Kwasha! Theatre Company, launched in 2018 by the Market Theatre Laboratory and the Windybrow Arts Centre, is looking for exceptional performing arts graduates to join the company in 2021. The purpose of the company is to serve as a bridge between graduates’ education and their professional careers. It provides guaranteed employment as a performer/theatre-maker for ten months and offers the opportunity to gain professional work experience and the space to learn and practise business skills. This is achieved through a programme of exciting and varied creative projects and collaborations, resulting in a repertoire of live and digital performances created by the company over the year. Included in the programme is opportunities to make original work that reflects the company’s unique voices and experiences as young South Africans, as well as work that challenges the conventional norms of theatre.
In its first three years, Kwasha! theatre company has been nominated for five Naledi Awards for The Little Prince, Rhinoceros and Currently (G)old, and has won a Bronze Ovation Award and Best Ensemble Award for Currently (G)old at the National Arts Festival. Kwasha! has embarked on two national tours, and participated in numerous collaborations, including with the Centre for the Less Good Idea on Umsebenzi Ka Bra Shakes, Theatre Rocket on Deurnis/Uzwelo, Young Artist of the Year Jefferson Tshabalala, and Os Satyros Theatre Company (Brazil). Two productions created by Kwasha! have been invited on international tours, including to the United States. This year, Kwasha! featured in an international collaboration that resulted in a live digital performance on Zoom, The Art Of Facing Fear, that included performers and audience across 4 continents and 10 countries, and presented a new play at the Ramolao Makhene Theatre, Peeling Shadows. The extraordinary start to Kwasha’s journey bears testament to the value of providing opportunities for emerging theatre-makers to work creatively and develop their voices within the structure of a company.
Theatre-makers who have graduated from a reputable training institution within the last five years are eligible to be members of Kwasha! theatre company. To apply, submit your CV and a motivation letter (that clearly states the skills, knowledge and other attributes that you would be able to contribute to the company) via email to Rudy Motseatsea at rudy@marketlab.co.za by 17:00 on Wednesday 6 January 2021. Shortlisted applicants will be called by Monday 11 January 2021 for an audition on 20 or 21 January. Final decisions will be made by Friday 22 January. The company aims to begin operating from 1 February 2021.
Source: Website – National Arts Festival
