Northern Academy of Dramatic Art

Remember this one!

https://www.instagram.com/reel/DVWXb_-iY7k/?igsh=MXg4OW5hYXpneGhkZA==

I have always been fascinated by Samuel Beckett's (theatrical) work. The stage directions in his plays were always so precise that they reminded me of choreography until I discovered his play Quad.😮 Quad is a minimalist television play by Samuel Beckett, first broadcast on 8 October 1981, in which four anonymous, robed figures pace the edges and diagonals of a square in synchronized, geometrically precise patterns, their movements illuminated by shifting colored lights and underscored by percussive sounds, creating a wordless exploration of repetition and absence. Written in English but initially produced in German as Quadrat I + II for Süddeutscher Rundfunk in Stuttgart and directed by Beckett himself, the play features performers of similar build and indeterminate s*x, dressed in gowns matching their assigned colors—white, yellow, blue, and red—with cowls concealing their faces to emphasize depersonalization. The structure unfolds in four series, each beginning with a solo traversal and building to combinations of duos, trios, and a quartet, covering all possible permutations while avoiding the square's dangerous center point, with the entire piece lasting approximately 15 minutes at a fast tempo. Developed from an earlier mime prototype titled "J.M." in 1963, Quad represents Beckett's shift toward non-verbal expression in his late television works, eliminating dialogue entirely to focus on choreographed movement as "visible music," akin to a fugue with motifs of entry, pacing, and exit. First transmitted on BBC2 on 16 December 1982 and published in print by Faber and Faber in 1984, the play includes a slower variation (Quad II) depicting a dim, percussion-free version "a hundred thousand years later," highlighting themes of monotony, conformity, and the erosion of human individuality through ritualistic patterns. Scholarly interpretations view Quad as a culmination of Beckett's experimental teleplays, evoking intertextual echoes from Dante and Shakespeare while inviting viewers to fill its interpretive "gaps" with readings of social critique, postmodern decentering, or existential voids. #samuelbeckett #theater @choreography @mariannealphant #minimalism

**Clown Workshop ** presented by Sjaka Septembir

**Wonderment - Discovering the State of the Clown**
Physical Comedy Workshop (includes improv, mime, mask work, and the red nose)

**Dates and Times:**
- Friday, 28th June, 18:00 – 21:00
- Saturday, 29th June, 10:00 – 16:00

**Venue:**
UCT Playroom

**Cost:**
R750

**Instructor:**
Sjaka S. Septembir is a versatile creative—writer, actor, director, and mentor. His notable works include "Staal I & II," "Dolliwarie Draadwerk," and "Narrewalis." He is the founder of Bloem Klown Troop, co-creator of "Bal-oog and Brommel," and author of "Die bardo van Biko."

STAND SBS-ED Community Arts Centre (CAC) Managers Course
📍 Western Cape - Capacity Building Opportunity Alert

📅 July 22nd-25th, 2024
⏰ 8:00 AM - 4:30 PM
🏢 Artscape iSibaya

In partnership with Stellenbosch Business School Executive Development (SBS-ED), we are offering a FREE course providing practical insights on:

Community Arts Economics
Business Acumen
Center Development
Finance
Marketing & Communication

There are only 10 spots available, with priority for candidates outside Cape Metro. Accommodation will be provided!

Apply by June 7th, 2024, 17:00.

For more info, contact Ntombi MaGatyeni at [email protected].
Application Link: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeJRBtRHWlgJ2OVeszmm8fJOk7NyVtBJcXKRZ34V1kdiANTUg/viewform?usp=sf_link

STAND SBS-ED Community Arts Centre (CAC) Managers Course

📍 Western Cape - Capacity Building Opportunity Alert

📅 July 22nd-25th, 2024
⏰ 8:00 AM - 4:30 PM
🏢 Artscape iSibaya

This FREE course, in partnership with Stellenbosch Business School Executive Development (SBS-ED), offers practical insights on:

Community Arts Economics
Business Acumen
Center Development
Finance
Marketing & Communication

Only 10 spots available, with priority for candidates outside Cape Metro. Accommodation will be provided!

Apply by June 7th, 2024, 17:00. For more info, contact Ntombi MaGatyeni at [email protected].

Application Link: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeJRBtRHWlgJ2OVeszmm8fJOk7NyVtBJcXKRZ34V1kdiANTUg/viewform?usp=sf_link

"No, you cannot teach acting. Acting is a gift that one possesses or does not. At The Juilliard School we looked for the gift in those who auditioned, and we sought, hoped, to develop this gift.

"But beyond that gift of acting, I know that I and others at Juilliard wanted to develop other things. So much strength--of body and character and mind--is needed to be ready to act, to live.

"I loved my students. I still do. They are my children, my birds. I know people laugh at me for being so devoted, but I love the theatre, and if I ultimately have any legacy--if I leave the smallest memory--it will be through my students.

"I've told you before that no one can take anything from you--talent, love, jobs, opportunities. Those can be squandered, but only by you. No one can come in and take them from you. And yet I encountered so much fear and anger from students who felt that their lives would only have so many offers or chances, and if they lost even one, they felt dashed, bereft.

"I urged my students to develop the gift of forgiveness. Forgiveness of themselves for their anger; forgiveness of the world that isn't always kind or helpful; forgiveness of the theatre, which doesn't always present the opportunities or the gratitude that we all need. Not just to forget, but to truly forgive. Just let it go, wipe it away.

"I told a student once--a gifted and now famous actress--that her talent was golden and gleaming, but it was her heart--that could forgive--that transported her and us.

"Forgive. Love. Let go. Move on."--Marian Seldes to James Grissom/ 2008/Photograph by Dimitrios Kambouris