The Atelier-Théâtre Burkinabè (ATB) was established on 18 June 1978 as an officially recognized association of the Burkinabè government. The association is comprised of a group of comedians and actors who freely contribute their time and energies to promote development through the arts, specifically that of theater and drama. The mission of ATB is to:
ATB is involved in multiple activities such as the design and production of theatrical pieces, training in drama techniques, promotion of theater for development, organizing the Festival International de Théâtre pour le Développement (FITD — International Festival of Theatre for Development), and utilizing various other media to promote social reform such as radio broadcasts.
ATB is comprised of a dedicated group of volunteer comedians (numbering 17 at present) and also collaborates closely with four young girls’ groups directed by past members of ATB and with 18 groups who are members of the Fédération Nationale de Théâtre Forum (FNTF — National Federation of Forum Theatre) which was created under an ATB initiative.
Each year, ATB produces at least one theatre piece by a playwright from its own group and at least three plays which are a collective effort from the entire group. ATB has a rich repertoire of over 50 theatrical pieces that it can perform at any given time. On average, ATB performs approximately 10 plays in the larger towns and 40 plays in the smaller towns and villages of Burkina Faso on an annual basis. In addition to the performance of theatrical plays, ATB also provides training for its own members as well as those external to the troupe, averaging at least five sessions annually. Training topics are quite numerous and include the following: the creation and production of theatrical pieces, community training in basic theatre production, joking techniques, creation of video and radio pieces, organization of artistic festivals, development of information, education, and communication (IEC) messages, and the production of IEC materials.
The SFPS Project through the IEC component (SFPS/IEC) plans to support ATB becoming a center of excellence for theater for development in the West and Central African region. ATB would also like to contribute to long-term training for a professional degree in communication, another SFPS/IEC activity for the next three years. Collaboration in the past year has brought a range of media development experience to ATB. In the future, SFPS/IEC will focus on assisting ATB to offer advanced courses on acting, voice, dance, audio/video production – all areas which will contribute to ATB being a center for theatrical arts and communication as they contribute to development. These activities are in addition to ATB’s ongoing work in training participatory theater and as such will have considerable impact in the quality of the services and training ATB offers in the sub-region.
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