Introduction
In earlier discussions the objectives of the trip were:
- To perform a UB play at various venues in Buffalo
- To make academic contacts at Daemen college which can facilitate future exchanges
- To examine the strengths and weaknesses of the two institutions with respect to arts and culture in order to motivate future exchanges.
During the two months that ran up to the visit Dr. J. Sankoh of Daemen College and Prof. D. Kerr of UB were in constant touch through email arranging the logistics of tickets, visas and cultural programme. There were one or two glitches (mainly to do with spelling of Setswana names on the tickets), but eventually the whole trip was arranged.
Programme
The Organisers of the programme (mostly lecturers in Daemen’s Visual and Performing Arts Departments) planned a very packed schedule of events to ensure that the Botswana-based staff and students were able to have the maximum exposure to cultural opportunities.
Monday 16/42012. Dr. Sankoh picked up the UB group from Buffalo airport and took them to check into Hampton hotel. After a short time to freshen up and change the group had lunch at Daemen College and met some of the key people in the Visual & Performing Arts Department (as well as to Skype loved ones in Botswana). A student leader took the UB group on a walking tour of the College. The UB students were particularly impressed with the Creative Commons space in the library. The UB group were then taken back to the hotel for a brief rest, before being taken to President Ed. Clausen’s house for dinner, where they met not only important members of the College, but also prominent, local judges, politicians and educators who are part of Daemen College’s Advisory Board. By 9.00 p.m. the UB group was back at the hotel for a much appreciated sleep.
Tuesday 17/4. The group had the opportunity of a lie-in to catch up the jet-lag. In the late morning they went to the Wick centre (a large, multi-purpose hall) to see the venue of the evening’s performance of Gifts from Daddy. After lunch at the Daemen cafeteria the group had a chance to assess the stage, set up the stage props and lights with the help of Chris Brandjes, the Head of Drama. They then did a “top and tail” run-through of the play, so that Chris could become familiar with the music and light cues. They also rehearsed with microphones in preparation for the evening performance. In the evening President Ed. Clausen introduced the play, then the UB group performed Gifts from Daddy to an audience of about 300. After the play there was a question and answer session between the audience and the performers, which showed that the audience appreciated the message of the play.
Wednesday 18/4. This day was an open day for Daemen College, at which the various departments displayed the results of their research and its potential impact on society. The UB group took the opportunity to see the displays and talk to the researchers. After lunch the UB students had a chance to meet students from Daemen and exchange experiences. In the evening, after an early dinner the UB group was part of an audience of a play performed by the Daemen College drama group; the play, entitled, , The Whisperer, was about cyber-bullying at US High schools, and the UB group joined in the discussions after the play. Many people in the audience were surprised to learn that UB students had access to the internet and such applications as Face Book and YouTube.
Thursday 19/4. The UB group was taken to the first of 5 performances of Gifts from Daddy at down-town High Schools, catering mostly for underprivileged inner city students. The first of these performances was at South Park High School, on a traditional proscenium arch stage (the first such stage most of the UB students had ever seen, let alone performed on). The group performed to two audiences, one for graduating students in the morning, and one for younger students in the afternoon. It was very clear from the post-performance discussions that the issues raised by Gifts from Daddy were familiar to the audiences. In the evening Prof. Kerr gave a public lecture at Daemen College on the subject of Theatre for Development, at which several interesting issues were raised in the question and answer session.
Friday 20/4. In the mid-morning the UB students performed Gifts from Daddy at Lafayette High School. After a café lunch the group went to perform the play at Olmsted High school. At both performances there were lively interactions with the audience. In the afternoon the group was taken on a tour of the city of Buffalo, including a view from its tallest building over Lake Eyrie and the rest of the city. They also met an African-American city councilor, Damone A. Smith, who provided answers to questions about local and national political issues. In the evening the group went to Dr. Sankoh’s house where a select group of Africans in the city shared a meal, drinks and dancing with the UB group.
Saturday 21/4. The group was taken to a mall for some shopping and then continued to Niagara Falls. They had a meal there and, despite the cold, went for a walk along the river bank for photo opportunities of the Falls. In the evening there was another reception at President Ed. Clausen’s house. Among the guests was the Vice Chancellor of the University of Botswana, who was on an academic trip to Buffalo with a small team. The Vice Chancellor was very gratified to hear how well the students had performed and what good ambassadors they had been for UB in their interactions with a variety of Buffalo residents.
Sunday 22/4. The UB group left early in the morning for the long journey back to Botswana.
Analysis
The objectives of the trip were undoubtedly met. In the space of a few days the UB group performed the play, Gifts from Daddy 5 times, once on campus and 4 times at inner city High Schools. In total they performed to about 1500 people. Although there had been doubts before the trip whether a play dealing with incest and rape would give a good impression of Botswana in Buffalo, those doubts proved to be unfounded. At every performance audience members (especially teachers in the schools) praised the UB drama group for having the courage to expose such issues. Audiences in Buffalo heavily supported the view that such issues are also a problem in USA, and so having a Botswana group analyzing the power relations which lie behind such abuse, helped focus the issues to youthful American audiences. The students at Olmed asked for ways to support such Theatre-for-Development efforts, and after a tips by the UB group, they promised to set up a theatre group to dramatize social evils in their community. In addition, many of the discussion points in the High Schools centred on correcting stereotypes about Africa which media had created in the minds of the American audiences. This whole process proved one of empowering the UB students in correcting distorted views about Africa. In addition, the Principals and other senior teachers in the high schools were very impressed with the poise, politeness and communicative skills of the UB students. The experience of performing in the various stages, as well as that of seeing helped widen the experience of the students considerably.
Another achievement of the trip was that the Buffalo academics came to realize that UB academics, Prof. Kerr and Mr. Omoregie, as well as other lecturers at UB, had a wealth of experience in Theatre for Development methodologies. Since the Visual & Performing Arts department at Daemen intends to create a niche market in TfD, the future exchange would not be a one-way process, but would be a genuine sharing of academic & theatrical skills.
Conclusion
The visit of the UB team to Daemen College created a major impact on the City of Buffalo and provided rich experience for the participants. The event sharpened the desire, not only in the two Visual and Performing Arts departments (Buffalo and UB), but among the senior administrators of both institutions, to ensure that the links between the institutions grow through exchange visits, visiting lecturers and joint research projects.
Prof David Kerr
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