On Saturday, June 25, I participated in the award ceremony for this year’s Prize of Hope in Blue Lake, CA. Hosted by Dell’Arte International and Aasen Teater, the Danish Institute for Popular Theater in Brødholtvej, Denmark, the 2022 Prize of Hope was awarded to the Zimbabwe Theater Academy. The evening festivities included a performance of the 2-person play, “Zandezi,” created and performed by Cadrick Msongwlwa and Ronald Sigeca under the direction of Lloyd Nyikadzino.
It was my honor as the commissioned artist for this year’s award which has traditionally taken the form of a mask. My process began viewing videos of the performance, reading the script, researching Zimbabwean mask styles and then producing about 50 sketches. After sharing my concept with Dell’Arte CEO, Alyssa Hughlett, I shaped the original mask in clay, created a silicon mold and cast there masks which were then painted. One mask was awarded to the group from Zimbabwe, one went to Denmark and the third is now in the Dell’Arte International collection.
The play (also performed several months ago at the Portland Playhouse here in Portland) has been described as a provocative, daring, and mind-blowing physical theater piece that challenges the criminal justice system. Zandezi is Zimbabwean slang for “prison.” The play questions if prison is for a rehabilitation or a place where innocent people become hardcore criminals.
Dell’Arte Institute and the Danish Institute of Popular Theater both focus on physical theater, a genre of theatrical performance that encompasses storytelling primarily through physical movement. In Zimbabwe, where 14 languages are spoken, the language of motion connects all.
Dell’Arte has been offering the Prize of Hope with the Danish Institute of Popular Theater since 2008; past recipients include Universes (2018), Cornerstone Theater (2016), Tim Robbins & the Actor’s Gang (2008), and many more!
My connection to Dell’Arte came through Tony Fuemeller, a locally-based master mask maker, actor, puppeteer, director and instructor. Many thanks for the introduction!
The mask was inspired in part by traditional mask styles of the Zimbabwean culture. The elongated facial shape vaguely suggests a shield. While we can see the story through the eyes of the mask, the shield protects us from experiencing it directly.
Deep lines in the face are evidence of stress, worry, fear and unknowing – all emotions experienced by Philani. They also suggest tears. Upon further discovery, these lines symbolize the two actors. Their interaction is the story.
The mask includes two additional figures in the forehead. These two figures celebrate the physicality of the performance. Their arms appear in multiple positions at once. The implied motion of their uplifted arms suggests hope and resurrection. The color implies sunrise, a new dawn, another world where hope is real, where rehabilitation is supported, where justice can be served.