Professor Sebastian Ngaira could not imagine his own son James scoring a D+ and worse, becoming a tailor. This was the conflict in a play the Mosaic by Fesbeth Academy from Kakamega County, during the sixth day of the 62nd edition of the Kenya Schools and Colleges National Drama and Film Festival yesterday.
In his own words, Prof Ngaira (played by Henry Jomo) was not a professor of anthropology but a professor of megatronics, therefore he cannot imagine his own child scoring D+ in exams.
His desire to have James repeat classes and score “better grades” was futile as James was clear in his mind that he wanted to be a designer.
The climax of the conflict was when Prof divorced his wife -Monica and evicted her and James from home because she was supporting mediocre ideas of James pursuing a designer profession.
The turning point was when James got a contract from Hollywood to design their costume worth millions of dollars. Prof Ngaira who was by then on a wheel chair after an accident at a power plant, was there to receive the fat pay on behalf of his son James. He was very remorseful for his past arrogance.
There was a standup comedy Nashangaa from County Girls School presented by Euphoria Nabwire who left the audience in stitches. She had this exaggerated heavy Luhya accent which she used to deliver the comedy.
Moi Girls School Nairobi took the stage at Embu University with their stunning piece titled “Angela” highlighting the moral dilemma minors face once they are out of school for holidays and dangers of unregulated social media.
During this year’s national festival, many script writers pointed to the dangers of unregulated as the society’s pitfall.
The choral verse scripted by Isaac Kimiywi and produced by Margaret Njaaga is about Angela, who is introduced to drugs by a relatively older man who pauses as her ‘mentor’.
Friends School Tigoi Girls from Western Kenya, presented a Kiswahili choral verse “Basi Letu” which creatively addressed the need for embracing the Competency Based Curriculum (CBC).
In the verse, the common citizen wonders why they need to embrace CBC and not the 8-4-4 system. They keep lamenting but eventually on seeing the benefits of CBC, they embrace the competencies nurtured through digitisation and monetisation of the arts-based curriculum.
The verse was produced by Linda M. Zalo, the Senior Principal, and scripted by Foy Ongaya, Victor Achesa and Nobert Ayoyi. It was directed by Victor Opondo, Mercy Namibia and Josephine Imbulila.
Bungoma Boys High School also graced the stage with their creative piece in CBC titled Uhandisi Mbao. It was scripted and directed by Toili Khisa.
Boma Boys High School narrative directed by Christabel Akhonya and Rufas Kiprop and produced by Isaac Wekesa Makokha titled VAR impressed the audience with their creative props of the VAR gadget.
In the narrative, a learner is misjudged in terms of talent and is forced to play football in a school- which uses football as the only measure of extracurricular performance. He faces a lot of ridicule since he cannot play football.
When he meets the principal, the principal introduces the video assistant referee (VAR) machine. The VAR then becomes a symbol of broader evaluation recognising diverse talents. The story acknowledges the importance of the new CBC system to students.
Riara Springs School presented their play “Blooms of turmoil” which revolved around the pitfall of social media in our society. In the play, Rose, who is a student, drops out of the maths competition to pursue her mother’s profession of being a socialite.
Friends School Kamusinga took the stage with their play “The prescription” a play that took a swipe at the parental ways of putting pressure on their children instead of letting them be children. The play is written and directed by Ibrahim Wamboko and produced by Paul Weloba.
Kimberly Hills Academy from Kisumu presented their choral verse ECDE Sisi si Size Yako produced by Irene Odera and directed by Martin Ogeya. The verse showcases the plight of children as they are given tasks that are not appropriate to their ages.
