Abstract
As contemporary theatre and new production models are now being evaluated with more regard to community empowerment, the importance of proper tools for evaluation of the process has increased. The article explored the community youth theatre practices of the Community Youth Cultural Centre (CYCC) of the National Commission on Culture (NCC) in Ghana. We examined the role of the youth theatre at CYCC in the light of community empowerment. Using the qualitative case study design, six artists with a minimum of five years and a maximum of thirty years of work experience with the CYCC were interviewed. Performance activities and documents of the CYCC were also observed and analysed. The findings revealed four themes: Objectives of the centre; Youth theatre practices; Abibigoro/puppetry theatre models; and non-formal and cultural education. It was found that staff and artists at the CYCC employed diverse theatrical modes to facilitate community empowerment processes. The study recommends that cultural and creative centres in Ghana should harness the potentials of the community youth theatre, develop community-specific and context-driven performance models to support artistic- aesthetic-cultural and non-formal education processes to enhance our collective strive for community empowerment in Ghana.
Highlights
Contemporary theatre and new production models have increasingly received emphasis in recent times because of the new and significant ways in which they contribute to community empowerment processes in Africa (Abah 435; Nyatuame 26; Yankah 87)
The research questions sought to explore the role of Community Youth Cultural Centre (CYCC) in supporting youth theatre for community empowerment in Ghana; leading to four themes or categories as were identified in the qualitative interviews, observations and documents, namely: 1. Objectives of the centre; 2
Many of the accounts given by the facilitators show that they share the view that many of the training, skills and capacities developed at the CYCC go a long way to support the goals and objectives of the cultural centre as mandated by the National Commission on Culture (NCC) and the government
Summary
Contemporary theatre and new production models have increasingly received emphasis in recent times because of the new and significant ways in which they contribute to community empowerment processes in Africa (Abah 435; Nyatuame 26; Yankah 87). Despite this recent emphasis, in Ghana, contemporary theatre practices like youth theatre are largely absent in existing literature. There is, ample evidence to the effect that youth theatre contributes to people’s empowerment (Hughes & Wilson 57; Jensen 146; Leaf & Ngo 1; Michael Richardson 1; Shulamith LevAladgem 291). Lev-Aladgem (277, 291) and Hughes and Wilson (57) affirm the sociocultural, political and personal benefits of youth theatre, which have implications for community empowerment purposes. This article has the potential to become a significant contribution to the literature in this regard
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