Black Immigrant Daily News
O’Connor Basil Dawkins’ illustrious career in theatre has made him one of the industry’s greats.
His exploits will, this year, see him being awarded the Order of Distinction in the rank of Officer (OD) for his stellar contribution to the creative industry, in particular theatre.
“I am elated. I feel like I am collecting it on behalf of so many other deserving people. I am representing a collective of many persons; but I am there because they allowed me their shoulders to walk on, and for that reason, I accept with pride. I hope that others will be inspired to continue the work… and that one day, they, too, will be rewarded with a national honour,” said the distinguished playwright who is more popularly known as Basil Dawkins.
Dawkins is among the 221 people who will be honoured at the National Honours and Award Ceremony at King’s House on National Heroes Day, October 17.
The 2022 national honour awardee told JIS news that his passion for art blossomed during his years at university.
This, despite his mother’s encouragement to consider doing theatre and drama earlier in his life, as the young Basil was considered shy.
“When I went to the university back in 1973, I saw Trevor Rhone’s ‘Smile Orange’. That was one of the features for freshman’s week and I said, ‘You know, this is something that I think I could get into’. But then I told myself, ‘No, I couldn’t manage this, I’m too shy’.
“Once I, just out of curiosity, heard some rehearsals going on at the Creative Arts Centre, pushed in my head, and the director said, ‘Come in, we need somebody to play a crowd scene’. I eventually got a minor role. I had one sentence to say and I rehearsed it like Shakespeare and on the night of the performance, full audience, everybody excited, I got lockjaw, never [remembered] my lines and that was my baptism,” Dawkins said.
He pointed out that writing allowed him to stay in theatre as his work schedule, following university, included travelling, and so he would not have been able to act.
“I wanted to stay in theatre. But acting was not compatible, having gotten employment and having to travel. So the only thing I could think of doing to stay in touch with theatre, was to write. So I’d write while I travelled and that’s how I got into writing.
“I wrote my first play about ’78 and then got produced in 1980. ‘Flat Mate’ did very very well and then when people started to expect that they would get another production from me, I thought, ‘Maybe I should be looking at this in a more serious way’… and that’s basically how I got in,” Dawkins said.
In the 1980s, theatre was at its peak with the rise of Caribbean expressions, and it began mirroring many of the country’s social issues, similar to Dawkins’ first production, ‘Flat Mate’.
“Flat Mate was kind of a story influenced by my living on hall [at the UWI], Taylor Hall, and then having lived, after I graduated, on Hope Road. I used to watch the ladies going to work, and I started to ask myself, ‘How [do] they dress so well and I’m a graduate getting a salary and can hardly make ends meet?’ So I fashioned a story around that. It stirred conversations about dependency, woman’s independence and that kind of thing, which I hadn’t anticipated,” he pointed out.
Dawkins then resolved to give his plays more ears and eyes and has, so far, scripted more than 40 productions.
“Thereafter, though, I made it a point of duty to start studying, learning the pros and cons, the nitty gritty, the ABCs right down to the XYZs of playwriting and improved myself along the way, and relied heavily on like the Trevor Rhones and the Louis Marriots, Carmen Tipling, and I kind of sponged up everything that I heard them say to do or not to do,” he shared.
Dawkins said that he has been able to work with some of the industry’s greats in his productions.
“I was able to work with people like Leonie Forbes [and] Charles Hyatt. Maybe most of the greats, maybe most theatre practitioners have at one time or another, done a Basil Dawkins production because, right now, I’m about into my 40th or 41st production,” he indicated.
The name Basil Dawkins and Jamaican theatre have grown to become inseparable, and this has resulted in him enjoying some satisfying gains.
“It has been a rewarding road. I don’t consider it work because I love it so much. But it has been helpful for me and I have used it to be as helpful as I can, in my own small way, to others in Jamaica. It has footprints all over the world because other people have done the plays that I have written,” he stated.
Dawkins shared that one of his most fulfilling accomplishments was to get his daughter, Toni-Kay, involved in his work and creative process.
“It wasn’t easy… maybe one of my most challenging [pursuits]; but she came in,” he declared.
The noted playwright pays homage to several other industry stakeholders who have worked and continue to do so tirelessly to make theatre a true reflection of Jamaicans and the local art form.
“With the Trevor Rhones, the Louis Marriotts, the Lloyd Reckords and [others], they, kind of made it accessible to the ordinary person, made him or her feel that they could come to the theatre and participate. One cannot underestimate the contributions of Bim and Bam and Clover, and also the important role of the Jamaica festival [organised by the [Jamaica Cultural Development Commission] JCDC, because they really went out into the highways and byways and got people involved in artistic expression,” he added.
Dawkins hopes to see more playwrights entering the industry and encourages them to be willing to learn.
“To get in, start writing. One of the things that they must do, though, is read a lot of plays, develop a keen sense of listening to themselves and to others. They should also go to as many plays as possible. Don’t only watch what’s happening on stage; watch how the audience is reacting, so they see when there is restlessness [and] they have a sense of what they are enjoying. So when they are writing they can be mindful of those things,” he emphasised.
Dawkins added that “essentially, if you’re just about to start, just think about your story and if you have an impactful story with a beginning, middle and end, and if it’s impactful for you, emotionally connected with you, chances are it will find some resonance with the wider society and I’d say just go right ahead, it’s not as difficult as it sounds.”
Some of Dawkins’ productions include ‘Champagne and Sky Juice’, ‘Same Song, Different Tune’, ‘What The Hell is Happening To Us Dear?’, ‘Which Way is Out?’, and ‘Hide Your Husband’.
The National Honours and Awards Ceremony will take place on the lawns of King’s House, beginning at 9am and will be presided over by Governor-general, Sir Patrick Allen.
The National Honours and Awards Act, promulgated on July 18, 1969, made it possible for the nation to recognise people who, by their service and contribution, have had a meaningful impact on national life.
By Chris Patterson, JIS News
NewsAmericasNow.com
