PLETTENBERG BAY NEWS - A New Horizons drama group, Art Attack, recently outdid all competition at the DCAS Drama Festival by winning two titles in the grand finale.

The group members are Michaela Whaites (director), Luwellyn Bond, Heinrich Pienaar, Marveen Charles, Jameline Whaites and Jaydene September. 

The group earned the titles "Best of Eden" and "Best Overall Production", and the ensemble can now boast of being the first group from Bitou to win the festival in 13 years.

The Western Cape Department of Cultural Affairs and Sport (DCAS) Drama Festival took place on 25 February at the Baxter Theatre in Cape Town. 

The festival played host to a number of local productions from performing arts groups coming from the Cape Winelands, Overberg and the Garden Route.

At the heart of Art Attack's winning performance was the play Delwersdorp, an ode to the community that the performers are from. The play references Cain and Abel, telling the story of two brothers on their journey to the Witwatersrand mines. "I feel as though my community wrote this play," says Whaites.

She ascribes the success of the group's performance to the support of their community and the encouragement of DCAS facilitators. Art Attack developed as an ensemble, with its members coming from different drama groups in and around the New Horizons community. Together, the group collaborates through performance art, writing, and directing.

Art Attack's members are still celebrating the achievements, saying that the accolades are proof of their hard work.

They hope to further expand the drama group so other young performers can find their artistic voice, and use it for the betterment of the community. "We want to reinstate the idea that the stage is a golden thread."

Art Attack has performances on 25 March at the Zabalaza Festival as well as on 1 May at the Artscape Theatre in Cape Town.

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