Congratulations to Dr. Yvonne Weekes
18/03/2021
Dr. Yvonne Weekes, Lecturer in Theatre receives the faculty award for her research project in Ghana. Dr. Weekes’ project is titled: Caribbean Monologues for Actors, an E-book for teachers with recorded examples for performances for teachers, students, actors and performing arts schools with a limited print text.
In Dr. Weekes' words:
As a major resource person for the Caribbean Examinations Council since 1999 with both CSEC Theatre Arts and CAPE Performing Arts I became concerned about the lack of material for Caribbean teachers in the classroom who were faced with having to prepare students for the MONOLOGUE. Despite the fact that I am not a historian by profession I became consumed with the spirits of the ancestors and began writing monologues based on the strong historical context of their lives. The monologues have been informed by pages of readings about the lives, history and situations of the Caribbean experience. Some stories may be more familiar than others. I imagined playing these characters on a stage in front of a live audience. I imagine too Caribbean acting students delving into the archives of their countries, their University libraries and the ever expanding information which can be found on the internet. In playing these roles I believe that acting students can discover the rich history of the region while being satisfied that they can play characters in their own authentic voices. All of the monologues were inspired by my own interests and experiences. I remember seeing Sir Vivian Richards play at St. Johns Cricket ground; standing close to Dame Eugenia Charles at an OECS meeting in Montserrat and reading intently about the Parsley Massacres when the expulsion of Haitians by Santo Domingo began in June, 2015, again.
The Research Award will thus allow me to produce an E-Book of dramatic monologues completely FREE, to teachers across the region and will add to the cannon of Caribbean theatre. The E-book will also contain video recordings of some monologues which will be uploaded to the book as exemplars for discussion. Additionally, the Research Award allows me to enlist a team of other award winning writers from Barbados and beyond in a project which is truly Caribbean; these writers have also explored contemporary issues which affect our youth. In the words of a Senior Teacher from Jamaica on her reading of the draft manuscript, “WE must claim it fi WE Pickney dem…The future”….(Ms Shaurna Miller).
Yvonne Weekes won 1st prize in the Frank Collymore Literary Endowment Award in 2004 and is a lecturer in Theatre and Arts Education in the Faculty of Culture, Creative and Performing Arts.