Koleka Putuma is one of the first participants on How Now Brown Cow’s The Writer’s Collective.
A new writing programme launched by theatre production company How Now Brown Cow aims to see the creation of 12 new works by South African playwrights.
The initiative called The Writers’ Collective will involve three groups of writers working with a mentor over four months and each of them presenting a first draft of a new stage play, which may be considered for production.
Every block of four writers will work with a different, expert mentor and they will receive a monthly stipend.
The inaugural group of writers will be mentored by BAFTA winner and double Academy Award nominee William Nicholson.
The participants for the first instalment, which started on February 1, are Amy Jephta, Karen Jeynes, Koleka Putuma and Greg Homann.
The second group of writers will start on June 1 and will be selected by a process of proposal submissions to How Now Brown Cow, which was founded last year by actress, writer, and publicist, Julie-Anne McDowell Hegarty.
“We are striving to reinvest in the grassroots of theatre and storytelling by empowering writers during this very difficult time. We are nothing, we have nothing, without stories in the theatre, so we hope that out of this initiative will come some contemporary South African stories that reflect our society and people today,” says Julie-Anne.
Daniel Galloway, former managing director and producer of The Fugard Theatre, acts as general manager and associate producer alongside Julie-Anne.
Visit www.hownowbrowncow.co.za for more information.