Difference between revisions of "Cape Performing Arts Board"

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'''<big>BEING EDITED</big> '''
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The '''[[Cape Performing Arts Board]]''' ([[Afrikaans]]: '''[[Kaaplandse Raad vir die Uitvoerende Kunste]]''') was one of the four state-funded performing arts councils instituted in 1963 to replace the old [[National Theatre Organization]] ([[NTO]]). 
  
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A Cape Town based theatre organization, one of the four state funded [[Performing Arts Councils|performing arts councils]] instituted in 1963.  Best known between 1963 and 1998 by its acronym: '''[[CAPAB]]'''.  
+
Best known between 1963 and 1998 by its acronym: '''[[CAPAB]]''' ('''[[KRUIK]]''' in [[Afrikaans]]).  
  
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It was restructured and renamed '''[[Artscape]]''' in the 1999.  
+
In 1999, [[CAPAB]] was restructured and renamed '''[[Artscape]]''', as was the theatre centre they were housed in (the [[Nico Malan Theatre Centre]]).
  
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'''(For the history after 1999, see [[Artscape]]).'''   
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''For more on the history after 1999, see the entry on '''[[Artscape]]'''''   
  
 +
== History ==
 +
 +
=== Founding (1963) ===
 +
 +
In 1961, the [[National Theatre Organisation]] was disbanded and replaced by four provincial performing arts councils. In Cape Town, the '''Cape Performing Arts Board (CAPAB)''' was instituted in 1963 with the aim to promote the performing arts in the Cape Province and South Arica. The arts councils received sufficient government subsidies to fund various art forms as well as the operational requirements of the theatre facilities. Staff could be taken into permanent employment.
  
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= CAPE PERFORMING ARTS BOARD (CAPAB) =
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=== Opening of The Nico Malan Theatre Centre (1971) ===
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([[Afrikaans]]: '''[[Kaaplandse Raad vir die Uitvoerende Kunste]]''' - '''[[KRUIK]]''').
 
  
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== History ==
+
Initially, productions were staged in theatres in Cape Town and in the Cape Province. On 19 May 1971, [[CAPAB]] opened its new venue, the [[Nico Malan Theatre Centre]] in Cape Town, as part of the [[Republic Festival]]. The new venue included multiple performance spaces, rehearsal rooms, offices and more.
 +
 
 +
The inaugural performance was scheduled to have been Giuseppe Verdi's ''[[Aïda]]'', but the leading singer [[Emma Renzi]] fell ill, so the production was replaced by [[CAPAB Ballet]]'s ''[[Sylvia]]''. ''[[Christine]]'',  a commissioned work by the [[Afrikaans]] playwright [[Bartho Smit]], was to have been the Afrikaans Company's contribution, but the play was banned,  so [[Dieter Reible]]'s experimental and controversial [[Afrikaans]] production of ''[[Koning Lear]]'' was staged instead. Other productions in the opening season were Jean Anouilh's ''[[Dear Antoine]]'',  Mozart's ''[[Die Zauberflöte]]'' in [[Afrikaans]] and Giacomo Puccini's ''[[Madama Butterfly]]''.
  
 +
=== CAPAB and Apartheid ===
  
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In 1961 the [[National Theatre Organisation]] was disbanded and replaced by four provincial performing arts councils. In Cape Town the '''Cape Performing Arts Board (CAPAB)''' was instituted in 1962 with the aim to promote the performing arts in the Cape Province and South Arica. The arts councils received sufficient government subsidies to fund various art forms as well as the operational requirements of the theatre facilities. Staff could be taken into permanent employment.
+
The opening of this theatre "for whites only" - despite the protests of artists, critics and many of the population - was to be one of the most troublesome issues for the council over the next twenty years, as it was actively boycotted by the Cape non-white population as well as their supporters. It was belatedly opened for all on 21 February 1975  (the [[Academy Theatre]]'s ''[[Who Saw Him Die?]]''), but this had little effect on the boycott, which lasted for many more years.
  
−
Since 1994 government policy changed dramatically. All performing arts boards were transformed to managers of playhouses and the various arts companies had to become independent. The '''CAPAB''' Drama Department staged its last production in May 1997 with a final performance of [[David Mowat]]’s ''[[The Guise]]'', a play which has as its theme the survival of the theatre.
+
=== Dissoloution (1994-1999) ===
  
−
The new organization, [[Artscape]],  was launched on 27 March 1999 to replace '''CAPAB''' and the '''Nico Malan Theatre Complex''' was renamed the [[Artscape|Artscape Theatre Centre]].
+
In 1994, government policy changed dramatically. All performing arts boards were transformed to managers of playhouses and the various arts companies had to become independent. CAPAB Drama staged its last production in May 1997 with a final performance of [[David Mowat]]’s ''[[The Guise]]'', a play which has as its theme the survival of the theatre.  
  
 +
The new organization,  [[Artscape]],  was launched on 27 March 1999 to replace '''CAPAB''' and the [[Nico Malan Theatre Centre]] was renamed the [[Artscape|Artscape Theatre Centre]].
  
 
== Structure ==
 
== Structure ==
  
 +
=== Management ===
 +
 +
Registered as a society not for gain, CAPAB was headed by a policy-making council, chaired by the provincial administrator and with representatives of all interested parties, including the province, the city municipality of Cape Town, the department of national education,  the business sector as well as representatives of the various performing art forms. Their function was to provide provide artists and artisans with a secure career option, to develop and promote drama, ballet, music and opera by offering audiences in the province with regular professional productions.
 +
 +
General directors of CAPAB included [[JP Theron]], [[Chris Swart]] (?-1978), [[Danie van Eeden]] (1978-?), [[Gé Korsten]] (1985-1988), [[George Loopuyt]] (1988-1997) and [[Michael Maas]] (1997-1999; Maas was also the founding CEO of [[Artscape]]).
 +
 +
===Departments===
 +
 +
Over its 35 years in existence, the structure of CAPAB expanded and contracted, according to economic, artistic and political needs/demands. New segments were introduced, and departments were merged and then separated, accompanied by - in some instances - high or frequent staff turnover. Departments/segments included:
  
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== Theatres and other facilities ==
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* [[CAPAB Ballet]] (1964-1997)
  
 +
* [[CAPAB Chorus]] (1975-?)
  
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=== Nico Malan Theatre Centre ===
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* [[CAPAB Drama]] (1963-1997)
  
 +
* [[CAPAB Music]] (1964-1997)
  
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The [[Nico Malan Theatre Centre]] was opened on 19 May 1971 , to be programmed and managed by [[Cape Performing Arts Board]] as a production house with four arts companies – orchestra, opera, ballet and drama. These companies had full-time artistes, technical and administrative staff.
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* [[CAPAB Musicals]]  
  
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In line with the new South African the political dispensation and the concurrent changes, the complex was renamed the [[Artscape|Artscape Theatre Centre]] in March 2001.
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* [[CAPAB Opera]]  
  
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=== Port Elizabeth Opera House ===
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* [[CAPAB Orchestra]] (1971-1997)
  
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* [[CAPAB Theatre Laboratory]] (1971-?)
  
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* [[CAPAB Theatre-in-Education]] or [[CAPAB Youth Company]] (1970-1997)
  
 +
* [[CAPAB Theatre-Go-Round]] or [[Theatre in the Round Company]]
  
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=== Maynardville Open-air Theatre ===
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* [[Jazzart]] (1992-1999)
  
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== Other facilities ==
  
 +
=== Theatre Production (Wardrobe, Design Workshop) ===
  
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=== The Arena ===
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Through the years, CAPAB developed a team of wardrobe experts consisting of designers, seamstresses, milliners, wig makers and costume artists. CAPAB also had a décor studio located at a separate warehousing facility.
  
 +
=== Maynardville Open-air Theatre ===
  
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Later a third venue, the [[Arena]], was built on the side stage of the Drama, originally as a space to house the work of CAPAB's experimental company, the [[Theatre Laboratory]].
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From 1963 to 1974, [[CAPAB Ballet]] performed several ballets at the [[Maynardville Open-air Theatre]] in Wynberg. From 1975, [[CAPAB]] co-managed the venue with [[Cecilia Sonnenberg]] and [[René Ahrenson]], later assuming full responsibility for the venue and staging Shakespeare plays there from 1980 until [[CAPAB Drama]] closed in the mid 1990s.  
  
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For more information on the venue and all the productions staged there, see [[Maynardville]].
  
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== The companies ==
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== CAPAB East Cape Region ==
  
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The CAPAB East Cape Region department was staffed by a Regional Director, Head of Music, General Manager, Admin Manager, Production Organiser, Music Organiser, Audience Development Manager, Secirity Manager and assistants.
  
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=== The [[Theatre Laboratory]] ===
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Regional Directors included [[George Loopuyt]], [[Alastair Cockburn]].
  
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Also referred to as the [[CAPAB Theatre Laboratory]] or [[The Lab]]
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With the restructuring/closure of CAPAB in 1997, the East Cape Region office also closed. The [[Port Elizabeth Opera House]], [[Guild Theatre]] and [[Eastern Cape Philharmonic Orchestra]] opted to form autonomous Section 21 companies. Staff was either retrenched or relocated to Cape Town.
  
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"One of the prime aims of Theatre Laboratory, presented by CAPAB Drama, is to experiment with different forms of production and staging. It emphasises the actor/spectator relationship. Shedding many of the trappings of conventional theatre, and brings the actor back to basics in order to evaluate his work.
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=== Eastern Cape Philharmonic Orchestra ===
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The group, founded early in 1971, will present productions in low key ; in direct contrast to, but in association with the high key productions at the Nico Malan Theatre.
 
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Acceptance of this theatre (stripped of all that is not essential to it) will, we think, reveal to the actor and the spectator the backbone of the medium and the riches which lie at the nature of the art of acting. We are in too early a state of development of theatre in this country to say how this might develop or in what direction. The first project from Theatre Laboratory was ''[[Orestes]]'' by [[Athol Fugard]]. This experiment (featuring [[Yvonne Bryceland]], [[Wilson Dunster]] and [[Val Donald]]) evoked varied and vivid comment from critics and audiences alike.
 
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The second project was ''[[Strindberg Without Tears]]''." (Programme notes,''[[Strindberg Without Tears]]'')
 
  
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==[[CAPAB News]]/[[KRUIK-Nuus]]==
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=== Port Elizabeth Opera House (1967-1997) ===
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CAPAB purchased the [[Port Elizabeth Opera House]] in 1967, and refurbished it for use as a base for their work in the Eastern Cape.
  
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A bi-monthly newsletter sent to patrons and the media.  
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For further information, see [[Port Elizabeth Opera House]].
  
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= <big>'''TO BE ADDED'''</big> =
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=== East London Guild Theatre (1986-1997)===
  
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CAPE PERFORMING ARTS BOARD (CAPAB) (Afrikaans: Kaaplandse Raad vir die Uitvoerende Kunste - KRUIK). Founded in 1963, after the dissolving of the National Theatre Organization, with Danie van Eeden*?? as its first director. (He was followed consecutively by Gé Korsten, George Loopuyt and Michael  Maas.) Registered as a society not for gain, it was headed by a policy-making council chaired by the provincial administrator and representative of all interested parties, including the province, the city municipality of Cape Town, the department of national education, the business sector as well as representatives of the various performing art forms. Their function was to provide provide artists and artisans with a secure career option, to develop and promote drama, ballet, music and opera by offering audiences in the province with regular professional productions. Its first productions were Becket (Anouilh) and Hedda Gabler (Ibsen, in Afrikaans) in the Hofmeyr Theatre in November 1963. Their first opera (The Bartered Bride by Smetana) was done on 8 February 1965 in the Alhambra Theatre.  Their first indigenous in play Afrikaans was *** in 196*, while the first indigenous English play was The Year of the Locust by James Ambrose Brown (1966).
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On July 1, 1986, CAPAB’s offer to take over the running of the [[Guild Theatre]] in East London was accepted and the building was closed in March 1987 for extensive renovations.  The revamped venue, fully manned by permanent CAPAB staff (including a theatre manager, stage manager, assistants, box office staff and house managers), opened on February 29, 1988 with a performance of ''[[Carmen]]'' by [[CAPAB Ballet]].   CAPAB relinquished responsibility for the Guild Theatre in July 1997. It was handed over to the Eastern Cape Provincial Government in April 1998.
  
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Initially renting theatres in the various cities, CAPAB purchased the Opera House in Port Elizabeth in 1967, and refurbished it for use as a base for their work in the Eastern Cape. In 1971 they opened a new playhouse, the Nico Malan Theatre Complex in Cape Town, with a performance of the ballet Sylvia (after the original opening production, Christine,  commissioned from the Afrikaans playwright bartho Smit, had been banned) followed by Dieter Reible's controversial production of an Afrikaans Othello. The opening of this theatre "for whites only" - despite the protests of artists, critics and many of the population - was to be one of the most troublesome issues for the council over the next twenty years, as it was actively boycotted by the Cape non-white population as well as their supporters. It was belatedly opened for all on 21 February 1975, but this had little effect on the boycott, which lasted for many more years.  
+
For further information, see [[Guild Theatre]].
  
 +
==[[CAPAB News]]/[[KRUIK-Nuus]]==
  
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The first head of drama was the long serving  Pieter Fourie, followed by Johan Esterhuizen in 19**, and later by***.  CAPAB also had a very sucessful youth company, founded to do educational work and  originally led by Robin Malan*? Followed over the years by i.a. Eileen Thorns, ** and Ivan Abrahams  and. .  the    CAPAB:Cape Provincial Arts Board. . Together with PACT and the Phoenix Players, they staged Athol Fugard’s Boesman and Lena and People are Living There, both directed by Fugard and starring Yvonne Bryceland and Glynn Day in 1970. Peter Curtis and Pieter Fourie ran this drama company circa 1971. They staged their plays at the old Hofmeyr Theatre. They acquired their own theatre and opera house in 1971 in the form of the Nico Malan. The Nico’s first performance infront of an integrated audience, the Academy Theatres’ Who Saw Him Die took place on 21 February 1975. Their production of Dalene Matthee’s Fiela se Kind starring Shaleen Surtie-Richards was staged at the Nico Malan in 1986. Basil Rubin in association with CAPAB staged William Luce’s Zelda at the Adcock-Ingram in August 1987. Together with Volute Productions they staged Robert Hewett’s Gulls which Keith Grenville directed in 1987. Together with the other three performing arts councils they staged The Great Walt for their Christmas production in 1987 and Singin’ in the Rain for their Christmas production in 1988. They staged My Fair Lady in 1989/90. They presented Michael Drinn’s The Phantom of the Opera in 1990. Together with  PACT, the Johannesburg Civic Theatre Association and NAPAC they presented  A Chorus Line in 1992. Together with NAPAC and PACOFS they presented Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Oklahoma! in 1993. **** (Tucker, 1997) CAPE PERFORMING ARTS BOARD (CAPAB) (****-****).  Cape Town.  Chris Swart was the director (from 19** to 19**), Peter Curtis the artistic director of English drama(from 19** to 19**)  and Pieter Fourie the artistic director of Afrikaans drama (from 19** to 19**).
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A bi-monthly newsletter sent to patrons and the media.  
  
 
= Sources =
 
= Sources =
Line 82: Line 108:
  
 
[[Percy Tucker|Tucker]], 1997
 
[[Percy Tucker|Tucker]], 1997
 +
 +
[[Danie van Eeden]], 1985.
 +
 +
https://www.artscape.co.za
 +
 +
Artscape. ''Facebook''. 10 June 2022.
 +
 +
https://capetowncityballet.org.za/about/
 +
 +
https://www.guildtheatre.co.za/the-history-of-the-guild-theatre/
 +
 +
https://www.jazzart.co.za/about-us/
 +
 +
PEN South Africa, 28 November 2016, https://pensouthafrica.co.za/three-radio-plays-school-boys-rent-boys-and-klevva-boys-by-robin-malan/
 +
 +
Blanckenberg, E. 2009. ''The Music Activities of the Cape Performing Arts Board (CAPAB): A Historical Survey''. Unpublished Masters Thesis. Stellenbosch University.
 +
 +
''[[Mame]]'' Theatre programme, December 1991.
 +
 +
Biography of [[Peter Curtis]] submitted to [[ESAT]] by [[Craig Curtis]] in September 2023.
  
 
Go to [[ESAT Bibliography]]
 
Go to [[ESAT Bibliography]]
−
 
  
 
= Return to =
 
= Return to =
−
 
  
 
Return to [[South_African_Theatre/Venues|South African Theatre Venues, Companies, Societies, etc ]]
 
Return to [[South_African_Theatre/Venues|South African Theatre Venues, Companies, Societies, etc ]]

Latest revision as of 23:53, 21 April 2024

The Cape Performing Arts Board (Afrikaans: Kaaplandse Raad vir die Uitvoerende Kunste) was one of the four state-funded performing arts councils instituted in 1963 to replace the old National Theatre Organization (NTO).

Best known between 1963 and 1998 by its acronym: CAPAB (KRUIK in Afrikaans).

In 1999, CAPAB was restructured and renamed Artscape, as was the theatre centre they were housed in (the Nico Malan Theatre Centre).

For more on the history after 1999, see the entry on Artscape

History

Founding (1963)

In 1961, the National Theatre Organisation was disbanded and replaced by four provincial performing arts councils. In Cape Town, the Cape Performing Arts Board (CAPAB) was instituted in 1963 with the aim to promote the performing arts in the Cape Province and South Arica. The arts councils received sufficient government subsidies to fund various art forms as well as the operational requirements of the theatre facilities. Staff could be taken into permanent employment.

Opening of The Nico Malan Theatre Centre (1971)

Initially, productions were staged in theatres in Cape Town and in the Cape Province. On 19 May 1971, CAPAB opened its new venue, the Nico Malan Theatre Centre in Cape Town, as part of the Republic Festival. The new venue included multiple performance spaces, rehearsal rooms, offices and more.

The inaugural performance was scheduled to have been Giuseppe Verdi's Aïda, but the leading singer Emma Renzi fell ill, so the production was replaced by CAPAB Ballet's Sylvia. Christine, a commissioned work by the Afrikaans playwright Bartho Smit, was to have been the Afrikaans Company's contribution, but the play was banned, so Dieter Reible's experimental and controversial Afrikaans production of Koning Lear was staged instead. Other productions in the opening season were Jean Anouilh's Dear Antoine, Mozart's Die Zauberflöte in Afrikaans and Giacomo Puccini's Madama Butterfly.

CAPAB and Apartheid

The opening of this theatre "for whites only" - despite the protests of artists, critics and many of the population - was to be one of the most troublesome issues for the council over the next twenty years, as it was actively boycotted by the Cape non-white population as well as their supporters. It was belatedly opened for all on 21 February 1975 (the Academy Theatre's Who Saw Him Die?), but this had little effect on the boycott, which lasted for many more years.

Dissoloution (1994-1999)

In 1994, government policy changed dramatically. All performing arts boards were transformed to managers of playhouses and the various arts companies had to become independent. CAPAB Drama staged its last production in May 1997 with a final performance of David Mowat’s The Guise, a play which has as its theme the survival of the theatre.

The new organization, Artscape, was launched on 27 March 1999 to replace CAPAB and the Nico Malan Theatre Centre was renamed the Artscape Theatre Centre.

Structure

Management

Registered as a society not for gain, CAPAB was headed by a policy-making council, chaired by the provincial administrator and with representatives of all interested parties, including the province, the city municipality of Cape Town, the department of national education, the business sector as well as representatives of the various performing art forms. Their function was to provide provide artists and artisans with a secure career option, to develop and promote drama, ballet, music and opera by offering audiences in the province with regular professional productions.

General directors of CAPAB included JP Theron, Chris Swart (?-1978), Danie van Eeden (1978-?), Gé Korsten (1985-1988), George Loopuyt (1988-1997) and Michael Maas (1997-1999; Maas was also the founding CEO of Artscape).

Departments

Over its 35 years in existence, the structure of CAPAB expanded and contracted, according to economic, artistic and political needs/demands. New segments were introduced, and departments were merged and then separated, accompanied by - in some instances - high or frequent staff turnover. Departments/segments included:

Other facilities

Theatre Production (Wardrobe, Design Workshop)

Through the years, CAPAB developed a team of wardrobe experts consisting of designers, seamstresses, milliners, wig makers and costume artists. CAPAB also had a décor studio located at a separate warehousing facility.

Maynardville Open-air Theatre

From 1963 to 1974, CAPAB Ballet performed several ballets at the Maynardville Open-air Theatre in Wynberg. From 1975, CAPAB co-managed the venue with Cecilia Sonnenberg and René Ahrenson, later assuming full responsibility for the venue and staging Shakespeare plays there from 1980 until CAPAB Drama closed in the mid 1990s.

For more information on the venue and all the productions staged there, see Maynardville.

CAPAB East Cape Region

The CAPAB East Cape Region department was staffed by a Regional Director, Head of Music, General Manager, Admin Manager, Production Organiser, Music Organiser, Audience Development Manager, Secirity Manager and assistants.

Regional Directors included George Loopuyt, Alastair Cockburn.

With the restructuring/closure of CAPAB in 1997, the East Cape Region office also closed. The Port Elizabeth Opera House, Guild Theatre and Eastern Cape Philharmonic Orchestra opted to form autonomous Section 21 companies. Staff was either retrenched or relocated to Cape Town.

Eastern Cape Philharmonic Orchestra

Port Elizabeth Opera House (1967-1997)

CAPAB purchased the Port Elizabeth Opera House in 1967, and refurbished it for use as a base for their work in the Eastern Cape.

For further information, see Port Elizabeth Opera House.

East London Guild Theatre (1986-1997)

On July 1, 1986, CAPAB’s offer to take over the running of the Guild Theatre in East London was accepted and the building was closed in March 1987 for extensive renovations. The revamped venue, fully manned by permanent CAPAB staff (including a theatre manager, stage manager, assistants, box office staff and house managers), opened on February 29, 1988 with a performance of Carmen by CAPAB Ballet. CAPAB relinquished responsibility for the Guild Theatre in July 1997. It was handed over to the Eastern Cape Provincial Government in April 1998.

For further information, see Guild Theatre.

CAPAB News/KRUIK-Nuus

A bi-monthly newsletter sent to patrons and the media.

Sources

Strindberg Without Tears programme notes

SACD 1973, 1974

Tucker, 1997

Danie van Eeden, 1985.

https://www.artscape.co.za

Artscape. Facebook. 10 June 2022.

https://capetowncityballet.org.za/about/

https://www.guildtheatre.co.za/the-history-of-the-guild-theatre/

https://www.jazzart.co.za/about-us/

PEN South Africa, 28 November 2016, https://pensouthafrica.co.za/three-radio-plays-school-boys-rent-boys-and-klevva-boys-by-robin-malan/

Blanckenberg, E. 2009. The Music Activities of the Cape Performing Arts Board (CAPAB): A Historical Survey. Unpublished Masters Thesis. Stellenbosch University.

Mame Theatre programme, December 1991.

Biography of Peter Curtis submitted to ESAT by Craig Curtis in September 2023.

Go to ESAT Bibliography

Return to

Return to South African Theatre Venues, Companies, Societies, etc

Return to The ESAT Entries

Return to Main Page

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