Group stages play to raise funds

 By MIRIAM MALAWA

A THEATRE group from Milne Bay is scheduled for a four-day production in Port Moresby to raise money for their school at home.  

The 25 members are known as the Awalava Theatre Group.

With the determination to raise money for the benefit of their people, they travelled to Port Moresby to stage their production titled Kulele. 

They have targeted raising K50,000 to build a double classroom and teachers’ houses for a Catholic church-run school at Mataita village, Goodenough Island.  

St Michael’s Primary School is run by nuns and the group would like to raise funds to give back to the school on its 60th anniversary next year.  

Group coordinator Francis Taudigana said the production was based on a Goodenough Island legend about a flute player named Kulele who travelled to Rabaraba village, on mainland Milne Bay, and married a woman there.

National Cultural Commission policy planning director, Ombone Kaiku said the group was preserving culture by expressing ideas and messages. 

“With that, NCC has assisted with K3,000 for logistics and the workshop, which started last Friday,” he said. 

The production is sponsored by the NCC and Theatre Arts section of the University of Papua New Guinea and will be held from July 10-13 at Ulli Beier Auditorium at UPNG. 

Tickets are K5 for children and K10 for adults, while gala night tickets are K25 for children and K50 for adults.