Bongeka Michize wants you to tune in to her upcoming segments!
Meet Bongeka.
During this year’s Durban workshop we asked Bongeka to take on the task of being an ambassador for BSA, interviewing her peers and hosting her own wrap-up segments. Thrilled at the opportunity, she went right for it (potentially channeling a little Tyra), and what you’ll see over the next few days is her working the camera for the first time in her life.
Something of a natural, don’t you agree?
Miss P does a work-through.
As some of our artists have mentioned, we had the opportunity this year to put a brand new musical on its feet during our first workshop in Durban. This included everything from song creation to staging, in hopes of further flushing out the material. Attached is a photo of some of the work, as well as a sneak peek into some of the song creation!
Both shots were taken by teaching artist Nicole Mangi!
Teaching Moments by Adam Kantor
During our most recent workshops, our curriculum coordinators Sean Bradford and Chris Spaulding truly came up with a wonderful framework on which to base our teaching. Under the overarching theme of “Beautiful City” (inspired by the amazing Stephen Schwartz song from Godspell), the words of the day - Belief, Identity, History and Communication - enabled us to find deeply introspective moments of creation, and self-revelation. The discussions that these words inspired were fascinating, and got straight to the heart of the “cross-cultural exchange” in our mission statement.
With the exchange in practice, we turned to tackle another major goal of our teaching workshops; the building of self-confidence. When you live in a world surrounded by poverty, sickness, abuse, and all the effects of post-Apartheid South Africa, it is easy to lose self-confidence, as well as what Sean calls “the ability to dream.” We consistently seek to empower our students, and with how we were beginning each day the moment was ripe to do just that.
This year I taught music with the amazing Jeremy Schonfeld, who has composed a couple of beautiful songs for Broadway in South Africa. In getting to the heart of empowerment, Jeremy and I thought it an exciting idea to guide our classes towards the mission of creating collaborative original music, complete with a performance in front of teaching artists, families, and peers. We wanted our students to feel how empowering it can be to work together and create original art, something that had never existed before, with partnerships that hadn’t yet had a history either.
We started with the question “What does Music mean to you?”. From that question, the students brainstormed a list of words - joy, passion, excitement, memories, etc. - and took a moment to free-write on those words. Poems, stories, pictures - anything that came to mind was fair game. After a few minutes of mental vomit, we broke the classes into smaller groups and said “Use all that you have just explored and create original songs,” the only rule being that every individual artist must contribute to the group creation in both the collaborative process and the performance. They had an hour to put pieces together, and what the students returned with was nothing less than brilliant.
Beyond their artistic value, which blew Jeremy and me away, it was clear how much the students were blown away by their own work. How some who had barely spoken a word in the days prior were now confidently standing in the performance space bearing their artistic voice. They were moved. They were proud. They were empowered.
Attached is one of my favorite videos of the whole trip; A look into the ending of one group’s final performance in Durban. Something tells me you’ll be able to figure out both the refrain, and the message of the song. It was a group of four that began the song…then this happened. Enjoy!
Photo by: Moeletsi Mabe
Finding Art in the Strangest Places by Nicole Mangi
You never plan for your life to be changed, it just happens. Going into my first trip with Broadway in South Africa, I wasn’t sure what to expect. I knew it was going to be amazing and hard work, but no one could have prepared me for the breathtaking beauty and courage of these incredible kids. I went thinking I would be changing lives, but left feeling my life is forever changed.
Durban was our first camp, and it was magical. When we arrived, everyone gathered on stage after registration and the most amazing impromptu drum/dance circle broke out. I had never experienced anything so invigorating and exciting. The pure joy of these students just fills their entire bodies. They have art in their blood and it is as natural as breathing. It was at that moment where the change started for me.
Just witnessing the inhabitation and expression of these amazing students blew me away.
I was part of the acting team in Durban with Christopher Spaulding, Sean Bradford and Lilli Cooper. In conjunction with BSA’s opportunity to workshop a brand new musical based in ancient Zululand, we were given the enormously daunting task of being the first group ever to try and bring the words to life. The entirety of the show is set in a 19th century tribal Kingdom complete with warrior chiefs, witch doctors, ghost ancestors and a Zulu boy in line to inherit the throne.
Sean said that he wanted to develop scenes as well as some musical numbers in four days, and I was thinking there is absolutely no way we can accomplish all that. Boy was I wrong.
The students were split into four groups that would rotate into music, dance and acting. We would take two groups at once, so both our classes had about 30 students each. Each class would begin with a ritual of lighting a candle and passing it around the room with an intention set for the day. Everyone took this very seriously and it really set the tone and focus for our class beautifully.
The first day we passed out scripts to each student and had a table read, for many students their first table read EVER!, but the focus and intensity was incredible. They loved it! We really focused on making this story true to Zulu culture, so we received a ton of input from the students - who had grown with these themes their whole lives. Words, traditions, family structure was all talked about and set straight. It was incredible to hear about the history of their fore fathers and these ancient hidden traditions and stories that most people never know or hear about.
We decided to work the exposition with the first group, so we discussed a typical day in a Zulu tribe. Who would get up first, what were the chores, what would happen if the tribal chief declared war, how would the warriors prepare, how would the families react. It was an amazing exploration and each student contributed to the piece.
The second group we focused on an actual scene and some song work. We cast our witch doctoress, the amazing Zimbili, our Tribal Chief, the powerful Lucky, our ghost ancestors lead by the joyous Pedile and beautiful Nompilo, our evil tribal chief, the hilarious Lindani and our Zulu boy and his body guard, the sweet Asanda and courageous Xoliswa. As an acting team we worked so well together. Each of us focused on different aspects of the work and also flowed between and helped each other in an inspiring and creatively charged way.
Chris and I decided to work on the scene while Lilli and Sean were focusing on the musical elements. Since there is not a lot of working space at the Ekhaya center and we needed a quiet place to focus and work the scene, Lucky suggested the changing/bathroom in the back of the theatre. We were thrilled to have a private place to work. So Chris and I along with five of our actors pilled into a tiny room in the back of the theatre, complete with bathroom stalls, props, costumes, and broken furniture. It was there that magic really happened. Here we worked as a unit creating moments before, intentions and objectives. The kids blossomed into true actors, taking each moment seriously and focusing on their character. I remember looking at Chris and thinking here we are in the middle of a township in South Africa in a bathroom working a scene and magic is happening. We could have been at the 42nd St. Studios in Times Square; you would have never known the difference.
I felt so alive and touched by the focus and work of these kids. It was truly magical. The final performance was just amazing. It was an incredible recreation and representation that was honest and moving. These students really trusted us and themselves and I could not have been more proud.
I will never be the same. These kids changed me in a way I never expected. Broadway in South Africa is truly a magical organization and I have nothing but absolute gratitude for this experience. Thank you to all that made it possible, and I hope we can continue growing and striving to empower kids through the arts and change lives one person at a time.
Lessons From Abroad by Jon-Erik Goldberg
The only thing that can outshine the majestic wonder of South Africa’s ancient landscape is the power of its people. Not only their power to revolutionize and reform, or their power to endure, persevere, and move forward, but their undoubtable power to inspire.
To infect one’s soul with a fiery passion to do more.
To be bigger than oneself and grow beyond the boundaries set upon you by society and family.
To merely embrace someone unselfishly and without pause.
To sing a song wholeheartedly without fear of judgement, for there is no greater tribute or praise then to lift up your voice and let it soar.
To dance with an abandon rarely seen in the western world, a freedom we truly take for granted but one they have treasured for centuries.
We may view South Africa as a land struggling to break free of the shackles of oppression, searching for the infallible democracy that we in the States love to tout as our gift to the world, but no democracy is perfect, as even ours continues to grow amongst pervasive self-interest, and undeniable inequality. In South Africa, they live by a type of code, a sense of community called Ubuntu. We are who we are because of who we all are. It’s the essence of being human. That you cannot live in isolation. That we are interconnected and when we do good things, it affects the world.
I challenge you to live your life for others. I challenge you to love first. I challenge you to know THAT kind of freedom!
Most of the BSA2012 gang on Lilli’s final night!
Finally heading home after an incredible trip. It’s been a jam-packed three weeks with so many old and new faces. It’s always incredible to see some of the same kids coming back year after year, and not only watching them grow taller but brighter and more passionate about their goals. There were some amazing new students this year that I will never forget. They constantly brought smiles to our faces and contributed immensely to the program. At our first workshop in Durban we had a rather large group, which seemed daunting at first with the space and time we had but they created such beautiful pieces by our final performance we couldn’t have asked for a better bunch. It was a wide range of ages; quite a few were older than me. It was my first camp with such a broad range. The tiniest one, Mlondi, is 9 years old but looks about 6. He’s a bundle of love and clung on to anyone he could find who would offer a hug. He seemed a little shy at first but when he got to talking he wasn’t afraid to share his story with us. Being orphaned at such a young age I was impressed with his strength, vigor and trust in others. His older sister Zanele was one of our leadership students this summer, and I don’t see little Mlondi straying far from that path.
There are so many more fantastic kids it’s hard to narrow down to a list. Just a few that really shined were Lindani, a beautiful dancer who I see heading straight to Alvin Ailey; Lee-Roy, a natural born comedian and the first in his family to pass metric (an exam to enter university); Nompilo, a beautiful mother of two who put her heart and soul into everything we did and helped us achieve our goal of being as true to the Zulu culture as possible when creating pieces in acting class; and Lucky, incredibly insightful and not afraid to speak his mind.
Our Cape Town camp was a smaller group of about 30, four of whom came to New York for our gala this past October. The leadership students each brought friends who they knew would be promising students and who were dedicated to the program. Malibongwe was one of the newest students. He was such a powerful part of the camp that the experience would have been completely different had he not been there. He spoke every word with informed eloquence. During our morning assembly we would play a game called human barometer, where we would place ourselves on a scale from one to ten depending on how much we agree with a statement. Malibongwe would often share his stance on the subjects discussed. He would speak with such passionate fortitude and confidence that others would often reconsider their placement on the scale. He was great at hearing both sides of an argument and understanding the validity of everyone’s opinion. He wants to be the President of South Africa, and if I could vote he would be at the top of my list.
In Johannesburg we worked at the Akani Center in the Diepsloot Township, one of the poorest Townships in the city. The two meals that the MonteCasino generously provided for the camp would be the only food that most of the kids would have each day. Several of the kids are also very ill. It is a difficult and gritty camp, emotionally and physically, with upwards of 80 students, but also incredibly rewarding. It was our second visit there after a short trip this past June with Frankie, Chris, Sean and me. The first day we arrived we were greeted with dozens of little hands and warm hugs and they even remembered our nicknames! This was the youngest group of kids and the most difficult language barrier. Most of the teen-agers didn’t have access to the education that the younger students have. A great aspect of our arts education curriculum, however, is that the students who are too shy to speak up in class, those who may have difficulty understanding English or be embarrassed to speak in their native languages, have other ways to express themselves; through the universal languages of dance, music and theater. Thankfully there are some students who really step up as leaders and take the empowering role of translating to the group. Lerato, Thalita, Ntando, Palesa and Phelisa are just a few of the incredibly intelligent young girls, all under 13, who aren’t afraid to speak up in class, answer questions, contribute and even translate to others. It is so fulfilling to watch these girls step into those leadership roles and lead great examples for some of the teenage boys who lack that confidence, and who in turn look up to the leaders for guidance and support.
I’m sad to be missing the last day of camp, where all the work over the past few days will be presented to friends and family. I’m off to go finish my last semester in college, but I can’t wait to see where all the students will be years or even a few months from now.
