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Welcome to the Encyclopaedia of South African Theatre, Film, Media and Performance (ESAT), the open access, online and Wiki-based, digital reference work on theatre, film, media and performance in South Africa.

The ESAT project

The ESAT encyclopaedia-project was conceived as an interactive resource for researchers interested in the evolution, history and forms of performance and media in South Africa, and it is based on research originally undertaken under the auspices of, and with the support of, the Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC) between 1979 and 1987. In 1988 the research was transferred to, and continued at, the University of Stellenbosch by the Centre for Theatre and Performance Studies, with the support of the University's Division for Research Development, the former Centre for Science Development (CSD) and the National Research Foundation (NRF). It was opened for public use in 2011.

Please note that any opinion, finding and conclusion or recommendation expressed in this material is that of the authors and that none of the sponsors of the project accept any liability in this regard.

The project is currently headed by Temple Hauptfleisch (founder, editor and project director), with Freddy Ogterop, Ivor Markman and Miriam Terblanche as assistant editors, while numerous contributors across the globe have helped in collating and writing the information since its first inception.

The encyclopaedia is published on the web with the assistance of the Drama Department (http://www.sun.ac.za/drama) and its former Centre for Theatre and Performance Studies, the J.S. Gericke Library and the division for Information Technology at the University of Stellenbosch (http://www.sun.ac.za/index.asp). The format of the work thus derives from the format used for the University of Stellenbosch's Libopedia[1] project, and uses the same Wiki format and programmes.

For more detailed information on the nature of the project and the history and aims of the encyclopaedia, click on:About ESAT

You can also contact ESAT at the following addresses:

The Editor: ESAT, Department of Drama, University of Stellenbosch, Private Bag X1, MATIELAND 7602, South Africa.

E-mail address: satj@sun.ac.za

Fax number: (+ 27) 21 882 9141

How to use ESAT

While ESAT uses the Wiki programme, which makes provision for a very useful search function, the database has avoided contemporary multi-screen web-design, and has been constructed rather more traditionally, like a printed encyclopaedia, with an index to the various entries (called The ESAT Entries). The entries in the index have been grouped in sixteen distinct categories, each one managed and edited by one of the research editors.

Three important notes for everyone using ESAT

1. The focus is on pre-21st-century theatre, film, media and performance
2. It is work in progress
3. Policy regarding offensive language and terminology

To find out more about these matters, click on the items above.

Accessing the database of entries

To access database material on the relevant category, the reader has two options:

Using the "Search" function

Go to the "Search" block at the top right of this page (or type: Alt+F) and type in the search word/phrase.

Using the Index to the ESAT Entries

Go to the The ESAT Entries and click on the appropriate link in the list of 16 categories of entries found there, then follow instructions on the landing page.

INDEX TO THE ESAT ENTRIES

The entries for ESAT have been grouped in sixteen categories, grouped in four sections below, and managed and edited by one of the research editors. (Please note that public celebratory events and pageants are viewed as single performances or theatrical events for the Stage Plays, while festivals and competitions are listed in a separate category as Festivals and Competitions.)

IMPORTANT:

For information on the bibliographic conventions used in ESAT listings as a whole, go to: ESAT Bibliographic Conventions

To access database material on the relevant category, click on the appropriate link below.

1. Overviews of South African Theatre, Film, Media and Performance

1. Film
2. Radio and TV
3. Theatre and Performance

2. Terminology and Thematic Entries

1. General Terminology and Thematic Entries
2. South African Film
3. South African Media
4. South African Theatre

3. Individual Entries

1. Festivals and Competitions
2. Films
3. Personalities
4. Radio Plays and Serials
5. Stage Plays
6. Television Plays and Series
7. Venues, Companies, Societies, etc.

4. Resources

1. A Chronology of South African Theatre, Film, Media and Performance
2. A Bibliography of South African South African Theatre, Film, Media and Performance

Copyright and referencing of material used

ESAT is an open access publication, which means that even though the material contained in the encyclopaedia is copyrighted to ESAT and the University of Stellenbosch, it may be freely used for academic and artistic purposes as long as such use is clearly referenced and the material used is attributed to The Encyclopaedia of South African Theatre, Film, Media and Performance (ESAT), the reference also including the URL for the particular entry in ESAT.

An invitation to contribute to ESAT

All researchers, artists and other interested parties are invited to help us to expand, improve, update and correct ESAT since, by its very nature, the database will always be incomplete and prone to error on occasion.

Submitting contributions, suggestions and corrections to ESAT

There are a number of ways of submitting entries, suggestions or material, as described below.

NB Note about the possibility of registering a Wiki-account

Unlike Wikipedia and similar websites, ESAT does not allow anyone, except the appointed researchers on the research programme, to make changes directly to the ESAT website. When we began there was a facility for applying for an ESAT account available on the website, a facility which is an inherent part of the Wiki-programme. However, that has now been disabled as far as the ESAT project is concerned.

So we ask that you please submit material and suggestions to the Editor, in one of the ways described below. On receipt, the contributions will all be seriously considered and assessed by the research team, for inclusion where and if suitable.

If used, you will naturally be credited as one of the Sources for the article, so we ask that you also supply us with the name we have to credit.

Ways of submitting material for inclusion

To submit any pieces of data, visual material or suggestions for alterations, please send such proposals, changes, edits, and new material in Word-format (and if possible as an e-mail attachment) directly to the Editor at satj@sun.ac.za for evaluation and inclusion.

If you wish to write up a full, new entry and send it to us, you may do so using the ESAT Templates, which are explained and provided below as a guideline for entries in various sections of the encyclopaedia.

Original material, such as CV's, documents, photographs and other material can also be scanned and sent to the same address for possible use as source material or illustrations.

VERY IMPORTANT: Please ensure that you submit all necessary and relevant references for sources used to compile entries, sources (and copyright holders) of material submitted, or information supplied.

Material can also be mailed or faxed to any of the following addresses for the attention of the Editor:

The Editor: ESAT, Department of Drama, University of Stellenbosch, Private Bag X1, MATIELAND 7602, South Africa.

Fax number: (+ 27) 21 882 9141

The ESAT Templates

We have devised the following templates for the various categories in the encyclopaedia (see Index to ESAT Entries above), and we invite you to use them when preparing material to submit to us, especially when submitting full, new entries. To find the appropriate ESAT Template for your purposes, click on the category below:

1. Film ESAT Template
2. Personalities ESAT Template
3. Radio Plays & series ESAT Template
4. Stage Plays ESAT Template
5. Festivals and Competitions Template
6. Themes and definitions ESAT Template
7. TV Drama & series ESAT Template
8. Venues, Companies, Institutions etc ESAT Template

Please use the headings outlined in the appropriate category to write up your entry/entries for inclusion in ESAT. Do so in a Word document, and then mail it back to us as an e-mail attachment satj@sun.ac.za, or in a letter to the address given above, and we will upload it onto the website.

This page was last modified on 5 April 2019