- CONTRIBUTED
Douglas Prout (as Peter) holds his eye after a punch from Brian (Vernon Derby) in a rehearsal for last year's 'Remember Me'. Brian has been having a difficult time keeping his wife Mary (Fae Ellington, second right) from fantasising about Peter. Helping to restrain Brian is Tori (Kaysilyn Lawson, who alternates with Monique Caesar).
Tanya Batson-Savage, Freelance Writer
DOUGLAS PROUT will join the list of Jamaicans who have been awarded for achievements in the arts and sciences by the Institute of Jamaica, when he receives a bronze Musgrave medal on October 5, 2005.
The award hails 29 years of work in theatre, Prout having been bitten by the thespian's bug while he was at Cornwall College, through the Secondary School's Drama Festival. Prout remarks that he is happy to be in the company of other Musgrave awardees, but the award is particularly rewarding because it comes though he is outside of the 'limelight' of Kingston.
KEEN SENSE OF HUMOUR
He displays a sense of humour that borders on the self-deprecating, though it never seems self-pitying, nor does it overshadow a sense of seriousness. Much of Prout's work has come through his time with the Montego Bay Little Theatre Movement (MLTM), which he joined in 1975 as a lead in the cast of Man Better Man.
Approximately 11 years later Prout began directing. "I started directing in 1986," he says, "and then people, the younger people, started looking to me." He further explains that now that he is in the "throes of middle-age" he prefers directing to acting though, as with his recent performance in Remember Me, he will accept roles that come up.
Prout was never formally trained in theatre, a situation that resulted from a combination of the lack of time then the onset of age and other forces. After high school he moved to teachers' college, entered a career in life insurance and then moved through to management. Of course, he points out that having worked with the likes of Paul Methuen (who cast him the role in Man Better Man), Trevor Rhone and Trevor Nairne has brought many lessons.
Yet, the yen for theatre remains, and though he admits that he would have liked to dedicate himself to theatre, it simply is not economically viable in the Jamaican context. "Show me two people in Jamaica who have children, a mortgage and a savings account and are in theatre full-time," he says.
Though there may now be two people who do that, there are few more and so his point is a valid one, especially as Prout has chosen to remain on the western end of the island. While theatre in Kingston is pushing itself toward maturity, in Montego Bay it is still in a relatively germinating stage.
Much of this work is coming through the MLTM and Prout is confident that it will come. "I do think that we (Montego Bay) have a thriving possibility, but that's what it is a possibility, it hasn't taken off yet," he said.
He also points out, however, that shows coming from Kingston get much more support than those that originate in Montego Bay. "Maybe there's something in our psyche that says something from out of town is better," he suggests. He also notes, however, that the 'name brand' actors all reside in Kingston, and that the productions from Kingston can afford to advertise on television to garner more national attention.
UPPER CRUST NOTION
The MLTM is housed in the only real theatre space in Montego Bay, Prout explained. But that space, the Fairfield Theatre, comes with a "historical carryover" of being of the "upper crust" that provides a challenge to theatre's growth in Montego Bay. As Prout explains, however, the MLTM has produced a range of plays from Jamaica, the rest of the Caribbean, Africa, North America and Europe, so it has long stretched past any notions of the upper crust.
"With the change in the material, we've had a change in the audience base," he says, and the movement is attempting to spur that change even further. For the past 10 years the movement has focused on Jamaican works and produced pieces by David Heron, Basil Dawkins and Patrick Brown. Additionally, theatre practitioners from Montego Bay, such as Fabian Thomas and Makeda Solomon, both of whom earned Actor Boy awards, are beginning to gain more attention.
CULTIVATE HOUSEHOLD NAMES
Prout believes that this is key to cultivating theatre appreciation in Montego Bay. "For us I think we need to cultivate some household names," he said, noting that the community is on its way to doing that and need to "plod on" along that route. "It cannot be that if you're born in a certain place you're naturally more talented than if you're born in woie woie," he says.
The short time for which productions run in Montego Bay is also working against theatre's development in the island's second city. Prout explains that while the average play that opens around Boxing Day in Kingston each year can run for three months, that cannot happen with a Montegonian production.
"Here, nothing can run for three months," he says. "After three to four weeks everybody who would have seen it has." So the MLTM is still undergoing a process of change as it attempts to encourage young actors, refurbish the Fairfield Theatre and build appreciation in the community.
Prout's life in theatre, however, has not been without sacrifice. The father of four notes that while theatre has enriched his life by allowing him to grow and work with some great people, his involvement has come at a cost. In explaining what is the worst thing to have happened because of his life in theatre he says "I would think it's perhaps investing a little too heavily in it so that it impacted negatively on my personal life."
He continues, by displaying a wry sense of humour. "I'm now learning to enjoy celibacy," he says, "which is a good thing." So, in his celibacy, Prout can
celebrate his achievement, which may help to toward making another small step for the growth of theatre in Montego Bay.
