When the day is done in rural Zimbabwe, grandmothers gather their grandchildren and everyone in the family around the kitchen fire. They tell stories that are full of fantasy, beauty, adventure, and truth. These elements combine and are branded into the hearts of those who hear them. It was at such a gathering that Frank Malaba fell in love with the art of storytelling. His grandma would make up folktales that would be punctuated in song and sometimes dance. This is where his imagination was developed into a fearless force that learnt to mould words that became building blocks for his storytelling form.

The journeys of gay African children searching to find their place in the sun are rarely heard. In Stories of My Bones, Frank takes you on the journey of his young self as he discovers answers to the questions, "Who am I," "What am I worth?" "Where is my voice?" and "Can anyone see me?".

Frank's journey takes place on the soil of a country where a president stood and said, "Gays and lesbians are worse than pigs and dogs." However, Frank's journey is not all doom and gloom. He takes us on a colourful adventure of cartwheeling experiences that span his lifetime.

In this fusion theatre piece, you are invited to participate in his life as he gets ready to go somewhere soon…

But before he does, he must tell you something very important that you have to promise you will carry with you for the rest of your days.

STORIES OF MY BONES – Getting Ready

Written and Performed by Frank Malaba

This is a storytelling workshop...

Objectives:

· To use people's own creativity to solve their own community's problems using their latent creative thought process.

· When we look at issues using our own creativity, we tend to see them from a perspective that does not come from so called 'logic', which surprisingly gives us a positive conduit from which to tell our OWN story!

· We unlock tools that allow us to tell our own story in a universal way, therefore opening a doorway for dialogue with those who misunderstand us or are in a position of authority.

This is an often thorough and freeing experience as it requires reaching deep within a vault that we have left dusty and untouched to reveal the essence of what we are here for: To BE and to leave a legacy for posterity’s benefit.

It requires us to be honest with ourselves and to sharpen our internal self-image tools.

We have been given this space and time to make it better for those who come after us and, in the process, to make it a place worth living and experiencing for ourselves and our fellowman while we are here.

This workshop serves to be a mirror of what we are inside and where we ought to be. It is then left to the individual to form positive alliances that sees them become more useful to themselves and others.