by Deborah Asiimwe
Lagoma Is Searching is a two-character play based on a true story of a Ugandan young man in his early twenties. Dive Lagoma the protagonist, has grown up with his mother and an abusive stepfather. As he grows up he realizes that the one he calls his father treats him differently from the rest of his siblings, he wants to know “Why?” and his search starts. In his search for a “PASSWORD” to life, to joy, to acceptance….to what you would call noble and good, Lagoma finds himself entangled in alcohol, drug addiction and prostitution. At the verge of committing suicide he meets Aside Kashi, a theatre practitioner who performs with former street children, it is then that he decides to share his life’s story, his search. Does he find or the search continues? Lagoma Is Searching.
Deborah Asiimwe Kashugi is an actress, director and playwright. She has done theatre with both local and international theatre artists. One of the participants in last summer’s conference of African playwrights at the University of Iowa in 2004. In 2003 she was invited in Philippines to attend a Women Playwrights International Conference (WPI), where she was appointed a member of WPI advisory committee. In the same year she attended 2003 Sundance Theatre Lab (Utah-USA). In 2002, she participated in the Sourcework workshop with other theatre artists from East Africa, Poland and USA, held at Towson University (USA) and Warsaw Theatre Academy (Poland). Deborah was also one of the writers for DISH(11) project radio episodes program, a project of the John Hopkins University. She has written plays for Non Governmental Organiations like Forum for Women in Democracy (Uganda), Kampala Pentecostal Church (KPC-Uganda). Deborah is an artistic director of KPC Drama Team, a team that is comprised of young people. She has a diploma in Music, Dance and Drama from Makerere University and she is currently pursuing a Bachelors Degree in Drama at Makerere University. Her recent play Lagoma Is Searching (a play that deals with drug addiction among young people) was performed at Uganda National Cultural Centre-National Theatre in October 2004.
