UTT actors stage final year show

LISA ALLEN-AGOSTINI

Six actors will perform their original dramatic pieces in the UTT Acting Studio Class of 2018’s showcase Sounds From the Ground Up. The two-night show is the culmination of the acting specialisation of the BFA in the Performing Arts at UTT’s Academy for the Performing Arts.

The show will come off on two nights, April 14 and 15, at Theatre 2, NAPA, Keate Street, Port of Spain, at 7 pm.

Narad Mahabir, Christy Maynard, Nafilia McIntyre, Kenelle Alphonse, Floyde Rudder and Oba Thompson will perform original pieces they wrote, directed and designed themselves based on UTT programme guidelines. Each piece is between 20 to 30 minutes long.

“My show is a view on the concepts of life and death presented through the eyes of two eccentric characters,” said Oba Thompson. “I started acting from a child in primary school and within my community, including performing individual costumes and singing calypso. After leaving sixth form with a distinction in acting, I decided to pursue my studies at UTT because I thought my training in the performing arts would be more culturally rich considering my history in Carnival and my urge to experience the heritage of my father.”

Nafilia McIntyre said, “My piece is titled Mente Impecable and it’s about a writer who has lost their muse and they’re experiencing a writer’s block and their internal monologue as they go through that process.”

McIntyre has only been acting since she entered the BFA. “I decided to do the BFA programme because growing up I would watch my favourite TV shows and imagine myself there. It looked so fun to get to play someone else and my family would always tell me that I’m so dramatic so it’ like I couldn’t see myself doin much else. It was hard at first because everyone else had experience and I didn’t have any so I had to push twice as hard.”

“I believe that acting is therapeutic,” said Christy Maynard. “It is a way of healing and opening up someone and shaping their personality.

“My piece deals with a woman in search of a place to belong. She fights the harsh battles of life and its many demons. Victory is attained while conquering her biggest fear, proving that, with Christ, all things are possible.”

Over the past four years these actors have been in UTT productions including Earl Lovelace’s The Wine of Astonishment (2017) and Errol Hill’s Man Better Man (with NTACTT, in 2017).

Sounds From the Ground Up is the final assessment for the students’ senior practicum. Each night’s show will be unique and feature three different actors. Admission is free.