Andre Jebbinson, Staff Reporter

"A particular type of Jamaican theatre employing predominantly Jamaican Creole and social stereotypes with somewhat rudimendatory set and lighting and expressing exaggerated character-type in ludicrous, even improbable situations. The emphasis is on the belly laugh in productions marked by much physical energy and boisterous vocal expression" - Actor Boy Awards' definition of a roots play.

Roots plays are consistently left out of the the annual Actor Boy Awards major categories and the writers and casts are fed up.

They qualify for the comedy category, but seldom get the nod. They frequently have the audiences in stitches, but too much humour has its price. When Garfield 'Movie Star' Reid turned up at the Little Theatre and appeared on-stage to say thanks but no thanks to the committee for the 'Best Roots Play' award on Tuesday evening, it raised a few eyebrows.

It has almost had the 'sorry fi maaga dog' effect. Some are in agreement with his antics, as roots plays have always been a big favourite of theatre lovers. The play for which Reid turned down the award, Bashment Granny, has had sold out audiences in Kingston and rural areas. Still, they are hardly recognised by institutions. This infuriates Reid.

"Any show whe mek inna Jamaica a roots play. Jamaica is our roots. The crossing-over quality they are talking about would bring us back to the same uptown and downtown level," he said. "We have good people who build good

sets and they need to be nominated. We have man in deh weh a good best actor, the need to be nominated."

It would seem the only chance of getting an award is in the Best Roots Play category. The fact is, however, the judges are not impressed by what they see. The panel consists of nine judges who are required to see each production. The judges then fill in blanks for every category. The forms are then sent to the auditors for a tally. In order for a production to be nominated, at least three judges must have selected it.

After this process is completed, the result of the tally is sent to the International Theatre Institute, which makes the announcement of the nominees. The auditors then prepare the ballot for the judges to vote on the winner of each category.

According to Hugh Martin, chief judge of the Actor Boy Awards, it is about quality production and not popularity.

"They do not measure up to the standards. The preference of the mass does not mean it is the best. We are awarding the best of what is presented. It also does not mean they are excellent, but just what is presented," he said about roots plays.

It is also not entirely a matter of substandard production, but how accessible the play is. Roots plays tend to travel outside Kingston to rural areas and often do not have a home in Kingston. Martin pointed out that the judges are volunteers and it cannot be demanded that they travel out of town to see the plays. He is not sure if any judges saw Too Hot To Hangle, another nominee for Best Roots Play.

Chairperson of the ITI, Nicole Brown, met with with Reid and explained why his and other productions in the roots genre were not seen in the general nominations.

"We need to have more dialogue, so they can know what they judges are looking for," Brown said.

She said roots plays are moving away from the more crass material and are shifting to more family friendly entertainment. And to better alert roots play writers about what they need to do ensure they are nominated, she said the institute is looking into workshops to make the productions better.

Reid said the specifics have not been outlined to him, but he cannot promise compliance because his allegiance is to his audience. Furthermore, they are in the habit of making money. He said all the other major plays have not performed well because that is not what the audiences want.