Playwright – Sarafina Magazine

A Q&A with Sue Diepeveen

Sue Diepeveen is an actor, theatre practitioner and the owner of The Drama Factory in Somerset West. Her new show, So You Want To Be A Trophy Wife? is available to stream as part of this year’s virtual National Arts Festival. As the owner of The Drama Factory, Sue is heavily involved in mentoring programmes for young actors and is committed to ensuring a safe and affordable space for new work to see the light of day. In the midst of the national lockdown, Sue has spent the last few months creating her show while also dealing with the unfortunate impact of the global pandemic on her theatre.

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July 6, 2020July 6, 2020 by Sarafina Magazine Categories: Actor, Actress, Arts, Cape Town, Director, Performer, Playwright, Producer, Q&A, Sarafina, Sarafina Magazine, South Africa, Theater, Theatre, Theatremaker, Uncategorized, Woman, Women, Womxn, writerTags: Actor, Actress, Cape Town, Director, Interview, Lockdown, National Arts Festival, Producer, Q&A, So You Want to be a Trophy Wife, South Africa, Sue Diepeveen, The Drama Factory, Theater, Theatre, vNAF, Wynne Bredenkamp Leave a comment

A Q&A with Chantal Stanfield

In December 2017, we sat down with actress, singer and playwright Chantal Stanfield to chat about her one-woman show, From Koe’siestes To Kneidlach, which was about to debut at the Baxter Theatre in Cape Town following a successful run at Theatre On The Square in Johannesburg. Fast forward to 2020 and a global pandemic that has left theatres around the world dark. In response to this, Chantal has released a pre-recorded version of the show that audience members can stream to their homes, in the hopes of raising funds for the two theatres that From Koe’siestes To Kneidlach called home.

Click here to read our conversation with Chantal from 2017.

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July 2, 2020July 2, 2020 by Sarafina Magazine Categories: Actor, Actress, Artist, Arts, Baxter, Cape Town, Interview, Now Playing, Performer, Playwright, Producer, Production, Q&A, Sarafina Magazine, Singer, Songwriter, South Africa, Theater, Theatre, Theatremaker, Uncategorized, Woman, Women, Womxn, writerTags: Art, Baxter Theatre, Chantal Stanfield, Conversation, Covid19, From Koe'siestes to kneidlach, Livestream, Lockdown, Q&A, Quicket, Recorded, Sarafina Magazine, South Africa, Theatre on the Square, Women 1 Comment

A Conversation with Nicola Hanekom

Nicola Hanekom has been a freelance actress, director and writer for the past twenty years. Her theatre work as writer/director includes a series of site-specific productions; Betésda, Lot, Babbel and Land van Skedels. As a writer and performer, Nicola created Trippie, and her self-penned one-woman show Hol/Running on Empty. These together with her latest play In glas have garnered twelve Kanna awards, eleven Fiësta awards, two ATKV writing awards and one Aartvark award. Nicola was also awarded the Eugène Marais Prize for her collection of plays Die pad byster. She has written and directed two short films, Trippie and Unspoken. Her short, Trippie won two Silwerskermfees awards. Cut-Out Girls is her first feature film and arrives in local cinemas on November 22nd.

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November 19, 2019November 19, 2019 by Sarafina Magazine Categories: Actor, Actress, Advice, Arts, Author, Cape Town, Conversation, Director, Film, Filmmaker, Interview, Now Playing, Performer, Photography, Playwright, Production, Sarafina, Sarafina Magazine, South Africa, SWIFT, Television, Theater, Theatre, Theatremaker, Uncategorized, Woman, Women, Womxn, writerTags: ACT, Actors, Actress, Advice, Babbel, Betésda, Cape Town, Conversation, Cut-Out Girls, Die pad byster, Director, Dwaalster, Film, Filmmaker, In glas, Land van Skedels, Lot, Movie, Nicola Hanekom, Performance, Photography, Television, Trippie, TV, Unspoken, Women, writer 1 Comment

A Conversation with Olivia Fischer

Olivia Fischer is an award-winning playwright, director and producer. After graduating with her degree in theatre and performance, specialising in theatre-making from the University of Cape Town, Olivia premiered Still at the Hollywood Fringe Festival in Los Angeles, CA. Still was awarded five Hollywood Fringe awards including Tvolution’s Best International Show and the Conversation Creation award. In 2018, Olivia opened a production company called LIV Studios, a company that aims to develop female-identifying playwrights and theatre-makers. Olivia is a published writer: her autobiographical monologue Coming For You was recently published in the Market Laboratory’s anthology Between the Pillar and the Post: an anthology of South African monologues and scenes. Her other theatre credits include writing and directing an adaptation of Sindiwe Magona’s The Cruel King Lives! called Thandiwe: The Loved One and directed Duncan MacMillan’s Lungs. Her main focus as she continues to grow as a theatre-maker is telling stories of womxn: their resilience, their strength but above all, their undeniable capacity to love.

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July 24, 2019July 24, 2019 by Sarafina Magazine Categories: Art, Arts, Cape Town, Conversation, Culture, Director, Interview, Now Playing, Photography, Playwright, Producer, Production, Sarafina, Sarafina Magazine, South Africa, Theater, Theatre, Theatre Arts Admin Collective, Theatremaker, Uncategorized, Woman, Women, Womxn, writerTags: Between the Pillar and the Post: an anthology of South African monologues and scenes, Cape Town, Coming For You, Director, Hollywood Fringe Festival, Interview, LIV Studios, Lungs, Olivia Fischer, Playwright, Producer, Sarafina Magazine, South Africa, Still, Thandiwe: The Loved One, The Cruel King Lives!, Theater, Theatre, Theatre Arts Admin Collective, Theatremaker, UCT, Womxn, writer Leave a comment

Guest Post: Swan Song Takes Flight

During our conversation with storyteller Buhle Ngaba in 2017, she spoke about winning the Brett Goldin Bursary and creating her show, Swan Song during her time at the Royal Shakespeare Company. Now, almost three years later and after a successful developmental and award-winning run at the Klein Karoo National Festival in 2017, Swan Song has its eyes firmly focused on Vrystaat Kunstefees. Prior to its run, Buhle has launched Going For A Song, an art auction with a difference, making a difference to make art accessible. At the auction which will take place at the Book Lounge on July 1st, bidders will raise funds to get Swan Song on stage in front of a wider audience. On the night, it’ll be chosen at random and announced to guests which items will be up for auction – sold, to the highest bidder! – and which will be raffled. This split is symbolic of what Buhle hopes to do with Swan Song, and her wider body of work: to democratise art in a way that allows accessible participation and an easy buy-in to art that maintains its value. Those purchasing ‘tickets’ will do so at a fixed cost and post them into the “bidding box” beside each artwork to stand a chance to make it their own. In celebration of the upcoming auction, Buhle writes about the evolution of Swan Song. Continue reading →

June 26, 2019June 26, 2019 by Sarafina Magazine Categories: Actor, Actress, Art, Artist, Arts, Cape Town, Culture, Essay, Now Playing, Organisation, Performer, Playwright, Production, Sarafina, Sarafina Magazine, Shakespeare, South Africa, Theater, Theatre, Theatremaker, Uncategorized, Woman, Women, Womxn, writerTags: Actress, All womxn creative team, Amy Rusch, Auction, Author, Brett Goldin Bursary, Buhle Ngaba, Cape Town, Conversation, Creative, Creator, Essay, Fundraiser, Guest Post, Ilana Cilliers, KKNK, Klein Karoo National Festival, Neo Baepi, Opinion, Royal Shakespeare Company, RSC, Shakespeare, Sitaara Stodel, South Africa, Storyteller, Swan Song, Theater, Theatre, Vrystaat Festival, writer Leave a comment

A Conversation with Kanya Viljoen

Kanya Viljoen is a theatre-maker, performer and designer. Recently, Kanya wrote and directed RAAK, which debuted at the Vrystaat Kunstefees and was nominated as Best Production of the festival. Furthermore, it has been nominated for two Kyknet Fiësta Awards and is heading to US Woordfees 2019 for a limited run. Earlier this year, Kanya was awarded South African Theatre Magazine’s Best Emerging Director Award. In 2018, Kanya directed Like Hamlet, which was performed at the Theatre Arts Admin Collective as part of the Annex Theatre Bursary. Her script, mank, was selected for further development by Kunste Onbeperk’s Teksmark and she was awarded a writer’s bursary for this script. Currently, Kanya is an Andrew W Mellon scholar, completing her MA in theatre-making at the University of Cape Town.

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February 20, 2019May 19, 2019 by Sarafina Magazine Categories: Actor, Actress, Advice, Artist, Arts, Cape Town, Conversation, Culture, Designer, Director, Fleur du Cap, Interview, Now Playing, Performer, Photography, Playwright, Production, Sarafina, Sarafina Magazine, Singer, South Africa, Theater, Theatre, Theatre Awards, Theatremaker, Uncategorized, Woman, Women, Womxn, writerTags: Actor, Andrew W Mellon scholar, Cape Town, Director, Fleur du Cap, Huey Huey, Kanya Viljoen, KKNK, Kunste Onbeperk, Like Hamlet, mank, Raak, Set Designer, Singer, Teksmark, Theatremaker, UCT, Woordfees, writer 5 Comments

A Conversation with Tiisetso Mashifane wa Noni

Tiisetso Mashifane wa Noni is a South African playwright, theatre director and performer. With a Bachelor of the Arts in Political Science, Philosophy and Dramatic Arts from Rhodes University and a Bachelor of the Arts (Hons) in Directing for Stage, Writing for Film and Avant-garde Film from the University of Cape Town, she attempts to make provocative work that deals with themes of violence, sexuality, race and history within a contemporary South African setting. As a playwright and director, her debut play, Sainthood has received a Standard Bank Ovation Award and a Fleur du Cap nomination and is the subject of her TEDxYouth Cape Town Talk, ‘Another Conversation for the Dinner Table?’. Following a successful run at the National Arts Festival and at Theatre Arts Admin Collective, Sainthood makes its way to the Baxter Theatre for a limited engagement.

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February 6, 2019February 6, 2019 by Sarafina Magazine Categories: Actor, Actress, Advice, Artist, Arts, Baxter, Cape Town, Choreographer, Conversation, Culture, Director, Interview, Now Playing, Performer, Photography, Playwright, Production, Sarafina, Sarafina Magazine, South Africa, The Baxter, Theater, Theatre, Theatre Arts Admin Collective, Theatre Awards, Theatremaker, Uncategorized, Woman, Women, Womxn, writerTags: Actor, Actress, Advice, Baxter Theatre, Cape Town, Chanel Katz, Conversation, Director, Grahamstown, Interview, National Arts Festival, Ovation Award, Performer, Photography, Playwright, Rhodes, Sainthood, Sarafina Magazine, South Africa, Theater, Theatre, Tiisetso Mashifane wa Noni, UCT, Women, writer 4 Comments

A Conversation with Gina Shmukler

Gina Shmukler has been in the entertainment industry since she was six years old. In her career, her theatre work as an actress, director and producer, has garnered ten theatre nominations and four awards across different genres ranging from Mamma Mia and Chess, to Master Class and Silk Ties. In 2013, after completing her Master’s Degree in Drama at the University of Witwatersrand, Gina was the proud recipient of the Dr Sibongile Khumalo Creative Research Award. Her select directorial credits include; The Line, Lost in the Stars, Songs for a New World, The Market Theatre’s Brer Rabbit, Beautiful Creatures, Love: A Musical Revue, The Last Five Years and The Whole Megillah. Having taken a performance hiatus, Gina returned to the stage in 2017 in Mike van Graan’s Helen of Troyeville. At the end of 2018, she returned to her musical theatre roots by stepping into Aunty Merle the Musical, which makes its way to Joburg Theatre following three sold-out engagements in Cape Town.

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January 16, 2019January 16, 2019 by Sarafina Magazine Categories: Actor, Actress, Advice, Artist, Arts, Baxter, Candice van Litsenborgh, Cape Town, Conversation, Culture, Dancer, Director, Interview, Joburg, Johannesburg, Musical, Now Playing, Performer, Photography, Playwright, Producer, Production, Sarafina, Sarafina Magazine, South Africa, The Baxter, Theater, Theatre, Theatremaker, Uncategorized, Woman, Women, Womxn, writerTags: Actor, Actress, Advice, Aunty Merle, Candice van Litsenborgh, Canned Rice, Cape Town, Conversation, Dialect Coach, Director, Emotional Creature, Film, Gina Shmukler, Helen of Troyeville, Joburg Theatre, Johannesburg, Lara Foot, Lecturer, Mamma Mia, Marc Lottering, Performer, Photography, Playwright, Producer, Singer, South Africa, Television, The Baxter, The Line, Theater, Theatre, TV, Wits, Women 4 Comments

A Conversation with Kate Pinchuck

Kate Pinchuck is an actor, writer and stand-up comedian. Her credits include Athol Fugard’s My Children! My Africa! at Artscape, the critically acclaimed all-female Taming of the Shrew at Maynardville directed by Tara Notcutt and the Ovation Award winning Gaslight at the National Arts Festival Fringe directed by Laine Butler. Kate has been rising up in the comedy scene in Cape Town and Joburg. She was featured in the 2017 Next Generation Showcase at Grand West, was a semi-finalist in the 2017 Savanna Show Us Your Apples competition and performed in the televised 2018 Comics Choice Awards Newcomer Showcase at the Soweto Theatre. She has performed numerous times at the National Arts Festival Fringe in productions such as With/Hold, Jack & Jill which she wrote and Lexi Meier’s Standard Bank Ovation Award-winning immersive installation, Down to a sunless sea. Following its award-winning run at the National Arts Festival, her one-woman show, Medusa Incarnate will make its Cape Town debut at the Alexander Bar in September. Continue reading →

August 29, 2018September 6, 2018 by Sarafina Magazine Categories: Actor, Actress, Advice, Arts, Cape Town, Comedian, Comedy, Conversation, Interview, Maynardville, Now Playing, Performer, Photography, Playwright, Production, Sarafina, Sarafina Magazine, Shakespeare, South Africa, The Alexander Bar, Theater, Theatre, Theatremaker, Uncategorized, Woman, Women, Womxn, writerTags: Actor, Actress, Cape Town, Comedian, Comedy, Conversation, Creator, Dara Beth, Kate Pinchuck, Lucy Brittany Woolley, Medusa Incarnate, National Arts Festival, Ovation Award, Performance, Performer, Photography, Physical Theatre, The Furies, The Taming of The Shrew, Theater, Theatre, Theatremaker, Women, writer 4 Comments

A Conversation with Puleng Lange-Stewart

Puleng Lange-Stewart is a writer, playwright, filmmaker, director, designer and illustrator. In 2016, she was one of three shortlisted writers in the national PEN student writing competition. Her writing has appeared in the 2017 African Literature curriculum at UCT. Her first independent short film, written and directed with Jannous Aukema, Until the Silence Comes, was selected for the 2017 Cape Town International Film Festival and was nominated for an audience award at the Shnit International Short Film Festival. Her primary focus is in interdisciplinary performance and multimedia integration. As a queer, feminist, artist and mother of colour, she hopes to find ways to explore and question the practices and hierarchies that continue to erode human dignity and self-determinacy for so many within the context of South Africa and Africa as a whole. Her work is deeply embedded in a decolonial framework which hopes to elevate and recentre African bodies and voices as a response to its violent historical negation. During the 2018 Open Book Festival, Puleng will appear on a panel entitled Moving Pictures and Borders. Continue reading →

August 22, 2018March 13, 2019 by Sarafina Magazine Categories: Actor, Actress, Artist, Arts, Cape Town, Conversation, Culture, Director, Film, Filmmaker, Interview, Open Book Festival, Performer, Photography, Playwright, Sarafina, Sarafina Magazine, South Africa, The Fugard, Theater, Theatre, Theatremaker, Uncategorized, Woman, Women, WomxnTags: Actor, Actress, Advice, After The Silence Comes, Artist, Cape Town, Conversation, Designer, Director, Festival, Film, Filmmaker, Illustrator, Lucy Brittany Woolley, Open Book Festival, Photography, Poet, Producer, Puleng Lange-Stewart, South Africa, The Book Lounge, The Fugard, Theatre-maker, UCT, Women, writer 3 Comments

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