Stuart White, the one person who gave locals a good taste of theatrical performances, told Showbiz in Gaborone this week that mounting these shows is no easy task. While he sparkles with excitement when talking about the beauty he has brought into many theatre lovers' lives, he says the whole process is quite taxing, time consuming, and requires the highest level of commitment and discipline.
He, however, explained that the satisfaction he sees on the audience's faces each time they stage a show, is a motivating factor because it demonstrates that the hard work they put in was not at all in vain.
Theatre lovers, who have seen his musicals, will agree that White can be counted among the best musical directors, making it hard to believe that he has had no formal training in this regard. "My directing skills are purely from what you might call raw talent. To me directing is intuitive," he notes. While White does not do musical directing as a full time occupation, he does give it his best to make sure his audience get the most out of his productions, which is evident in his very first real big production, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Coat. He reiterated that directing a musical show, especially when one has other commitments, "is not all a bed of roses" as it encompasses auditions, rehearsals and finally staging the final show. He explained that doing this kind of shows particularly in Botswana is quite a challenge, considering the fact that besides being director White and others do part-time acting.
White, however, notes that despite all the challenges, seeing the final production and the smiles it puts on the audience's faces always wins the day.
White, who originates from the United Kingdom (UK), has been in Botswana for the past 15 years and had never done any musical productions elsewhere before coming to our shores. He said while his dream had always been to see himself directing a major play, he started off with low-key productions, mostly his own compilations.
He stated that while he is not a scriptwriter, he has directed productions and compiled some of the popular songs to tell a story. Prior to engaging in Broadway scale productions, White directed a number of small-scale musicals, including Little Shop of Horror; No business Like Show Business; Some Guys; and Celebrate Good.
White entered the international stage with Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Coat in 2005, which had a cast of about 21.
The musical a1so featured 40 students from the Northside choir, and 15 from Gaborone Senior Secondary School (GSSS) choir. This being his first big scale production, rehearsals for the musical took three-and-a-half years.
Last year, White brought theatre lovers yet another exquisite production of Annie, a touching story of a young orphan who ends up being adopted by a rich businessman. The production, according to White, took only three months of rehearsal time. Annie had a cast of about 30.
This year, the talented director is bringing musical lovers yet another thriller, Bye Bye Birdie, which is scheduled to open tomorrow at Mantlwaneng Theatre, Westwood International School in Gaborone West Phase 4. The show will run until July 13.
White assures theatre fanatics that the show is yet another of his productions not to be missed. White, who has time and again talked up his intentions of unearthing acting talent in Botswana, said for this year they approached companies and asked them to finance children who otherwise would not afford to buy a ticket.
On Friday, the Bye Bye Birdie cast performed to about 150 students from Gaborone Senior Secondary School (GSSS), and on Saturday the cast gave about 250 Ledumang Senior Secondary School students something they will always remember. He said in doing this, their aim is to give students in government-run schools an opportunity to get this kind of theatrical experience.
