The Centre for National Culture (CNC), in collaboration with Roverman Productions, is hosting the CNC’s Ebo Whyte Students Drama Competition at the Art Centre in Accra, to rebrand the traditional ‘Sankofa Students Drama Festival’ program.
The competition scheduled to begin in Accra on Sept 2024, will feature 29 Senior High Schools, grouped into five zones with at least five schools in each zone, in the Greater Accra Region.
In his speech, Mr. Eric Ohene-Larbi, Director of the CNC, said the objective of the event is to impart the experience of performing arts to the students, which is incorporated into the Ghana Education Service (GES) curriculum. According to him, the event’s success in Accra will determine whether it can be replicated in other regions across the country.
Mr. Ohene-Larbi envisioned that the CNC’s Students Drama Competition would soon rival the National Science and Maths Competition in popularity and attention. He stressed the significance of drama, noting that performing arts serves as a powerful medium to explore themes with socio-cultural relevance.
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He emphasized that theatre can help to instill a sense of cultural and moral values in the youth, in an era where these values have disappeared and merely regarded.
“Theatre can help re-instil our cherished cultural values in the growing youth which seem to be fading out in the lives of young ones,” he added.
According to him, the performing arts is an essential discipline that should be given national attention, as a country that neglects its traditional and cultural values will fall short in its development
“It was time performing arts was given the opportunity to once again play its critical role in national life,” he said.
Madam Berlinda Bediako Asiedu, the facilitator of Roverman Productions, expressed optimism about the revival of theatre, citing its growing audience.
She noted that all participating schools were performing around a central theme learned in school and that the competition would provide students with hands-on experience, bridging the gap between academia and practical life, and ultimately boosting their confidence in their future careers.
