely from a scientific perspective that her knowledge of the theorising and contextualisation of drama text, theatre concepts, and the film industry is applied in order to maintain a balance in a profession where the emphasis on practical experience is overwhelming.  

She studied Drama at the UFS and was also employed as Drama teacher at Eunice Girls’ School. Following this, she started working as lecturer in the Department of Afrikaans and Dutch. “There I focused on the Drama genre in Afrikaans; therefore, I never actually left drama and theatre,” says Prof Van Jaarsveld. In 2018, she returned to the Department of Drama. 

Upon her return to the department where she started her studies, her aim is to ensure that the department again complies with the total package of the UFS and to make sure “that our students are prepared for a multifaceted and dynamic industry on a practical level”. 

Prof Van Jaarsveld took over from Prof Nico Luwes who retired in 2019. 

News Archive

Internet Broadcast Project wins international award
2014-05-05

The Enterprise Video Awards (EVA) named Kovsies’ Internet Broadcast Project (IBP) the winner of the Innovation in Pedagogy category. During a glitzy ceremony on 28 April 2014 in Madison, USA, Edward Musgrave, Deputy Director of the ICTISE Division, took to the stage to receive the award.

The IBP makes use of the best teachers in the Free State to broadcast lessons on more than ten subjects to school learners who do not have access to quality education. And it is not only the learners who benefit. Their teachers receive invaluable training in the process as well.

This remarkable programme provided the judges with plentiful evidence to be named the winner. The IBP team had to come up with highly innovative solutions to overcome the costs of local bandwidth constraints. The result? High definition videos being streamed in real time across a 1Meg line. Simultaneously to 70 centres across the Free State. Added to that is the fact that multiple images are broadcast as one, reaching 43 000 learners and 1 250 teachers per week. To top it all, the broadcast is interactive – the learners can ask questions directly to the teacher during the lesson.

All of this at no cost to the schools.

“It is remarkable for a South African university to receive this international recognition,” said Sarietjie Musgrave, heading up the ICTISE programme at the South Campus. “It raises awareness, not only for the work we do, but also the community work the university does,” she said.

And now the Free State has the highest pass rate of matriculants in South Africa.

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