Rushney Ferguson is a triple threat performer from Cape Town having completed her advanced I.S.T.D training in Modern, Tap, Ballet, Jazz and Musical Theatre, including Associate qualifications, at the Waterfront Theatre School. Her theatre career started with David Kramer’s District Six: Kanala, Amper Famous and Langarm for which she received a Fleur du Cap nomination. Rushney also Dance Captained and starred in the revival of King Kong: Legend of a Boxer at The Fugard Theatre. Choreographically, she works regularly behind the scenes with many local artists like Emo Adams: Brother Love 2, Emo Celebrates 30 Years in Music and the live finale of Maak My Famous. She recently appeared as Juanita in David Kramer’s new musical Danger in the Dark which returns to the Baxter Theatre in March 2020. She is currently starring as Abigail in Aunty Merle: It’s a Girl!, the highly anticipated sequel based on Marc Lottering’s beloved character, Aunty Merle. Continue reading
Tag: The Baxter
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.
A Conversation with Marisa Steenkamp
Marisa Steenkamp is the Deputy Stage Production Manager at the Baxter Theatre, a position she has held since 2012. With her work ever-changing and evolving, she has worked as a stage manager, assistant stage manager, technician and costume designer. Her work has seen her tour with productions to various countries across the globe including Sweden, Germany, Columbia, France and England. She created the costume design for The Fall and facilitated and styled costumes for various productions including #JustMen, Fisher’s of Hope and Blue/Orange. Most recently, she has worked on productions such as Remembering the Lux, Blue/Orange, Marat/Sade, The Fall, Aunty Merle: The Musical and Endgame. Continue reading
A Conversation with Leila Henriques
Leila Henriques is an actor, writer, director and teacher. As an actress, she has starred in more than 30 productions. Some of her select stage credits include: Hedda Gabler, The Something Prince, Yerma, Red Shoes and The List. She has taught acting at various academic institutions across South Africa including Wits, AFDA and The Market Theatre Lab. Together with Irene Stephanou, she wrote the book The World in an Orange –exploring the work of Barney Simon published by Jacana, which was shortlisted for the Alan Paton award. Following a successful run at Woordfees earlier this year, she is currently starring in Sam Shepard’s Curse of the Starving Class directed by Sylvaine Strike at the Baxter Theatre. Continue reading
A Conversation with Nicolette Moses
Nicolette Moses is the Associate Producer and Planning Manager for the Baxter Theatre, a position she has held since 2010. She is a trained classical ballet and contemporary dancer who graduated from the UCT School of Dance. Following a sojourn abroad, Nicolette joined the Jazzart Dance Theatre, which she managed before joining CAPAB as head of the Audience Development department. In the transition from CAPAB to Artscape, Nicolette worked as Project Manager and then Artistic Manager until 2001. During her time at Artscape, she also worked extensively with the Nederlands Dance Theater. She was appointed as Project Manager at the Baxter Theatre Centre in 2003, and shortly thereafter started heading up the annual Baxter Dance Festival. Now in its 14th year, we sat down with Nicolette to chat about this year’s festival.
A Conversation with Chantal Stanfield
Chantal Stanfield is an actress and singer who has featured in a number of South Africa’s leading television and stage productions. In the last year, she has charmed South African audiences by featuring on local Television soap operas Sewende Laan and Getroud met Rugby. After completing a run in Rock of Ages at the Lyric Theatre, her one-woman self-written show From Koe’siestes to Kneidlach makes its Cape Town debut at the Baxter Theatre following a successful Joburg engagement. We sat down at the Baxter to chat about her career, being labeled a “Soap Star” and finding the courage to create her own work.
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A Conversation with Jennifer Steyn
Over the course of her career, stage and screen actress Jennifer Steyn has gifted audiences with some truly iconic performances. Fresh off her recent Fleur du Cap Theatre Award win for her role as Sara in Lara Foot‘s The Inconvenience of Wings, Jennifer is back on stage, this time tackling the role of the strong-willed painter Galactia in Howard Baker’s Scenes from an Execution. In addition to her work as an actress, Jennifer is also a director and a voice and performance teacher. We sat down with her at the Baxter Theatre to discuss her new production, her career and the moments that have inspired her.
A Conversation with Galina Juritz
Galina Juritz is an accomplished violinist and composer. Her latest composition, Madness: Songs of Hope and Despair, makes its return to The Baxter after an acclaimed one night only performance last year. Madness: Songs of Hope and Despair, brings mental illness and psychotic experiences into the spotlight using a combination of music, song and imagery in an attempt to portray the complexities and also the wonder of these strange and ultimately unknowable worlds. We sat down with Galina at The Baxter to chat about the show and her hopes for the future of her career.
Spotlight on: A Night with Evita Bezuidenhout
Evita Bezuidenhout, regarded as ‘the most famous white woman in South Africa,’ heads to the Artscape Theatre with her new show: An Evening with Evita Bezuidenhout. We sat down with her at the Mount Nelson to chat about the show, her grandchildren and of course, politics. More information about the show can be found at the bottom of the page. Continue reading
A Conversation with Lara Foot
Today’s conversation is with one of South Africa’s most prolific theatre-makers: Lara Foot. Ms. Foot is a multi-hyphenate, she is an acclaimed writer, director and producer and currently holds the position of being the first female artistic director and CEO of The Baxter. Sarafina Magazine had the privilege of sitting down with Ms. Foot and hearing about her groundbreaking career. Continue reading