Thespian’s compassion and talent at the forefront of mourners’ memories

The Joburg Theatre was packed, as Mpho Sebeng’s life was celebrated by family, friends, and industry peers.

The Joburg Theatre was the last stage Sebeng performed on, and it became the place where his life would be reflected upon and honoured at his memorial service on Thursday, May 9.

On May 5, 2024 Sebeng was involved in a fatal accident at Potchefstroom in the North West Province.

Sebeng’s acting career started at the age of 12 in a primary school play. He achieved full colours for Drama at only 17-years-old and his first television debuts were on “Justice for all” and “Zero Tolerance” which both won multiple awards.

Faces from the entertainment industry including Rosemary Zimu, Thato Dithebe, Mandisa Jakavula, and others were in attendance. Sebeng’s high school mates, teachers, and friends in the industry shared fond memories.

“His power and purpose sat in his ability to speak life into every single one of us,” said Reabetswe Tsobane, a friend from high school.

“You could’ve met Mpho for two minutes and you would have left with something,” Tsobane added.

Sebeng was not known as one to hold grudges. Conversations would often be defused with funny dance moves he would make to lighten up the mood.

His recent nickname “Luse” was based on a lesson his former high school mate learnt from him, “to let go of grudges, anger and pain, and to love loosely”.

Sebeng was described as a deeply compassionate gentleman who always put the interests of others before his own. In his matric year 2011, Sebeng came up with a song to help other learners understand and memorise the quadratic mathematics formula.

He was a serious actor that respected his craft. As a television actor, his debut stage performance at the Joburg Theatre was described as marvellous.

He tackled challenging roles, portraying Johnny in Athol Fugard’s “Nongogo” and performing in Shakespeare’s “Othello.” His portrayal was described to be one of excellence, as he skilfully navigated the psychological intricacies of both characters.

Mzwakhe Mbuli, also known as Robot Boii, shared a quote Sebeng shared with them: “Stay in school; God is good. Love your mama, respect your parents and be kind.”

As many share screenshots of their last conversation with Sebeng, one thing is common, he was never afraid to tell people that he loved them. Sebeng was laid to rest at Westpark Cemetary in Roodepoort on Saturday, May 11.

WITH INFOGRAPHIC: Wits thespians take acting online to promote sexual health

New project aims to bring sexual health education to the youth in social media platforms they engage with the most.

Wits Drama For Life (DFL), in partnership with the Charlize Theron African Outreach Programme (CTAOP), launched the Knowledge Unzipped digital platform on Wednesday, September 1, 2021.

The online project uses theatre performances to initiate and facilitate conversations about consent, gender expectations, the LGBTQI+ community, bodily autonomy and HIV, through social media platforms.

The content will be posted and shared on platforms such as Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, and Tik Tok. It will also have a Spotify playlist.

The online platform was launched to address the need for sexual health education, which was interrupted by the pandemic and led to fewer sexual health events being hosted in-person.

The digital platform was launched “to keep Knowledge Unzipped active and [to] engage with the people who need it most, on the spaces that they engage with most,” said Kashifa Adams, a member of the DFL.

“Because of everything that has been happening in the world, we’ve had to rethink how we interact with people,” said Adams.

Although the online platform was launched, the in-person interventions will not stop. Instead, Knowledge Unzipped will be a blended project done both online and through school interventions.

Although the main focus of the project was primary and high schools, DFL also hosted Sex Sports, an event that is held annually on campus to commemorate World Condom Day.

In these games, it was discovered that many students at Wits cannot, or do not know how to use a condom properly.

“We saw the need to go into reses [residences] and see how we can use Unzipped to engage with the information we come with. As much as the program was designed for schools, it was a need in reses,” said Lehlohonolo Dube, a member of DFL.

According to sister Simangele Sitoe from the Wits Campus Health and Wellness Center, many students are open to talking about sexual health, and are well informed on the topic. However, interactive programs like Unzipped remain important, as they further emphasized the issues.

 

FEATURED IMAGE: DFL members posing with two dildos. Photo: Semakaleng Motsoere

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Witsies on the small screen

DRAMA ON INTERSEXIONS: Wits Drama student Zola Nombona was featured on Intersexions this week. Photo: Nokuthula Manyathi

DRAMA ON INTERSEXIONS: Wits Drama student Zola Nombona was featured on Intersexions this week. Photo: Nokuthula Manyathi

Two Wits drama students have appeared on the acclaimed local drama Intersexions, beating out more than 5 000 hopefuls for the honour.Zola Nombona and Lwazilubanzi Mthembu, both fourth year BA Dramatic Arts students,  were among the 60 actors cast to appear in the second season of the show appearing on SABC 1. Intersexions is the first television show that either of the actresses have appeared on.

Nombona and Mthembu, who both have theatre backgrounds, went through two rounds of open auditions before landing their roles.

The ‘edutainment’ series magnifies the way our lives are interconnected by touching on social and health issues that exist in the society and creating a dialogue around them.

Mthembu played a nurse who had to tell another character that she had fallen pregnant.

“I played a really small role, insignificant to most but so significant to me,” Mthembu said.

“Being treated like I mattered in the bigger scheme of things, especially since my role was so small, made me feel like there is a space for talent,” she said.

She said adjusting to television was a challenge because there was more attention to “image” than in theatre.

Nombona played “Shado”, a streetwise youngster, in the episode broadcast this week on Tuesday.

Doctor doctor

DOCTOR-DOCTOR: Wits drama student Lwazilubanzi Mthembu played a nurse on Intersexions. Photo: Nokuthula Manyathi

She called the character fun loving, honest and “out there”.

Nombona believes her character is important to the series because she “shows a different aspect from where HIV may come. It makes people aware of the party scene…because that’s where it can happen”.

The second season of Intersexions has been highly anticipated after the success of its predecessor. The first season was able to captivate more than 6 million viewers every week.

The first season dealt with the spread of HIV/ AIDS and how society deals with sexual issues. This time around the production highlights the cycle of secrets and how it affects relationships.

“That’s why I appreciate this season now because it’s not focused on one person, there are many stories where people can see themselves,” said Nombona.

Nombona and Mthembu said Intersexions starts an important dialogue around HIV/Aids.

“It’s a drama for the people…it puts an interesting twist to it [HIV/AIDS] which can start conversation that the country needs,” said Mthembu.

Appearing on television show, which features many famous actors and actresses, was also a great career opportunity for the two fledgling thespians.

Nombana said she was able to network with important people in the industry and liked “being treated like a star”.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

South African film actresses screwed

THE inability of judges to award best actress in national film awards last weekend has provoked a Wits academic to question their value if they are only to “penis-whip patriarchal achievements”.

Judges removed the category of  best actress in a feature film from this year’s South African Film and Television Awards (Saftas) as it would be “meaningless” to award it as the shortlisted films were “male driven”.

Wits School of Arts deputy head of drama Tshepo Mamatu said he did not take the Saftas seriously.

“The fact remains that the erasure of the female voice, and in particular of the black female voice, remains a sore point for most of us. Perhaps even more troubling is that the administrators of these awards do not realise what this travesty means, that years into our democracy, the female voice remains an aberration, which can easily be pardoned by rhetoric.

“At the heart of this absence, we should be asking ourselves, what worth are these awards if their task is to penis-whip patriarchal achievements?” said Mamatu.

The judges said they removed the category because the 10 films that made the awards shortlist were predominantly male-driven stories.

Only two actresses were listed for the award, one of whom was not eligible for a Safta as she is not South African.

Sociology Feminist lecturer, Lisa Banjul Brown said it was sad that actresses had been excluded from the awards.

“Although there have been huge strides women’s equality in South Africa, there is still a pervading idea or myth of male superiority: men are supposed to be the breadwinners, the leaders, the instigators etc. Of course real life contradicts this, but the South African film industry doesn’t seem to have caught up, which is a shame,” she said.

The judges said: “This is a far from desirable situation and the panel urges writers and production companies to bear in mind that as an industry we need to be telling more stories that provide a platform for the luminous female thespian [actor] talent our country has to offer.”