2013 PLANS
Twist has secured financial support from The Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands as well as from the KZN Department of Arts and Culture and from Pro Helvetia, the Swiss Arts Council, and the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) for some of our projects for this year.  Although the full 10-project programme will not be running with 4 new community groups as anticipated, we hope to have a positive response to a number of other project funding proposals that have been sent out, so watch this space for details!

TWIST AT THE NATIONAL ARTS FESTIVAL:
The Novel-Script Project
We are delighted to be hosting the 4^th Novel-Script Project in Grahamstown from 23 to 28 June.  Funding from the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands has allowed us to bring together Dagmar Slagmolen and Theo Fransz from Holland and Vice Monageng Motshabi, Lindelwa Kisana and Xolani Dlongolo from South Africa for this intensive writer’s master-class. Additional support from Pro Helvetia, the Swiss Arts Council, and the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) has allowed us to bring Zimbabwean writers Elton Mjanana and Raisedon Baya as well as theatre director Daniel Maposa to the workshop.  We are enormously grateful to the funders for coming on board so that we can continue to develop partnerships across borders.  There will be an open public performance of the play readings on Friday 28 June at 2 pm at the Nun’s Chapel (behind Eden Grove on Somerset Street).

Support for Fringe Productions from The Netherlands
Through funding from the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, Twist is able to offer support for two productions from the Netherlands that will appear at the National Arts Festival Fringe.  The performances include “By Bye World” (performing from 3 July to 6 July) and “Florence, Foster Jenkins” (performing from 29 June to 3 July).  The visiting groups will be meeting with Twist and will facilitate a skills-building workshop for young performers and community groups that will be at the Festival.

Twist Groups on Show
Previous Twist groups, Umsindo Theatre Productions and Intuba Arts Development will be performing at the NAF..  Umsindo will be on the Arena stage with their performance “Secrets from the Drawer”, co-written by Neil Coppen with support from Twist and from the National Arts Festival. Their performances will be from Thursday 27 to Sunday 30 June. They are also taking another production, “Pieces of the Puzzle” to the Fringe.  Intuba Arts will be performing their new work “Tears of Death” on the Fringe from 4 to 7 July.
Previous Novel-Script Project Fruits at the Festival
The Madonna of Excelsior was the Zakes Mda novel selected for the Novel-Script Project in 2009.  It has now been adapted for the stage by Kobus Moolman through a commission by PACOFS, and will perform at this year’s festival. We are delighted that the project has come full circle in this way, and hope that in the future we will be able to do the same with other productions.

Research and Twist
Twist has been assisting UKZN post-graduate student, Nkululeko Sibanda with his research for his thesis entitled: ‘The Politics of Design’ in Community Theatre Circles: A Comparative Analysis of the Creative Design Processes employed by Intuba Arts Development in Tears of Death (2013) and Bambelela Arts Ensemble in Just Because (1999: 2013). We wish him well with his final research efforts.