ABSTRACT
The CBTP satisfied the country’s need for a cultural movement that would create a consciousness of free utilization of indigenous arts, for a community oriented theater not directed towards foreign adjudication, and for a theater that was not tied to the existing theaters and playhouses built by the colonial regime. To that end, the project organizers’ approach entailed conducting intermittent training workshops for community artists throughout the country. These workshops sometimes led to the creation of original scripts, but in other instances groups adapted the plays and or legends of their communities as a means of attracting popular interest. Later as the CBTP’s influence broadened throughout Zimbabwe, the project was weaned into an independent umbrella agency through the Zimbabwe Association for Community Theater (ZACT) assumed primary responsibility for the training and development of community theater artists throughout the country.
