Almasi Collaborative Arts has deepened its investment in theatre training with a new directing and stage management workshop led by acclaimed United States theatre director Adam Immerwahr, as the Harare based institution continues building momentum towards this year’s Africa Voices Now festival.
Running from 20 April to 2 May in Harare, the intensive programme has brought together 18 early and mid career theatre practitioners for advanced training focused on directing craft, production leadership and stage management practice.
The workshop forms part of Almasi’s wider artistic development agenda and feeds into Africa Voices Now! A Festival of New Plays, a flagship platform designed to nurture and showcase original African dramatic voices.
Participants are engaging in a rigorous two week programme that combines creative and technical disciplines, from script analysis and blocking to the often overlooked complexities of backstage coordination and production management. Organisers say the initiative is designed to strengthen both artistic vision and professional execution among Zimbabwean theatre makers.
For Almasi, the programme reflects a continuing commitment to cultural exchange as a pathway for developing local talent through collaboration with internationally respected practitioners.
Programmes Director Gideon Jeph Wabvuta described Immerwahr’s return to Zimbabwe as an important continuation of a creative partnership that has helped expand professional opportunities for local artists. He said the workshop also marks the beginning of a broader cycle of training initiatives planned for the year.
Immerwahr returns to Zimbabwe with a formidable international reputation. As Artistic Director of Village Theatre, and formerly Artistic Director of Theater J, he has built a career around new writing, inclusive storytelling and ambitious theatrical development. His producing credits include the Tony Award winning Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike, while his development work includes early involvement in Eclipsed by Danai Gurira.
His latest engagement with Almasi reinforces the organisation’s growing international profile and its long stated ambition of placing African narratives on global stages through world class training.
The workshop will culminate in a free public showcase on 2 May featuring scenes from the world, offering audiences a glimpse into the work developed during the residency while spotlighting a new generation of Zimbabwean theatre practitioners sharpening their craft.
As Zimbabwe’s theatre ecology seeks new pathways for growth, the programme signals a continued push to pair artistic excellence with professional development, while keeping Harare in conversation with wider global theatre currents.
