Meeting with Pamela Nomvete 7August - Johannesburg Civic Theatre - Planning for Drama Workshop

After the workshop at the college, Masie & I met with Pamela Nomvete and two of her colleagues in regards to a drama workshop that I was going to facilitate in Pamela's new performance space.  Her colleagues worked at a men's homeless shelter and had met Pamela when she came to speak at Wits University.  As most people do when meeting Pamela, they immediately fell in love with her drive, energy & smile [as I  had done a few years past] and immediately decided that they wanted to work with her.

We made a plan to deliver a verbatim theatre & forum theatre workshop along with a brief performance from the Ethical Leadership Workshop that 3 or 4 students from the college would perform [as well as supporting my facilitation].

The homeless shelter dealt exclusively with men beause, as one of the young women said, there isn't a big need for a women's shelter as they tend not to leave home  regardless of how bad the circumstances become for them.  The 'men' are as young as 9 and old as 18.  They are all currently experiencing homelessness and have gone to the shelter to get off the streets.

I hope that this workshop for them is fun.  I hope that these young men enjoy themselves and have a good time.  It is the least that we can deliver. I also hope that they are brave enough to share their stories to the rest of the group and enjoy seeing them acted out in front of them.  

I look forward to the college students leading as much of the workshop as possible.  I feel assured that they can lead in the games and activities as well as participate in the drama that is created.  I hope it creates a strong and powerful atmosphere to have these two groups meet and mix.

How time flies..... The last full day for the workshop - 8 August 2014

Today is the last full day before the performance on Monday at 11am.  We will meet at 8.30am on Monday to rehearse the performance, so I needed to get through everything today that I wanted to accomplish.

This was a handover day when the young people started to lead and work in small groups to present their findings to me and the rest of the group. 

I started off with an examination of Sath's Cooper's 'Bible' choice from Hamlet:

This heavy-headed revel east and west

Makes us traduc’d and tax’d of other nations;

They clepe us drunkards, and with swinish phrase

Soil our addition; and indeed, it takes

From our achievements, though perform’d at height,

The pith and marrow of our attribute.

So, oft it chances in particular men

That, for some vicious mole of nature in them,

As in their birth, wherein they are not guilty,

Since nature cannot choose his origin;

By the o’ergrowth of some complexion,

Oft breaking down the pales and forts of reason;

Or by some habit that too much o’er leavens

The form of plausive manners – that these men,

Carrying, I say the stamp of one defect,

Being nature’s livery or fortune’s star,

His virtues else, be they as pure as grace,

As infinite as many may undergo,

Shall in the general censure take corruption

From that particular fault.

Saths says this about his choice:

I choose this passage because it taps into the issue of betrayal that we find between older and younger generations of the Liberation struggle. This betrayal has left our generation rudderless.  This choice of this particular passage in Hamlet reveals the duplicity and the playing of different kinds of roles that we see going on Robben Island.  For me, and I think for most of my comrades, to do that means compromising our integrity and giving up any sense of responsibility for our own condition; responsibility for rising above the condition and for leading ourselves out of that condition.  Some of that is hinted at in this passage.  

I asked the students to reflect on the monologue as well as this part of Sath's inteview on why he chose this particular passage.  I asked them to update the monolgue as those it is written by an early 21st century young person in South Africa.  After a bit of confusion over what was being asked of them, I asked if any of them had ever written poetry or a piece of creative writing.  Very few had, but now that they knew what I was hoping to get from them, they came up with four beautiful and critical pieces of work.  They too will be performed on Monday.

I then asked them, in small groups to reflect on the following two statements and come up with the answers to them:

What are our ethical principles?

Why is it important to have these principles?

I also asked them, 'What does it mean to 'hold yourself to account'?' And 'why is that important?'

These findings will also be presented on Monday.

thursday 7 August

On the third day of the 'Ethical Leadership' workshop, the students began to examine their own behaviour around how to be an ethical leader.

We had spend the first two days examining the current situation of leadership on a personal, local and national level.  There was, as you can imagine, a good amount of criticism especially when discussing leadership on a national level.  But I wanted to switch the focus of the reflection to the students own behaviour and what they can do differently - as leaders but also as young people who can influence those in power.

We also examined the monologue from Henry IV, 'Once more into  the breach, dear friends, once more....' [this monologue was chosen in Sonny 'Bible' by Ahmed Kathrada].  They did a beautiful job of  disecting the monologue and relating it to their own lives.   

The discussion came around to how to lead ethically and my interview with Michael Dinake really chimed with the group.  He beatifully examined Polonius's speech and spoke about why it is important for politican's to follow his advice:

Michael:  Michael Dingake. I am from Botswana, but moved to South Africa in search of a better education.  My father worked in the mines and farms here and my family decided to send me to school here. I finished my high school and then join the ANC. My detention, my arrest is actually illegal because I am carrying a Botswana passport but the Rhodesian agents, you know, I suppose from instructions from the South African police decided to arrest me and then send me to Robben Island. Polonius, that’s me yea?  

‘Give thy thoughts no tongue,

Nor any unproportion’d thought his act.’

Now, before you act – think about something properly.  Don’t act what you’re thinking before you have to be really certain to what the repercussions might be.  When I was arrested, I was really prepared, you know, psychologically wise.  Anything could happen to me, even if I was killed.  I was prepared for all of that. 

‘Those friends thou hast, and their adoption tried,

Grapple them to thy soul

 with hoops of steel.’

You see, true friends – you have to be certain now that this one is true.  And I think, you see, I am good at that personally.  There are a few guys, you know, I could say now, ‘This one will never betray me.’  Now those you ‘grapple’ you see?  Soul, yea, with hoops of steel.

‘Give every man thy ear, but few thy voice;

Take each man’s censure, but reserve thy judgment.’

Now, ah, this is important for, well, politicians in particular.  You have to listen to other people…But sometimes you have to be careful what you, you, say.  If, for instance you say, ‘I agree with you.  I agree with what you say’ …. you may be committing yourself unnecessarily because conditions may arise where you disagree.  Think carefully about everything.  I suppose that this is what Polonius is actually saying.

‘Costly thy habit as thy purse can buy,

But not express’d in fancy; rich, not gaudy;’

Personally, that’s a weakness that I have, about how to dress.  I am very found of, well, fashion. I am always among the trend setters.  

‘For the apparel oft proclaims the man;’

I don’t know how the apparel proclaims me.  

But this, 

‘This above all-to thine own self be true,

And it must follow, as the night the day,

Thou canst not then be false to any man.’

This is really loaded with what we all should know - how as human beings, you know, to conduct ourselves.  But it also means, you must really always think before you do. Before you plunge into anything, think carefully.

Preparing for the Performance

Alongside examining leadership through the eyes of shakespeare and the former political prisoners on Robben a Island, we are also preparing for a presentation / performance on Monday morning at the college. The students have cast themselves as Shakespeare's characters or one of the interviewees.  We are busy putting together a short programme of performances as well as an analysis of our findings and thoughts on what it takes to be an ethical leader in her he 21st century. 

Second day of the Workshop

During our second day, we explored King Richard III's monologue, 'Not all the waters in the rough sea....' And examined what it means to be a leader who believes he or she has been 'elected by the Lord' and is not accountable to his or her constituents. The students related this speach and this king to the leaders within South Africa and developed the idea that, although not necessarily elected by God, many think that they have no mandate to the electors and just strive to be in a position of power and have been put there by people who have not been elected. 

The students also examined an inerview with Andrew MLENGENI whom I interviewed in 2008.  He discussed his interest in the speech, 'uneasy lies the head that wears the crown.'  Andrew interpreted it as the unease that is felt by a leader who has gotten to power through illegal or unscruplious means. The students agreed but also reasoned that a leader might not be able to sleep because he or she is worried about his or her constituents. Asked to examine leadership on a personal, local and national level, the conclusion was that many leaders tend to be the former rather than the latter with them loosing sleep, as Andrew suggests, because they are alwYs looking behind them to see 'who is coming up behind me.'  

The students have also been looking at basic presentation / performance skills such as articulation and projection. There was a heated discussion around whether or not to be a good leader one needed these skills. I suggested that in the 21st century where we are surrounded by multimedia, it is necessary for a leader to be able to verbally communicate. This has been necessary since the dawn or radio and television and is now more importance because of 24 hour news and the internet. People who lookup you to lead much be able to understand what it is you are saying. Yes, the content is very important, but it must be understood.  it can't be, as a Shakespeare says, merely a'sawing of the arms' or 'tearing passions to tatters' without being understood. It should be, again as Shakespeare suggests, 'a temperance that gives it smoothness.'  

This is proving difficult for these confident students to make eye contact and to be heard and understood.   There is a gentle prodding that is needed to remind them that they aren't just speaking to me, but rather to all of the other leaders as we sit in a circle.  This is very different to the school conditions that many of these (and other students) face.  I am asking them to take responsibility to be heard and understood. We are working in a non hierarchical fashion which basic facilitation skills insist on. This way of working is often very difficult to break into because of how students are taught in the classroom. 

And the gender issue seems to rear it's ugly head everyday as well. There is often a defference to the make students when it come to making suggestions as well as taking the leadin the various projects that are worked on. As an outsider, I try to gently ask them to obsve this behaviour to see if it can be rebalanced. It is observed and commented upon, redressed but it never lasts long. 

The Ethical Leadership Workshop - Students of South West Gauteng College

On 5 August, I had  the pleasure of working with 15 students from the South West Gauteng College to explore their ideas around ethical leadership utizling the works of Shakespeare as well as verbatim interviews from the former political prisoners who were on Robben island. 

Although a bit shy at first, they soon began to find their voices when discussing their views on leadership. The same applies to their work on Shakespeare. Once I convinced them that there was no 'right' way of reading it, they began to really engage with the content and wreastled with the meaning and how, what shakespeare says applies to them as young people in South Africa today. 

The most enjoyment and hoots of agreement came with a short reading of an extract of the play from Saths Cooper interview in 2010:

Saths:  The uniqueness that ought, that could have been South Africa after 1994, I think was blocked.  The abuse of power – ah, I think for me what is significant is also is how those today who have been in older leadership just…withdrew from commentary…withdrew from influencing the process.  Maybe in a few years time, there maybe a hindsight wisdom in that.  But I think for the country it is…a…tragedy … it’s a dereliction of leadership responsibility that ought not to have happened.  We could blame those in power, but…. If you leave them alone and don’t engage & create other modalities of intervention, they’re going to do those kinds of crazy things.  So, we have got our backs to the wall and can’t answer the younger generation.  Since we can’t answer the kids who are able to point out the contradiction, we use,

Two of the remaining prisoners (2 & 3) upstage put on expensive suits and turning into ‘Today’s biggest Capitalists’:

Prisoner 2: But you see, you didn’t experience the Struggle.

Saths: And they (indicating the Prisoners) get all defensive and huffy about it – it's almost like a religious belief, 

Prisoner 3:  God exists because the Bible says so.  So, I’m telling you we suffered and therefore this is how it ought to be.

Saths:  And in that you can’t enter an area of religiosity that you can’t get out of and that’s where some of the current impasses happen.  It is a betrayal of everything that has been Noble in our Struggle.  It has created that sleaze factor.  It has led to the ignobility of being associated with demolition of the previous system because people gave their lives.  Today, it is still a fight for dignity for the mass of people that even have not received that dignity.  The Constitution may scream it, but in reality the majority of our people are way beyond even a modicum of participating in an equality that they expected post ’94.  

Theresa: The few who have benefited are the role models for the youth when they say, 

Prisoners 2:  If you want to drink good wine, if you want to go to good restaurants, then you know you need to do X.  

Prisoner 3:  We do it ourselves.  

  

Theresa:  That is the legacy, if you like, of leadership that has allowed itself to be seduced by personal gain, by the materialism that necessarily must come with power.  They tend to collect the accoutrements of power and whatever else goes with it as privilege and then justify it as 

Prisoners 2 & 3 (revelling in the accoutrements of power):  Entitlement.

Theresa:  They see it as something they have given a certain part of their lives for and

 

Prisoners 2 & 3:  Sure enough, that is what I deserve.

Saths:  But this milieu for the youth today is one where you create a personal project by getting yourself involved in certain structures so that in five, ten, fifteen years’ time mean you will end up becoming a Cabinet Minister or a multi-millionaire. My two sons, the one is 20 and the other is 22 and my daughter is 16 and all of them know that if you want to get anywhere, if you want to get the lucrative contract, and tenders, then join X organization now so that you will take care of the future in a few years time. 

 

Sonny: In a sense, this has developed a cynicism amongst youth that is dangerous because youth cannot afford to be cynical about anything. Sceptical yes, because you are questioning. But the cynicism that is developing is the legacy of leadership that has tended to look after itself, has tended to look after those who are close to them and then created a terrible model for youth to follow. 

...

This striking critique of current leadership certainly struck a chord with many of of the young students.  They spoke about the truth of what Saths says and how they see ways towards leadership only by being crooked.  I am looking forward to fleshing this scene out with the more tomorrow.

The Ethical Leadership Workshop - Teacher Training Day

On 4 August, I facilitated a short workshop for six teachers from the South West Gauteng College in order to explain to them the concept of the larger workshop that I would be facilitating with the students over the next week and, more importantly, to get their feedback on my process to make sure that is is fit for purpose with their students. 

Overall it was wel received with some excellent feedback to further its development. It was great fun to see the teachers speaking Shakespeare's words with such gusto and enjoyment. It was also interesting to come to a group decision of whatwe as a group thought a definition of 'Ethical Leadershop' might be. 

I am looking forward to working with their students tomorrow.