Interview – Page 2 – Sarafina Magazine

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

A Conversation with Carin Bester

Carin Bester is a performance artist, actress, set designer and art director who has been working in the film, television and theatre industry for the past 10 years. In 2015, Carin performed her first performance art piece Verlies. She was drawn to performance art because of its immediacy and honesty. She views it as a medium in which she can express herself freely as she interrogates issues of social importance effectively. In 2017, she did My Body My Life, a performance installation which took the statistics of gender-based violence in South Africa directly to the viewer. Since then she has done various other pieces about gender-based violence in South Africa. Currently, she is experimenting with documentation of performance elements to create print and video art. A piece called Dress of Remembrance, which was worn on August 1st 2018 as part of the #TheTotalshutdown March against gender-based violence to Parliament, has been included in an exhibition at the Iziko Slave Lodge Museum. Cape Town audiences recently saw Carin’s set design featured in Figure of 8 Dance Collective’s Wag/Waiting which debuted at the Baxter Theatre. She will be performing a new piece Till Death Do Us Part this August as part of the Vavasati International Women’s Festival at The State Theatre in Pretoria.

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July 17, 2019July 17, 2019 by Sarafina Magazine Categories: Actor, Actress, Advice, Art, Artist, Arts, Baxter, Cape Town, Conversation, Culture, Designer, Film, Fine Artist, Interview, Performer, Photography, Production, Sarafina, Sarafina Magazine, Sculpture, Set Design, South Africa, The Baxter, Theater, Theatre, Theatremaker, Uncategorized, Woman, Women, WomxnTags: Actor, Actress, Advice, Art, Artist, Baxter, Baxter Theatre, Cape Town, Carin Bester, Conversation, Designer, Figure 8 Dance Collective, Film, Interview, My Body My Life, Performance Artist, Photography, Set Design, Set Designer, South Africa, Theater, Theatre, Wag/Waiting, Women Leave a comment

A Conversation with Debbie Turner

In October 2018, Debbie Turner was appointed the Chief Executive Officer of Cape Town City Ballet. She founded the Cape Academy of Performing Arts in 1985 and went on to become the founding Artistic Director of the Cape Dance Company in 1995. Recently, she sat on the prestigious panel of judges for the inaugural 2018 season of M-Net’s Dancing With The Stars SA. She has won many awards for her choreography including the FNB Vita Award, and a Standard Bank Ovation Award at the National Arts Festival for Cape Dance Company’s Blue. In addition, the school received a Standard Bank Ovation Award at the National Arts Festival for Bittersweet in 2013, which resulted in the production of Between The Lines the following year on the Arena Programme and at the inaugural Cape Town Fringe Festival. Debbie is committed to restoring, revitalising and aligning South African dance with the 21^st Century global trends of performance through sustainable, multi-pronged approach to performance excellence, diverse repertory relevant to current times, dance education, and professional development of dancers while preserving the traditions of classical ballet and academic dance in general.

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June 19, 2019June 26, 2019 by Sarafina Magazine Categories: Arts, Ballet, Cape Dance Company, Cape Town, Cape Town City Ballet, CEO, Conversation, Culture, Dance, Dancer, Director, Interview, Now Playing, Organisation, Performer, Photography, Production, Sarafina, Sarafina Magazine, South Africa, Uncategorized, Woman, WomxnTags: Advice, Amaranth, Artscape, Ballet, Ballet Dancer, Cape Dance Company, Cape Town, Cape Town City Ballet, CEO, Choreographer, Choreography, Conversation, Dance, Dancer, Debbie Turner, Interview, Photography, Sarafina Magazine, South Africa, Women 2 Comments

A Conversation with Lungiswa Plaatjies

Lungiswa Plaatjies is a musician, singer and composer. Born and raised in Langa Township in Cape Town, she started singing at the age of eight years old before becoming the lead vocalist of Amampondo. She has toured extensively around the world and released her first solo album, Lungiswa, in 2000. After spending time digging deeper into the foundation stones of African music and Xhosa dance (Umxhentso), Lungiswa released her second solo album, Unonkala produced by Don Laka. In 2002, she was nominated for Best Newcomer and Best Female Vocalist at the SAMA awards and was also nominated for two Kora awards. Since 2015, she has been working with Bos Theatre Productions from The Netherlands on an annual musical show called South African Road Trip. Her select theatre credits include; Heart of Redness, The Tempest for the Royal Shakespeare Company and The Flower of Shembe. Lungiswa can currently be seen on stage as the featured musician in Kunene and the King at the Fugard Theatre.

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May 14, 2019May 14, 2019 by Sarafina Magazine Categories: Arts, Cape Town, Conversation, Culture, Interview, music, Musician, Now Playing, Performer, Photography, Sarafina, Sarafina Magazine, Singer, Songwriter, South Africa, The Fugard, Theater, Theatre, Theatremaker, Uncategorized, Vocalist, Woman, Women, WomxnTags: Amampondo, Anthony Sher, Bos Theatre Productions, Cape Town, Conversation, Heart of Redness, Interview, John Kani, Kunene and the King, Lungiswa Plaatjies, mbira, music, Musician, Photography, RSC, Sarafina Magazine, Singer, South Africa, The Flower of Shembe, The Fugard Theatre, The Tempest, Theater, Theatre, Vocalist, Women 3 Comments

A Conversation with Naledi Majola

Naledi Majola is an actor, performance-maker and sound designer. In 2018, she was seen on stage in Tara Notcutt’s historic all-female production of The Taming of the Shrew and in Stream, a multimedia performance work led by Jennifer Steyn at the Baxter Theatre. She makes her feature film debut later this year in The Banana Splits. Her performance work, Where is the black samurai? debuted at Arcade, a durational live art platform curated by Gavin Krastin, and was most recently performed at the 2018 ICA Live Art Festival. Naledi also designs sound for performance, having recently done so for her own work, as well as AMES, written and directed by Andi Colombo in 2018 and the upcoming production of Tales from the Garden written by Ameera Conrad, which will run at the Baxter Theatre’s Masambe Theatre followed by a run at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival later this year.
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May 9, 2019May 22, 2019 by Sarafina Magazine Categories: Actor, Actress, Art, Artist, Arts, Baxter, Cape Town, Composer, Conversation, Culture, Designer, Interview, music, Musician, Now Playing, Performer, Photography, Sarafina, Sarafina Magazine, Sound Design, Sound Designer, South Africa, The Baxter, Theater, Theatre, Theatremaker, Uncategorized, Woman, Women, WomxnTags: Actor, Actress, Ameera Conrad, Ames, Cape Town, Composer, Conversation, ICA Live Art Festival, Interview, Kathleen Stephens, music, Naledi Majola, Performance, Performance Artist, Photography, Sarafina Magazine, Sound Design, Sound Designer, Soundscape, South Africa, Stream, Tales from the Garden, The banana splits, The Taming of The Shrew, Theater, Theatre, Theatremaker, UCT, Where is the black samurai? 4 Comments

A Conversation with Tessa Denton

Tessa Denton is an actor, director, choreographer and designer. She was recently appointed to Gate69’s art department where she is tasked with creating the obscure, creative, daring and over the top wigs, headpieces, earrings and accessories. Over the years, she has created many looks for a variety of clients, whether it be with make-up, body paint, dress setting, sets, decor, props, wigs, accessories or even just conceptualising ideas events. As an actor, some of her TV credits include; Die Boekklub, Getroud met Rugby, Donkerland, Binnelanders, 7de Laan and Generations. Select theatre credits include; Mis, Altyd in my drome, The Rocky Horror Show, Grease, The Full Monty and Lady Macbeth in the adult pantomime Macbeth. Later this year she’ll be seen on stage in Mis in Johannesburg followed by two TV appearances in Fynskrif and Sara se Geheim. Currently, her wig designs can be seen on stage at Gate69 in their latest show, Non-Specific.

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May 1, 2019May 1, 2019 by Sarafina Magazine Categories: Actor, Actress, Artist, Arts, Cape Town, Conversation, Designer, Gate69, Interview, Now Playing, Performer, Photography, Production, Sarafina, Sarafina Magazine, Singer, South Africa, Stylist, Television, Theater, Theatre, Uncategorized, Wig Designer, Woman, Women, WomxnTags: 7de laan, Actor, Actress, Afrikaans, Altyd in my drome, Choreographer, Conversation, Designer, Die Boekklub, Director, Donkerland, Fynskrif, Gate69, Generations, Getroud met rugby, Interview, Macbeth, Mis, Musical Theatre, Photography, Rocky Horror, Sara se geheim, Television, Tessa Denton, The Full Monty, Theater, Theatre, TUT, TV, Wig Stylist, Women Leave a comment

A Conversation with Mariechen Vosloo

Mariechen Vosloo is a costume designer and actor. She received her BA Drama degree from Stellenbosch University in 2011. Mariechen has assisted designer Birrie Le Roux on various productions, some of which are West Side Story, Marat/Sade and The Inconvenience of Wings. Mariechen has also worked in the South African and international advertising and film industry. She was the costume supervisor on Christiaan Olwagen’s film Johnny is nie dood nie, and subsequently designed the costumes for Die Seemeeu and Kanarie, also directed by Olwagen. She was also costume designer for TV series Dwaalster and Die Spreeus. We sat down with her to chat about Die Seemeeu which arrives in select theatres on April 5th 2019. Continue reading →

April 3, 2019April 3, 2019 by Sarafina Magazine Categories: Actor, Actress, Advice, Arts, Cape Town, Conversation, Costume Designer, Culture, Designer, Film, Interview, Now Playing, Performer, Photography, Production, Sarafina, Sarafina Magazine, South Africa, Theater, Theatre, Uncategorized, Woman, WomenTags: Actor, Actress, Afrikaans, Cape Town, Chekhov, Christiaan Olwagen, Conversation, Costume, Costume Designer, Die Seemeeu, Die Spreeus, Dwaalster, Film, Interview, Johnny is nie dood nie, Kanarie, Marche Media, Movie, Photography, Sarafina Magazine, South Africa, Stellenbosch, Television, The Seagull, TV Leave a comment

A Conversation with Adele Blank

Adele Blank is a choreographer, dance instructor and Director of Free Flight Dance Company, which she formed in 1987. She has trained, performed, choreographed and taught extensively in classical ballet and contemporary dance both locally and abroad. Since the beginning of the millennium, Adele’s artistic reach has extended far beyond the realm of dance. She has been responsible for numerous local and international TV adverts, movies, operas, fundraisers and a host of industrial theatre productions. Whilst coaching and teaching, she has created for many companies and is very involved in community and outreach programmes. Adele is a recipient of the Arts & Culture Trust Lifetime Achievement Award for Dance. We sat down to chat with her about devoting her life to dance and directing her latest project, Blue Violin, which will be performed at Artscape for a limited run. Continue reading →

March 27, 2019March 27, 2019 by Sarafina Magazine Categories: Advice, Arts, Artscape, Ballerina, Ballet, Cape Town, Cape Town City Ballet, Conversation, Culture, Dance, Dancer, Director, Interview, Joburg, Johannesburg, music, Musical, Now Playing, Organisation, Performer, Photography, Production, Sarafina, Sarafina Magazine, South Africa, Television, Theater, Theatre, Uncategorized, Woman, Women, WomxnTags: Adele Blank, Advice, Artscape, Ballet, Blue Violin, Cape Town, Cecchetti, Choreographer, Contemporary Dance, Conversation, Dance, Dancer, Director, Free Flight Dance, Interview, Lifetime Achievement, Modern Dance, Musicals, Photography, So You Think You Can Dance, South Africa, Stage, Theater, Theatre, TV, Women 2 Comments

A Conversation with Christelle Dreyer

Christelle Dreyer is a dancer, graphic designer and performer. At a young age, she discovered her love and passion for dance. Christelle uses her unique body movements within dance styles varying from Contemporary dance to Ballroom and Latin dancing. As a Ballroom and Latin Dancer, she won numerous competitions. In 2007 she won first place in both Ballroom and Latin at the Holland World Championships. In working for Remix Dance Company, Christelle taught children as part of the Remix Integrated Dance Project with Nicola Elliott and Malcolm Black. In 2014, she performed as part of the UNI Global Union Women’s Conference. Partaking in the Axis Dance Company Intensive, Christelle found herself dancing and performing among dancers from across the world. Most recently she was seen acting in Marat/Sade directed by Jaco Bouwer at the Baxter Theatre. In 2017, she received the Cultural Affairs Award from the Western Cape Government for Contribution By Person With Disability To The Arts.

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March 20, 2019March 20, 2019 by Sarafina Magazine Categories: Actor, Actress, Advice, Arts, Cape Town, Choreographer, Conversation, Culture, Dance, Dancer, Interview, Performer, Photography, Sarafina, Sarafina Magazine, South Africa, Theater, Theatre, Uncategorized, Woman, Women, WomxnTags: Actor, Actress, Advice, Ballroom, Cape Town, Christelle Dreyer, Contemporary Dance, Contribution By Person With Disability To The Arts, Conversation, Creative, Cultural Affairs Award, Dance, Dancer, Designer, Freelance Creative, Graphic Designer, Interview, Jazzart, Latin, Marat/Sade, Photography, Sarafina Magazine, South Africa, Theater, Theatre, Women Leave a comment

A Conversation with Lukhanyiso Skosana

Lukhanyiso Skosana is an actress, performance artist, vocalist and theatre-maker. Her performing credits include Love Like Blue directed by Puleng Lange-Stewart, Khanyisile Mbongwa’s performance art piece kuDanger, Ndawo directed and written by Thapelo Tharaga and Nguvu Ya Mbegu directed by Mandla Mbothwe. To continue her collaborations with womxn of colour, she was in the dance piece Bana Ba Mobu choreographed by Tshegofatso Mabutla. She is in the continuous process of touring and reworking Womb Of Fire, a production written and performed by Rehane Abrahams and directed by Dr Sara Matchett for which she was recently awarded a Fleur du Cap Theatre Award for Best Original Music Score. She continued her longtime collaboration with The MotherTongue Project by performing in their performance piece Walk in India at the ITFOK festival, at the National Arts Festival in 2018 and at Woordfees 2019. She recently choreographed her debut dance piece entitled Zinyile i’Queers and also participated in Body Politics in a durational Butoh piece titled UMGOWO. In 2018, Lukhanyiso made her directorial as well as playwriting debut with her graduation piece Inguquko.

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March 13, 2019March 13, 2019 by Sarafina Magazine Categories: Actor, Actress, Art, Artist, Arts, Cape Town, Composer, Conversation, Culture, Dance, Dancer, Director, Interview, Performer, Photography, Production, Sarafina, Sarafina Magazine, Singer, South Africa, The Baxter, Theater, Theatre, Theatremaker, Uncategorized, Womxn, writerTags: Actor, Actress, Advice, Director, Fleur du Cap award, Interview, Lukhanyiso Skosana, music, Nominee, Performance Art, Photography, Rehane Abrahams, Sara Matchett, Singer, Sound Designer, The Mother Tongue Project, Theater, Theatre, UCT, Vocalist, Walk, Winner, Womb of Fire, Womxn, writer 1 Comment

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