Invictus

FROM CHRISTOPHER (Associate Director):

I am currently flying at X thousand feet above the Atlantic Ocean and am nearing the end of the movie, INVICTUS. For some reason I didn’t see this movie in theatres when it came out, but today, as I travel to Africa, I felt it was timely.

I must admit that in 1995 when Nelson Mandela gained the presidency of South Africa, I was oblivious to this momentous occasion. I was in Minnesota at a conservative Christian college where I was supposed to have learned how to make the world a better place, but one of the most historic moments in recent history passed me by completely. And now, as I’m enroute to me fourth trip to Africa, I wonder how that could have happened.

I have been extremely nervous in the past few days leading up to this new Theatre Lab in East Africa. I felt the burden of responsibility of caring for 20+ East Africans artists on an undeveloped island off the coast of Kenya. I want for them to have the purist “Sundance” experience possible. I am not a revolutionary or historic figure like Mandela, but I wish to bring about change in the world by convening artists. Change: a word we heard frequently during the 2008 elections in the U.S. But what does “change” really mean? I know in Theatre Program, we recognize that there is a massive gap between Africa and the rest of the world. That needs to change. But why? Our own country is so massive and the need so great.

The question I ask myself is: “How do we expect more of myself?”

I personally do this by engaging with African artists. This work is rewarding and challenging. But... through sensitive and intentional exchange, we can “change” the norm (a blatant disregard for the rest of the world... especially the third world). My East African colleagues are no longer the “other.” I know them and they know me. My eyes draw tears now as I think about what my colleague Deborah Asiimwe means to me. Asiimwe has been connected to the Sundance Institute since 2003 when she traveled from her home in Kampala, Uganda to the Wasatch Mountains of Sundance, Utah to participate as an observer at the Theatre Lab there. She now serves as our Specialist for East Africa in our New York office. She has been my partner in the last 10 months as we have planned what will happen in the next three weeks. She’s not only been an invaluable resource, but trusted friend. She traveled ahead to East Africa a few weeks ago to prepare our way and to visit her family. I’ve missed her terribly. The only balm to my anxiety is knowing that I will see my friend in a few short days, and together, we will endeavor to create the best experience we can for our East African colleagues.

This all must sound a bit sappy or excessive, but I truly believe that this world is a better place because I Deborah is my friend. As I will know Judy (Uganda) and Mrisho (Tanzania) and Elidady (Tanzania) and Samuel (Rwanda) and Lilian (Uganda) and Sitawa (Kenya) and Kiki (Rwanda) and Amurere (Rwanda) and Irene (Tanzania) and Jacob (Kenya) and Andnet (Ethiopia) and Wesley (Rwanda) and Hellen (Kenya) and Gilbert (Kenya) and Moise (Rwanda) and Grace (Uganda) over the next 21 days [and many more]. There’s that word... grace. I hope that I enter this third official year of Sundance’s East Africa initiative, that I can extend and be extended grace. And as my “colleague” T.S. once said, “All shall be well, and all manner of thing shall be well.” Artists need support, they need “retreat”, they need peer-to-peer mentorship, they need rigor, they need to get paid, they need rest.

Onward...

(now I’m going to finish my movie)